Marrow beans are my favorite bean variety, especially for bean soup. They’re getting harder to find every year though.

I make a lot of dishes with dried beans, including ones baked in a sauce with nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice that my grandmother called "Farm Boy Beans" because it was the family recipe of an old boyfriend.

For canned prepared beans, Bush with onions is my choice. I remember first tasting Bush brand beans in Florida and thought they were great compared to Campbell’s, which was the dominant brand in PA at the time. I wrote to the company to ask if and when they were expanding into the Northeast (within 2 years was their answer) and I was delighted when they did.

The Ritz BBQ in Allentown PA makes the best "from scratch" baked beans. You can see them in this picture from a visit there.