RFID
Name / Scientific name
002
Phaseolus vulgaris
This climbing legume is a fundamental food staple in Mexico which has long been grown as part of the milpa: a shared agricultural system based on maize, beans, and squash.
Frijol grows as a vine or low plant, with delicate leaves and small flowers that give way to narrow pods filled with seeds. In the traditional milpa, the bean often climbs the maize stalk for support, intimately linking the two plants in a natural, practical partnership.
Mexico hosts a diversity of common beans, with many native varieties that are adapted to specific regions and climate conditions. These beans come in very different sizes, colors, and textures: black, brown, red, speckled. Each type is selected for particular soils, climates, and ways of cooking. As a legume, frijol enriches the soil by fixing nitrogen, a key component in sustaining growing plots and fields over time.
The pods are picked when full, the beans dried, and later simmered until tender. They accompany most meals or are eaten plainly as the main dish, scooped up with corn tortillas in simple, quiet nourishment.
Common bean, dry bean
In Tonahuixtla, where most of the land is communally owned and labored as ejidos, frijol is an essential food source a part of daily life and home.
Vendor at her Bean stand,
Mexico 1900s
Mexico 1900s