Beans & Corn: A Complimentary Pair from Cultivation to Consumption
The Traditional Combination of Beans and Corn in Eastern Native Gardens and Dishes
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“The kinds of food which the [Natives] like best, and which they make most effort to obtain, are the Indian corn, the kidney-bean, and the squash. If they are without these, they think they are fasting, no matter what abundance of meat and fish they have in their stores.” -Nicolas Perrot
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Beans & Corn… In the Garden:
The Three Sisters gardening" is common title used to define the Native farming technique of planting a combination of corn, squash, and beans in the same space (as opposed to the practice of monoculture). Three Sisters farming is often thought of as very ancient among Eastern communities, however beans are quite late to the polyculture party. Squash is the “oldest Sister” by far,... Pepo squash/gourd varieties being grown in some areas east of the Mississippi 5,000 years ago. The “middle Sister” Corn arrives later, but before 500AD (as evident in some sites in Tennessee and Ohio)… however she isn’t fully adopted among most horticultural Eastern communities (who were already busy farming squash, goosefoot, marsh elder and others) until about 1,000AD. Then “youngest sister” Beans enters the picture, and only after 1300AD had most Eastern communities created and perfected the Three Sisters growing technique. It’s at this point Beans are forever linked, particularly to “middle sister” Corn…
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On the surface alone, the benefits of growing these three crops together was (and still is) obvious. Semi-climbing beans found the corn stalks to be sufficient support, while bush beans shaded the base of the corn roots, keeping moisture in the soil where it was needed. Squash did the same only over greater distance; the plants vines crawled between the corn mounds, presenting their large, wide leaves to the sun. This not only stopped the hot sun from scorching the earth and stealing moisture, it also discouraged weeds from taking hold. It is said that Native farmers only needed to hoe their gardens up to two or three times in the early summer, thanks to the ground coverage of beans and squash. Semi-climbing beans also made a latticework between the four to six corn plants sown in each mound. The bean web worked to strengthen the corn against the damaging effects of strong winds and heavy rains that could bend any vulnerable stalks. Corn cannot prosper without human intervention, and part of that intervention may have included methods of supporting weak stalks with bean vines.
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The codependent nature of beans and corn did not stop aboveground. Corn needed lots of nitrogen, an element vital to plant cell growth. Beans (legumes) "trapped" nitrogen due to the type of bacteria they host in their roots. When the nitrogen loaded bacteria died, it released its nitrogen into the soil. This is referred to as "nitrogen fixation" - fixation defines the process in which soil bacteria converts atmospheric nitrogen into a stable and biologically usable form. Corn, notorious for draining garden soil of nitrogen, was fed annually a renewing source nitrogen created by bacteria. Combining corn and bean plants extended the life of Native cornfields by not draining the soil of nutrients with the same intensity as monoculture.
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*NOTE: "The Three Sisters" is now a casually employed title used to define the widespread polyculture practices of Indigenous farming in Eastern North America... However the origin of "the Three Sisters" or "The/Our Sustainers" - these otherworldly female protective beings - is historically part of a belief system originating among Haudenosaunee and neighboring communities. While other Nations did plant corn, squash, and beans in a complimentary practice, they often didn't recognize the Three Sisters in their histories/belief systems the same as the Haudenosaunee did (as protective spirits, not just a practical farming practice). Other Nations had different belief systems,... many other Eastern communities recognized the spirit of corn as Mother (First Mother, Corn Mother, etc.). For example, "Selu" is both corn (the grain) and Corn Mother (the origin of corn, the deity, the spirit) to the Cherokee Peoples. Whether "the Three Sisters" or "Corn Mother," these titles/entities truly encompassed and defined origin, practice, and beliefs of both the natural and the supernatural realms.
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Beans & Corn… In the Cooking Pot:Combining beans and corn also continued after the growing season… corn and bean dishes were (and still are) extremely popular. In fact one may be hard-pressed to find bean dishes without corn ingredients, though they existed… Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) bean dishes included bean soup seasoned with maple sugar, mashed boiled beans, bean pudding (made of ground up dry beans, soaked and cooked soft, with meat added), beans and squash (cooked beans in the pod served in the shell of boiled squash), and green beans shallow-fried in sunflower oil or bear grease. Native cooks also parched dry beans (as was common practice with corn), likely to rid the beans of any bugs and larva before storage, but also to render a pleasant roasted flavor to the dish they were later cooked in. It’s likely the famous dish of “New England baked beans” was highly influenced by Northeastern Native cuisine. However bean-corn dish combinations seem to dominate bean cuisine, starting with breads…------------------Soft whole beans were baked in cornbreads, such being referred to as “bean bread.” The Cherokee are probably most famous for bean bread, but their Iroquoian cousins to the north, the Haudenosaunee, also have a version of bean bread. A Kickapoo leaf bread includes beans, and the Choctaw call their leaf-bean bread "banaha." Some Native traditions also use dry bean meal in cornbreads. Bean bread is particularly still popular, served at some Indigenous celebrations/gatherings. -----------------Combining whole kernel corn (or treated corn aka hominy) and beans made a dish referred to as succotash, a Native plural meaning "cooked whole grains." Often meat or squash was added to this combination, rendering a pleasant flavor (many still make Three Sisters stew or succotash). While the flavor combination seems natural, the combination of corn and beans offers more than good flavor... The nutritional value of corn and beans are boosted when consumed together, as together they formed a "complete protein." A complete protein is a protein that contains all of the essential amino acids. Complete proteins are found naturally in meats and few plant sources, making the combination of corn and beans crucial in communities that sustained themselves on largely corn-based diets, including a number of Native communities in the Eastern Woodlands.
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Sources:
-"Indian New England Before the Mayflower" by Howard S. Russell
-"Nitrogen Fixation by Legumes" by W.C. Lindemann, Soil Microbiologist, and C.R. Glover, Extension Agronomist. New Mexico State University, College of Agriculture and Home Economics
-"Parker on the Iroquois" by Arthur C. Parker
-"Plants From the Past" by Leonard W. Blake and Hugh C. Cutler
-"Societies in Eclipse: Archaeology of the Eastern Woodlands Indians, A.D. 1400-1700
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Originally published (with Yahoo!Voices) in 2011, Revised in 2019. To cite this article:
Diemer-Eaton, Jessica. (Revised 2019). Hominy: An Original Native American Dish. Retrieved from http://www.woodlandindianedu.com/hominy.html
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