Can there really be a big difference in the quality of beans? Taste this wonderful line of dried beans produced near Naples, and I'm sure you'll agree with me that the supermarket beans don't stand a chance.

The Fagioli Cannellini are that rare thing, true Italian cannellini beans. Most "cannellini" beans in the U.S. market, even in fancy stores, are American or Canadian or Argentine beans. It's mostly size and texture that make the difference: These are very large, white beans, with a beautiful, creamy feel that wonderfully soaks up sauces, soups, meat juices, olive oil. Great cassoulet beans.

The Ceci Imperiali, or chick peas, stand out for their sweetness and depth of chick-pea flavor. I'm using these for the next hummus and the next falafel.

Lastly, the Lamon Beans—a large-sized variety of Borlotti beans—are filled with a wild, vegetal, essence-of-bean flavor, and are absolutely perfect for minestrone, as well as all Tuscan bean classics.

Fagioli Cannellini (# 3164) and Ceci Imperiali (# 3165)
$1.95 for a 500-gram package (a little over a pound)
Lamon Beans (# 3167)
$2.45 for a 500-gram package (a little over a pound)
Producer: Legumi di Borgo Fiorito

All of these beans cost a tiny bit more, but it's money well spent. In preparing them, by the way, I soaked them for 10 hours (8-12 hours is a good range), then cooked them in gently boiling, unsalted water for about 40 minutes. Salt the water near the conclusion of cooking.

A.G. Ferrari Foods has a fabulous Web site that makes ordering very easy. It's also fun to use. You can, for example, look at a map of Italy, click on any region, and get a list of all the products that are available from that region through A.G. Ferrari.

The address is: www.agferrari.com

Alternatively, you can order your products by calling Ferrari's toll-free phone number: 877-878-2783

Should you need any further information, you can contact the main office outside of San Francisco:

A.G. Ferrari Foods
14234 Catalina Street
San Leandro, CA 94577
510-346-2100 (tel)
510-351-2672 (fax)

For more of David's picks be sure to check out The Rosengarten Report. You can get information at www.davidrosengarten.com.

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