A variety of common bean with glossy crow black skin and creamy inside, black "turtle" beans hold their shape when cooked with a delicate texture and nutty flavour. You won't find better than these black beans grown by Jérémy and Jonathan Desforges at the Ferme des 3 Rois in the Beauce region of central France.

Growing any beans other than fava is very difficult to do in the UK. Over the years we've worked with small growers to offer occasional small quantities of different Phaseolus bean varieties. But they sell out immediately and we've left many bean lovers disappointed.

We're excited to now be working with the Desforges brothers to bring some of their superb organic beans across the Channel, less of a journey than some of our Scottish organic fava have to travel! The Ferme des 3 Rois was converted by Jérémy and Jonathan to organic production and diverse cropping in 2020.

Black "turtle" beans are a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris or common bean that's very popular in the Americas, where the species originated. The beans are now popular around the world and known as karuppu kaaramani in Tamil, frijoles negros in Spanish and feijão preto in Portuguese

Cooking instructions

Soak the beans for 6 hours. Cover with water or stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the beans are soft. Add more water if needed. The cooking water will take on a dark black colour and is full of flavour - save it for stock, broths and soups.