Custom Search

State Symbols

US State Symbols

Official state symbols represent the cultural heritage and natural treasures of each state or the entire United States

Massachusetts Symbols

Massachusetts Greeting

Massachusetts Symbols

Beans, Berry, Beverage, Bird, Building & Monument Stone, Cat, Ceremonial March, Children's Author and Illustrator, Children's Book, Citizenry, Cookie, Dessert, Dog, Donut, Explorer Rock, Fish, Flag, Flower or Floral Emblem, Folk Dance, Folk Hero, Folk Song, Fossil, Fruit, Game Bird, Gem, Glee Club Song, Heroine, Historical Rock, Horse, Insect, Marine Mammal, Mineral, Motto, Muffin, Nicknames, Ode of the Commonwealth, Patriotic Song, Poem, Polka, Rock, Seal, Shell, Soil, Song, Tree, Veterans of Southwest, Asia War Monument, Vietnam War Memorial

Massachusetts State Beans

Baked Navy Bean

Adopted in 1993.

Cultivated plants and the colloquial names for them change over the centuries, but in 1993 the legislature finally determined that the Navy Bean had been the original bean in the famous and venerable Boston Baked Bean recipe and was adopted as the Massachusetts State Bean.

This small white legume, also known as Yankee bean, gets its name from the fact that the US Navy has served it as a staple since the mid-1800s. The navy bean is widely used for commercially canned pork and beans. It also makes wonderful soups and is often used in the preparation of Boston baked beans (though New Englanders prefer using the smaller pea bean for this purpose). Navy beans require lengthy, slow cooking.

Like its fellow white beans, Great Northern and cannellini, the navy bean comes from Europe. Its distinction is that it is the runt of the litter—it's about the size of a pea. However, with over five billion pounds grown in the United States each year, the navy bean is a major contender in the bean world, and except for the pinto tops most beans in popularity.

Massachusetts Legislature
CHAPTER 2. ARMS, GREAT SEAL AND OTHER EMBLEMS OF THE COMMONWEALTH

Section 38 Bean of commonwealth
Section 38. The baked navy bean shall be the official bean of the commonwealth.

Boston Baked Beans Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups Navy Beans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup bean liquid
1 teaspoon salt

Clean and rinse the beans. Bring the beans to a boil in 6 cups of water, then simmer for 2 hours. Drain the liquid into another container. Now get a 4 quart casserole dish. Mix together the beans, brown sugar, molasses, liquid and salt and then spread evenly into the casserole dish.

Bake at 350F for 1 hour.

Online High Schools

State Symbols

State Map: Symbols

State symbols represent things that are special to a particular state.

symbol \ˈsim-bəl\
noun

Etymology:
in sense 1, from Late Latin symbolum, from Late Greek symbolon, from Greek, token, sign; in other senses from Latin symbolum token, sign, symbol, from Greek symbolon, literally, token of identity verified by comparing its other half, from symballein to throw together, compare, from syn- + ballein to throw — more at devil
Date: 15th century

1: Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.

Custom Search