Sweet Lorane Fava Bean

100 days — 'Sweet Lorane' was originally bred and released sometime in the early 1990s by Steve Soloman, founder of the Territorial Seed Company.  He named it after the location of his farm in Lorane, Oregon.

While developing the variety, he selected for a lighter colored seed coat and lower tannin levels.  This made them less bitter and therefore more edible. It has a great flavor - tasting almost like chickpeas when fresh - and excellent as a dry bean cooked in soups and stews.  It can also be cooked, mashed or made into a puree and mixed with a little olive oil and garlic.  Chopped jalapeno can be added for texture and flavor.

A small-seeded fava variety, it is a great nitrogen fixer and can be used for cover cropping to improve your garden's soil, when planted in the fall. It is also a very cold hardy variety.

Over the years, the variety was not well maintained and by the 2000's, what was being sold commercially was nearly unrecognizable from the Mr. Solomon's original release.  The farmer that grows our stock, Alan Adesse, told us this, "It is true that it ('Sweet Lorane') originated with Steve Soloman. By the time I was given this in 2006, the beans were all very dark colored (with) lots of tannic acid in them. I had to start back selecting for over three generations to get rid of the dark beans. So in a way it is now my selection of this variety."  He continues to select for the lighter seed coat and taste traits.  He also happens to be an Oregon Tilth Certified Organic farmer.

Each packet contains one ounce, which is approximately 48 seeds.