Sorana bean facts for kids
The Sorana bean (called Fagiolo di Sorana in Italian) is a special type of cannellini bean. It grows only in a very small area near the town of Sorana in Tuscany, Italy. This area is along the Pescia River in the Province of Pistoia. The conditions there are perfect for these beans, but because the growing area is so small, not many beans can be produced.
Even though production is low, many people want these beans. This makes them much more expensive than other cannellini beans. In 2002, the European Union gave the Sorana bean a special award called Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). This means only beans grown in this specific area can be called "Sorana beans." This bean is very important for farming in the Pescia Valley. It has even helped people stay in the area instead of moving away for work.
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A Look Back: History of the Sorana Bean
Beans originally came from the New World (the Americas). They arrived in Rome by 1515 and in Tuscany by 1528. By the early 1600s, beans were grown widely. By the early 1800s, the beans grown around Sorana were known for their excellent quality.
However, after the world wars, many people left the area. This meant that by the 1980s, almost no one was growing Sorana beans anymore. By 1994, the bean was in danger of disappearing completely.
A group of small farmers and hobby growers formed a non-profit group called Associazione dei piccoli produttori del Fagiolo di Sorana Il Ghiareto ONLUS (Ghiareto Association) in 1994. They were the only ones still growing the beans. This group, along with Italian journalist Indro Montanelli and led by Valdo Verreschi, worked hard to promote the bean. They helped get the PGI certification, which encouraged more local people to start growing the beans again. In 2002, the Sorana bean officially received its PGI status.
There is also a red, cylindrical bean grown in the area, sometimes called "Antico Rosso di Sorana." When talking about both, the white bean is sometimes called "Bianco di Sorana." Both types of beans are sometimes called "soranini."
What Sorana Beans Look Like and How They Grow
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The Sorana bean is a climbing plant from the Phaseolus vulgaris L. species. The white Sorana bean is about 1.5 cm (0.6 in) long. It is pearly white, shiny, and a little flat. Its skin is so thin that people say you can barely feel it when you eat it. In the Sorana area, they are sometimes called "piattellini" because of their flat shape (piatto means flat in Italian). The red bean has a thicker skin and is shaped more like a cylinder.
These beans are grown in small amounts along the east and west banks of the Pescia River near Sorana. This area is in Tuscany, at the base of the Apennines mountains. It's about halfway between Florence and Pisa. Modern farming methods are often not possible in these small plots of land. Only a small area, less than 660 hectares (2.5 square miles), is planted each year. Often, hobby farmers or part-time farmers grow them. A study in 2016 found about 40 growers, and almost half of them did not sell their beans commercially.
Farmers plant the beans during the last moon in May. The beans grow on tall bamboo poles, about 8 feet high. The soil must always be kept moist. The harvest happens from mid-August through mid-September, when the bean pods are almost ready to split open. After being picked by hand, the beans are dried in the sun for several days.
The Special Microclimate of Sorana
Both the Slow Food organization and the PGI rules say that any bean called "di Sorana" must be grown in the Pescia Valley, specifically in the Pescia Municipality, Pistoia Province. The most traditional growing area is along the banks of a small creek, called the "Ghiareto." This area has its own special microclimate.
A microclimate is a small area where the weather is different from the surrounding region. The Ghiareto area is 220 to 750 meters (720 to 2500 feet) above sea level. The soil is sandy and doesn't have many minerals, calcium, or nitrates. It is also very humid, gets less sun, and has a lot of rain, including heavy dew every night. This area is also protected from harsh weather. All these conditions are perfect for growing this type of bean.
Valdo Verreschi, a restaurant owner who grew up in Sorana, calls it "an amazing microclimate." He says, "You could plant a Sorana bean anywhere—many people have tried—and you might get a bean, but it wouldn't act like a Sorana when you cooked it." Italian food writer Davide Paolini also wrote that the same beans planted elsewhere would not be like those grown in the Ghiareto.
More recently, farmers in the "poggio" or highlands area within the Pescia Valley started growing the beans. This caused some disagreements because the poggio areas can produce more beans, so those farmers can sell them for lower prices. The quality from the Ghiareto area is considered higher. Ghiareto farmers worried that customers might not understand why their prices were higher.
To solve this, when they were setting up the rules for the PGI certification, producers agreed to protect both areas. This allowed more beans to be produced overall, which helped make the bean more well-known. In return, Ghiareto producers are allowed to put "di Ghiareto" on their labels. The agreement also said that farmers could not use herbicides (weed killers). It also limited how many beans could be grown per hectare and described exactly how the beans should be harvested.
How the Sorana Bean Helps the Economy
Even in Tuscany, the Sorana bean is not common. Outside of Tuscany, it can be "impossible to find" in Italy. In 1994, writer Paolini called it the "most expensive bean in the world," with prices of 20,000 to 30,000 lira per kilogram. In 2007, Saveur magazine reported that Sorana beans cost ten times more than other cannellini beans. Sadly, sometimes people try to sell other beans as Sorana beans, which is a type of fraud. A 2016 study found that Sorana prices are usually six to seven times higher than regular beans.
The Ghiareto Association holds yearly festivals when the beans are planted and harvested. Tourism and local development related to the Sorana bean are very important. Experts William van Caenegem and Jen Cleary believe that supporting these local farmers has helped prevent people from moving away to other areas. It has also helped farming continue in the Pescia Valley.
A 2016 study found that the PGI certification for the Sorana bean has "supported the survival of agriculture in this area." It has also "revitalized the marginalized territory of the Sorana valley." This means it has helped make other local products, like extra-virgin olive oil, more popular. It has also encouraged rural tourism, with restaurants offering special bean menus and farm-stay vacations.
Awards and Recognition
The Sorana bean was recognized for its great quality as early as the early 1800s. In 1994, food writer Paolini called it "the undisputed king of beans." In 2002, it received PGI certification. It is one of the smallest farming systems in Tuscany to get this special award. Several other Italian beans, like Fagioli Bianchi di Rotonda and Fagiolo Cannellino di Atina, have also been certified.
Slow Food includes the Sorana bean in their Ark of Taste. This is a list of traditional foods that are in danger of disappearing. The Sorana bean is one of six Tuscan beans on this list. Others include the Lucca red bean and the Pratomagno Zolfino bean.
The New York Times called it "perhaps the most prized bean in the land of the so-called mangiafagioli (bean eaters)." They compared it to "the most sought-after grape in Burgundy." Saveur magazine called the Sorana "legendary." The Food and Wine Lover's Companion to Tuscany said they were the best and most famous beans from an area known for its beans.
The famous composer Gioachino Rossini once asked for "a few kilos of those precious beans" as payment from Giovanni Pacini for fixing one of Pacini's music scores. Pacini was from a Tuscan family and lived in Pescia for much of his life.
Marcella Hazan, a well-known cookbook author, called the Sorana "the most precious bean grown in Italy."
In 2019, the Sorana bean was one of 24 PGI products chosen to be shown at the European Parliament elections.
