Beans in the New World

When we talk about a “bean,” we are not talking about a specific kind of bean in most cases. It’s an indefinite term, like “vegetable,” which means it may refer to many varieties of bean. The first major distinction came about during the 1500s, when the English began using the term “kidney bean” to refer to European varieties and distinguish them from the American counterparts. 

Brazil was, for a time, considered to be the original country of lima beans. Evidence on hand today seems to point to Guatemala as the origin, based on “prehistoric varieties” that have been recovered along Indian trade routes. 

One of these courses went north through Mexico and deep into the Southwestern region of what is now considered American soil. 

Lima beans are highly concentrated foods that can be stored and carried for long distances without fear of spoilage. They made for ideal food stuffs during long seafaring expeditions, like explorer and slave trading missions. The Americas were most definitely the source, with trade routes carrying the lima bean into India and Spain. 

By the 1700s, historians find written records of lima beans in almost every country on Earth. Europeans never caught onto the lima bean trend, because the plant requires heat to grow effectively. Dwarf mutations helped spawn a bush-like variety of the bean. 

The lima bean and the common bean share some of the same journeys around the world, with both ending up in the same places throughout history. Still, it’s probable that the Americas were the source of this important food.