Author Topic: saving runner beans  (Read 2482 times)

brownthumb2

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saving runner beans
« on: October 08, 2017, 10:05:51 »
Due to gut of beans my freezers over flowing  Where previously I've left the beans on the vines to dry for next years sowing this year I've plenty to dry for cooking in various recipes  chillie etc  Do i leave them on the vines to dry for eating Is this  necessary  or can I pick and dry in side

Plot 18

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Re: saving runner beans
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2017, 10:47:12 »
I looked at the weather forecast t'other day and saw all the wet weather on its way - so picked all the beans left on the plants.

I dry them on  large trays on the sideboard in the dining room, the pods soon go crisp, brown and curly. ;)

johhnyco15

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Re: saving runner beans
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2017, 18:11:25 »
mine are all podded and put into small envelopes i sell them at rent taking time all the  money goes to the allotment xmas party i sell beans ,chilis,peppers,pumpkin,tomato and butternut seeds for £1 a packet we have 100 plots so  if everyone just buys one or two its a good start to the whip money  oh and for anyone who is around clacton-on-sea its at the plough north rd grt clacton 4pm sat 2nd dec 2017 bar snacks provided merry xmas everyone
johhnyc015  may the plot be with you

Vinlander

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Re: saving runner beans
« Reply #3 on: October 09, 2017, 12:51:25 »
Due to gut of beans my freezers over flowing  Where previously I've left the beans on the vines to dry for next years sowing this year I've plenty to dry for cooking in various recipes  chillie etc  Do i leave them on the vines to dry for eating Is this  necessary  or can I pick and dry in side

Obviously if you leave them on the plant they will get bigger up to the point where the pod shrivels - what isn't so certain (to me) is whether they get bigger inside lumpy green pods if you remove the pods (by taking the energy directly from the pods).

Two things I can say:
1) if they get frosted on the plant before they are bone dry it is a disaster, and even without actual frost a few pods will rot in the cold & wet - slightly more losses than if you take them off and dry them carefully (well spread out) indoors.
2) beans from freshly picked lumpy green pods taste a lot better in bean dishes than dried ones; and if you have space to freeze some (blanching is unnecessary) they are still that little bit more of a treat than dried ones.

Cheers.

PS. IMHO white seeded (white flowered) runners'  beans look so much better cooked that they actually appear to taste better - I don't know if there is any basis in fact - it just happens. I could blindfold myself to find out but it suits me to just go along with it (and red flower bean flowers get attacked in my garden anyway so I've got into the habit of buying & saving white ones).
« Last Edit: October 09, 2017, 12:59:16 by Vinlander »
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

Digeroo

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Re: saving runner beans
« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2017, 18:16:47 »
Pods will dry on the radiator. 

I agree with Vinlander best to remove them before they get frosted.  I also agree about fresh podded beans ie eaten like broad beans.  They are a real treat.  Like soy beans but better.

Do not remove the beans from the pods until they are well dry as they tend to rot.   I do believe that they take nutrients from the pod. 

Paulines7

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Re: saving runner beans
« Reply #5 on: October 11, 2017, 11:10:56 »
I have some French beans that are too fat to eat.  If I take the beans out and use them in soups and casseroles, do I have to soak them overnight first?  I don't want to poison the family!

Plot 18

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Re: saving runner beans
« Reply #6 on: October 11, 2017, 11:40:08 »
They only need soaking if they have dried out.
Do make sure to bring water up to a good boil first, though, before reducing to a simmer til cooked. This destroys any possible toxins if they are black-seeded beans.

Vinlander

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Re: saving runner beans
« Reply #7 on: October 11, 2017, 14:29:27 »
I have some French beans that are too fat to eat.  If I take the beans out and use them in soups and casseroles, do I have to soak them overnight first?  I don't want to poison the family!

The difference between kidney beans and homegrown types (french/runner/broad) is massive - you can check this online on Wiki or other proper sources who quote actual levels. There's a lot of scaremongering ont' web since health & safety went so far beyond common sense it's out of sight (why does the human race have such an aversion to the happy medium? why to we have to go full-speed from one extreme to the other on everything?).

On my plot I have eaten about 10 - 15 raw in one day with no ill-effects at all, but only on a few days in each season - when I'm peckish and a few lumpy pods turn up and aren't worth taking home.

Fresh beans apparently have less toxin anyway, and dried ones have to be soaked first - I can't think why anybody would put them straight into a stew - they would take so long to cook (if ever)

I just make sure french and runners go into the stew/cassoulet before it's simmered (I never try to cook stews faster than 45minutes - they just don't meld).

I would pre-cook kidney beans though, and any other types (pinto, turtle etc.) that I haven't looked up.

If I was a vegan I'd need to be more careful - mainly because the ill effects could creep up if you have few other sources of protein. No risk of that! I try to minimise activities where you have to be perpetually careful as well as smart.  Dunvegan is a nice place to be... Can you be a MacVegan? (a load of veg plus one mackerel a week is no-brainer healthy and just as sustainable).

Cheers.
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

 

anything
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