Six beans, a beef broth and a twist of orange zest that no other minestrone in the aisle has.

Pinto, small red, navy, great northern, orca and black beans go into this bag with split pea, carrot and celery, and the Washington grown beans are what give a 1 cup serving 9 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein before you add any meat. The seasoning is Italian in the ordinary way, thyme and parsley and italian seasoning over a beef flavor base, and then Rill Foods puts a subtle touch of orange zest through it. That is the part people write in about. It reads as brightness rather than as citrus, and it is what stops a heavy bean soup from tasting like every other heavy bean soup. Low sodium at 100 mg a serving, so you salt it where you want it. Plan ahead: the beans need a soak, and the reward is a stockpot that feeds ten.

One 12 oz bag makes 10 servings. The package front reads Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Low Sodium, Washington State Beans. Hand packed in small batches in Thorp, Washington, where the Rill family has been cooking soup since 1985.