Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, the Ayocote family was one of the first cultivated crops of the Americas. They are grown all over central and northern Mexico. – (Rancho Gordo)

The ayocote morado is a large, hearty bean.

Appearance

These are pretty big beans. Before cooking, they have a significant variety of colors, ranging from almost black, to a very pleasant purple-red color, to a very light pastel kind of purple. Many but not all of the beans also feature speckling and variegation – these look kind of like the child of a cranberry and a red kidney bean. Once cooked, the beans have a more uniform reddish brown color.

Cooking

Because of their size, you gotta cook these guys on the longer side. After a 12-or-more hour soak, pressure cook for fifteen minutes.

Flavor profile

Suggested seasonings and dishes

These beans have a very interesting texture profile: they have a rather thick skin, lending the bean an overall firmness; piercing that skin, however, reveals a rich, creamy, delicious interior.

I enjoyed these beans with tex-mex style flavorings, and I can see them working extremely well in a chili.

Spices and flavors that work well with these beans:

• garlic
• cumin
• paprika
• oregano

Sound

Dry, these beans are large and feel solid, with a middling density. They make a nice, well-rounded plunk when dropped into a jar.

Cooked, the sound softens into a low rumble, belying the substantial heft of each individual bean, as they’re dished into a plate. They don’t roll around much given their size and shape, so savor the sound while it lasts.