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While Peter no longer works for Food52 he still thinks up ways to make the website better.
added about 2 years agoI'm no expert on it, but I'm 90% sure the beans have that name only because of the color of the beans -- no genetic relationship or flavor connection at all!
Cranberry beans may be known by several names. In Italy they are called borlotti, and New Englanders may refer to them as shell beans. Every now and again they pick up other names like French horticultural beans. These beans get their name from their varicolored appearance. They are usually white or cream in color with deep red or cranberry marks that are distributed in different patterns on the bean. In the US, cranberry beans are a fall crop. o relation to cranberries for Thanksgiving etc.
none... Cranberry beans hail from the same family as kidney beans, they have a variegated pattern on them in a deep red cranberry color, hence the name.
Cranberries are a deep crimson colored tart, crunchy berry like fruit that grow in a marsh bog environment in the north east USA..