Pinto bean, Mexican strawberry, rattlesnake bean, Appaloosa bean is closely related to but slightly smaller than the kidney bean and has a squarish-oval shape.
The background is a light buff colour with a freckled pinkish-brown pattern on top. It has a mealy texture and a full-bodied, earthy flavour.
The rattlesnake bean is a fairly new hybrid and so named because of its markings on the pod
and on the bean.
The Appaloosa
is also a relative and a new hybrid that comes from eastern Washington State and northern Idaho in the US.
This particular region, known as the Palouse, has the largest number of bean, pea, and lentil growers in the US. It is also the region that gave the speckled horse its Appaloosa name.
The pinto bean, however, is native to South America and is from a highly hybridized crop with a long list of heirloom beans.
