Cranberry Bean

The cranberry bean, also called the borlotti bean, Roman bean or rosecoco bean, is a variety of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, first bred in Colombia. Raw cranberry beans are medium to large and tan or hazelnut colored, marked with distinctive red, magenta or black speckling that fades to a more uniform darker color once cooked. A thicker-skinned strain bred in Italy, the borlotti bean, is especially prominent in Italian, Portuguese, Turkish and Greek cooking, where the beans are used in soups, stews and salads.