Refried beans (from , ) is a dish of cooked and mashed

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

s that is a traditional staple of Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisines, although each cuisine has a different approach when making the dish. Refried beans are also popular in many other

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

countries. In this dish, after being boiled and then mashed into a paste, the beans are fried or baked (though they are fried only once). The English "refried beans" is a mistranslation, since the essence of "frijoles refritos" is the re''heating'' and mashing of the beans; the term "''re''fried" is misleading. As described by Rick Bayless, "they're ''refritos''—not fried ''again'', as you might assume, but 'well fried' or 'intensely fried'."

Ingredients and preparation

Northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua (state), ...

and Tex-Mex cuisine, refried beans are usually prepared with pinto beans, but many other varieties of bean are used in other parts of Mexico, such as

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, Peruano, or red kidney beans. The raw beans can be cooked when dry or soaked overnight, then stewed, drained of most of the remaining liquid, and converted into a paste with a masher (such as a potato masher), or pressed through a fine mesh sieve (to remove the skins). Some of the drained liquid, or chicken or vegetable

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, is added if the consistency is too dry. The paste is then baked or fried, usually with onion and garlic in a small amount of lard,

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...

, bacon drippings or

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

, and seasoned to taste with salt and

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s. In Mexico, lard is most often used, and this has a large effect on flavor. Epazote is a common herb used to add flavor to the dish. It is also a carminative (i.e. it reduces the intestinal gas associated with beans).

Usage

In home cooking, refried beans are often served as a

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.tortilla to form a bean burrito. In the United States, refried beans are most commonly made from pinto beans. They are served as a side dish with most Tex-Mex restaurant meals. They also have become very popular as a dip for maize tortilla chips. Refried beans are also a primary ingredient in many tostada, chimichanga, and pupusa recipes. Additionally, they are a typical ingredient in layered dips, such as seven-layer dip, or in nachos.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Refried Beans Cuisine of the Southwestern United States American legume dishes Mexican cuisine New Mexican cuisine Tex-Mex cuisine Salvadoran cuisine

Ingredients and preparation

Usage

See also

References