Traditions & customs - The Global Bean Project

Behind the Seeds: Fagiolo di Sorana with Sara (Italy)

2025-05-052024-01-30 by Global Bean

In the latest episode of our Behind the Seeds series, we meet Sara from the Buggiano region of Tuscany. She shows us Fagiolo di Sorana, a very delicate bean with a thin skin. It’s traditionally cooked in a carafe and must be cooked slowly in soft water to preserve its structural integrity.

Slow Beans Smilyan Meetup

2025-05-052023-10-05 by Robert Hattaway

Back in June, Lisa from The Global Bean Project headed to Smilyan in southern Bulgaria to attend a Slow Beans network meeting hosted by Rhodopi-Smilyan Beans Convivium. The village of Smilyan is nestled deep in the Rhodope Mountains close to the Greek border. 820-850 meters above sea level and bisected by the swift-flowing Arda River,

2025-05-052023-05-25 by Global Bean

For our 10th episode of “Behind the Seeds,” we spoke with Omar Rodriguez at Terra Madre, last year’s Slow Food Congress in Turin. He is from Honduras and works as a coffee producer. Besides coffee, he is also passionate about beans! As he explained, in Honduras corn and beans are staple foods with black and red beans being the most commonly used varieties.

2025-05-052023-03-23 by Living Seeds Sementes Vivas

Peter wakes up one morning and decides to skip school to work in his garden. He loves being in the garden, talking to plants and learning from them. He plants pea seeds and communicates with them, learning about their ability to loosen soil and release nutrients. The garden makes Peter feel peaceful and happy, unlike the noisy streets.

2023-03-19 by Grégoire Duffal

My name is Mara Welton, I am the Director of Programs for Slow Food USA, and my job is to oversee all of the programming across the nation. We are a national office under the whole Slow Food International umbrella.

Behind the Seeds: Harira Recipe with Maali Atila Sarih (Morocco)

2025-05-052023-03-06 by Kritika Chouhan

In this 9th “Behind the Seeds” episode, we interviewed Maali Atila Sarih from south of Morocco at Terra Madre, Slow Food’s convention in Turin last September. Maali was born in Italy but her roots are Moroccan. Her mother is Arabic, so she talks about the culturally important dish -Harira.

2025-05-052023-02-22 by Zutini

Have you ever made pea balls? Good old Latvian dishes are good ideas for eating peas in a tastier way. It is very important for Latvians to honor the traditions. As Latvians live according to the Solar calendar, every holiday in the year has an important ritual meaning. Just like the food that is brought

2023-02-19 by Grégoire Duffal

As part of the 8th ‘Behind the Seeds’ interviews at Terra Madre, Slow Food’s convention in Turin last September, we interviewed Lucas Mourão from Belo Horizonte in Brazil. Lucas is the coordinator of Slow Food local community in his city, and works for Jaca Verde PANC, where he gives courses, guided tours, landscaping and consultancy on non-conventional food plants. Lucas is always looking for people that work with biodiversity!

2023-02-12 by Grégoire Duffal

As part of the 7th ‘Behind the Seeds’ interview at Terra Madre, Slow Food’s convention in Turin last September, we interviewed Simone Nabil, who is originally from Egypt but lives in France. In Egypt, Simone explains that they eat a lot of beans, and that they are an important part of the country’s traditional food.

2025-05-052023-02-04 by Global Bean

Setsubun literally means the “separation of the seasons” and is a Japanese festival that bids farewell to winter and celebrates the beginning of spring. It traditionally takes place on 3 February and marks the turn of the seasons according to the old lunar calendar in Japan.

2023-01-25 by Grégoire Duffal

In this 6th “Behind the seeds” interview in “Terra Madre”, the international Slow Food convention in Torino, we interviewed Ramon Uy Junior, originally from the Negros Islands in the Philippines. Ramon works with five SlowFood communities in the central Philippines, as well as with about 1.000 organic farmers in his province.

2025-05-052023-01-13 by Zutini

Big Grey peas with bacon are a “must have” on Latvians Christmas table. When you ask a Latvian “What is the national dish of your country?”, Big grey peas with bacon is usually the first thing that comes up. Peas with bacon are both the food with which we identify ourselves as a nation, and

Behind the Seeds: Fagiolo di Sorana with Sara (Italy)

Slow Beans Smilyan Meetup

Behind the Seeds: Red and Black Beans with Omar Rodriguez (Honduras)

Bean Story: Peas Are in Peace, Take a Piece

Meet the Global Bean Partners: Mara Welton

Behind the Seeds: Harira Recipe with Maali Atila Sarih (Morocco)

Pea balls – let’s give peas a tasty second chance!

Behind the Seeds: Promoting Biodiversity through Education with Lucas Mourão (Brazil)

Behind the Seeds: Fava Bean Customs in Egypt with Simone Nabil (Egypt)

Celebrate Setsubun! – Welcome the spring with roasted soybeans

Behind the Seeds: Kadios Pigeon Pea and Local Food System with Ramon Uy Junior (Philippines)

Big grey peas in Latvian national Christmas dish