Topic: beans....are they edible?

[flowergirl]

I have far too many runner beans and was wondering can I eat the actual bean when it reaches maturity? I will save some for planting next year but wondered if I could throw them in a chilli? Is there any special preparation I should do? Any advice much appreciated.

FG x

[jennym]

I eat a lot of these, both sraight from the pod boiled, or frozen. They're handy to have in the freezer. I sort them out a bit - if they're green and softish when I freeze them, I just add them to a dish as I would frozen peas. If they're harder and a whiteish colour, I treat them like dried butter beans or kidney beans, i.e. boil them for about 20 mins and chuck the water away before adding to a dish.

[flowergirl]

Thanks for that x......but mine are red? Scarlet emperor I think, what should I do with these  ???

[jennym]

You mean the beans inside the pod are hard and red? if so, they def need boiling for 20 mins and water chucking. They'll be green before they redden.

[flowergirl]

Sorry I didn'r clarify :-[ Yes I am talking about the inside of the pod.  I have noticed whilst cutting the "pods" that the bean inside is about the size of a baked bean and is already red...can i mature these and eat them like a kidney bean for example?

[euronerd]

As above, but I prefer to dry them to save freezer space - let them dry on the plant as far as they can this weather, then shell them and leave them in a dry place. Once dry, storage isn't critical. You can include the ones you want to plant next year in this as well. Just pull the biggest ones out and store them separately so you don't end up eating them. When you do come to eat them, just treat them like the ones you buy. And of course, the ones you plant will benefit from a soaking.

One of my favourite recipes is Boston beans - just cook them for ages in a low oven with black treacle and tomato-ey things. I can be more explicit if you're interested.

Geoff.

[flowergirl]

Thanks Geoff

Would they be the same as kidney beans?  Would I have to be careful as they can be poisonous?  What are Kidney beans anyway?  Can i grow them in Barnsley?

I ask a lot of questions I know....but I fyou don't ask you don't learn x

[euronerd]

I think names are very confusing, so if they look a bit kidney shaped I guess you can call them kidney beans lol.  There are some experts on here (I'm just an enthusiast) and there's been a few threads over the years if you have a few minutes to do a search.

From what I can gather, the toxins are produced as the beans are dried, so a rapid boil after soaking is needed to get rid of 'em, as you do with those from a packet. Fresh or frozen ones won't need this, bearing in mind what jennym said above.

If you mean Barnsley as a geographical location, I don't see why not. I'm a bit north west of there, and nearly 1.000 feet up. But I wouldn't grow them in Barnsley myself because it's 40 miles away  ;D

[growmore]

Kidney beans/french beans are a bush type bean .They dont climb like runners.
They are usually a lot smaller seed..They will grow ok in Barnsley ..
In fact there's very few things if any that they can grow in London that we can't grow in South Yorks ..We just set em a week or 2 later .. :)

[djbrenton]

There are a number of gardeners who grow red kidney beans on our site. They simply sew three or four beans together (shop bought dried beans invariably)  in between sweet corn. I grew some once and got a fine crop.

[Amazin]

In fact there's very few things if any that they can grow in London that we can't grow in South Yorks

Couldn't agree more, it's basically just a timing difference rather than - oh sorry, must dash - the darn squirrels are after the coconuts again.

 ;D

[Bean_Queen]

Yes, they are edible, but boil them well. "Before they are eaten, raw bean seeds should be boiled for at least 10 mins to degrade a toxic compound - the lectin phytohaemagglutinin - found in the bean which would otherwise cause severe gastric upset. This compound is present in many varieties (and in some other species of bean), but is especially concentrated in red kidney beans" http://www.leighcourtfarm.org.uk/page6/page19/page19.html

I've poisoned myself with raw beans, it's not at all pleasant.

[twinkletoes]

Euronerd - I'd be interested in your recipe - will you want to post it on the Recipe board please?   :-*
twinkletoes

[euronerd]

twinkletoes it's on there now.

Geoff.