Haricot Tarbais

Haricot tarbais is a white bean of the species Phaseolus vulgaris, grown as a pole bean and sold fresh in the pod, dried, or deep-frozen. The specification requires multiplication, cultivation, harvesting, drying, and sorting within a defined geographical area spanning four departments of south-west France, and sets minimum physical standards for both fresh and dried product.

About this designation

Registered as a PGI under file number PGI-FR-0080, with EU protection dating from 21 August 1999 and eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013294, Haricot tarbais is produced within a geographical area covering named municipalities in the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and Haute-Garonne. The protected name applies to a white bean derived from a pole bean of the species Phaseolus vulgaris. All steps from seed multiplication through cultivation, harvest, drying, and sorting must take place within that area. Fresh product is sold in the pod; the specification requires that at least 90 % of a batch consist of pods of at least 10 cm containing at least three grains, of a pale yellowish green colour, sometimes lightly dappled with violet when ripe. Dried product must have at least 90 % of grains in a batch measuring a minimum of 1.5 cm, of a white to cream colour, kidney-shaped, with a minimum moisture content of 12 %; shrivelled or broken grains must not represent more than 6 % of the weight of a package. Packaging rules are mandatory: fresh product must be in tamper-resistant, air-permeable packaging to prevent fermentation; dried product must be hermetically sealed and tamper-resistant, and packaging in nets is prohibited; deep-frozen product must likewise be hermetically sealed and tamper-resistant. A standard amendment approved on 10 October 2025 updated the single document under reference PGI-FR-0080-AM01.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PGI on 21 August 1999 under file number PGI-FR-0080; eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013294.
• All steps — seed multiplication, cultivation, harvest, drying, and sorting — must take place within the defined geographical area.
• Packaging dried Haricot tarbais in nets is expressly prohibited by the specification.
• At least 90 % of dried grains in each batch must measure a minimum of 1.5 cm, and shrivelled or broken grains must not exceed 6 % of package weight.

Tasting notes

Tarbais kidney bean IGP from Hautes-Pyrénées. Large white-cream kidney bean with very thin skin, creamy buttery texture when cooked, mild sweet flavor — the canonical cassoulet bean.

HoReCa use

Haricot tarbais is associated with cassoulet de Castelnaudary and with Pyrenean preparations, and is used alongside confit de canard.

Packaging

• vacuum-pack-dried-500g
• vacuum-pack-dried-1kg
• gift-pack-500g
• professional-bulk-5kg
• jar-cooked-500g