Turtle Beans

The small, shiny black turtle bean is especially popular in Latin American cuisine. It is often called simply the black bean (frijol negro in Spanish, feijao preto in Portuguese), although this can cause confusion with other black beans. The black turtle bean has a dense, meaty texture and flavour reminiscent of mushrooms, which makes it popular in vegetarian dishes such as the Mexican-American black bean burrito. It is a very popular bean in various regions of Brazil, and is used in the national dish, feijoada. It is also a principal ingredient of Platillo Moros y Cristianos in Cuba, is a must-have in the typical gallo pinto of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, is a fundamental part of Pabellón Criollo in Venezuela, and is served in almost all of Latin America as well as many Hispanic enclaves in the United States. The black turtle bean is also very popular for making into soups which are best eaten with Cuban crackers. Black turtle beans have recently been reported to be an extremely good source of nutritional antioxidants.