Polish Eagle Beans: A Pulse Beating Like a Warm Heart Across Continents 26 January 2021 Nata Paszkowska
Beans can link not only countries, but also continents, as is the case with with these Ark of Taste pulses from Poland; their social pulse links Poland and Brazil, with Latvia and Italy also taking playing a part in this bean music.
The name of the bean variety Polska Fasola z Orzełkiem (PFO) literally means “Polish bean with eagle” and comes from the dark red stains on the seeds (see photo 1). A century and a half ago, when Poland was being split by three empires, Polish peasants grew it as a sign of patriotism. They saw the Polish coat of arms, a crowned eagle, in the bean’s markings, and risked jail to secretly grow the variety. At the time, Poland did not exist as a sovereign state, due to partitioning by the Habsburg Monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire, but the bean offered a way for peasants to show their patriotism, and it enraged the invade