Drying Borlotti Beans.

[rustylady]

So, if dried, i soak, boil (For 10 mins followed by a long simmer?), rinse cool and then freeze.... Can I then defrost a handful and eat cold as in throw them in a wrap or a salad?
That's a yes, right? Because I killed the toxins in the boiling.

Correct ..............

[Chuffedas]

Oh wow,
I am ecstatic.
(I am also a little disappointed that I didnt realise this before)
I love beans.
I also didnt realise you dont have to cook the beans out of the tin before today.
(Just never really thought about it)
Right, I REALLY need to plan more space for beans.......
Had a pretty good crop this year but I NEED a massive glut next year......

Oh, sorry, another question.... you know we need to cook the beans to kill the toxins?
Is that right from the very start with the young beans before they have become beans?
Can we use them in salads or do we always need to cook them?

[rustylady]

Oh, sorry, another question.... you know we need to cook the beans to kill the toxins?
Is that right from the very start with the young beans before they have become beans?
Can we use them in salads or do we always need to cook them?

I take it you mean when you use the beans (whole pods, like french or runner beans). If so, I still cook them briefly as they contain a small amount of toxin.

You can stir fry them as a change from boiling or steaming.

[Two_Sheds]

... the young beans before they have become beans?

you mean "green beans" (the young pods, before the seeds inside have grown at all)

I still cook them briefly as they contain a small amount of toxin.

She's right: there is a small amount of the toxin in each stage of the bean. Some people will be huffing & chuffing right now, saying they've eaten raw beans all their lives and they're OK ... you might be lucky, or you might get agonising stomach cramps, like I did, from eating raw or undercooked beans (actually, undercooked beans are more dangerous than raw). "Poisoning can be induced from as few as five raw beans"

Even raw runner beans can do you in: http://jonstraveladventures.blogspot...e-dose-of.html

Phytohaemagglutinin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Chuffedas]

Drooooolllllll thanks.

OK, I think I have this.
Right, so they are the perfect plant.
Even if you get it wrong, they dry themselves out ready for storage.

To summarise, there are three stages:

1) Eat them young as whole pods like french and runners.
Or freeze them like this.
2) When the beans have become pregnant.
Remove from pod (I assume that is now quite tough)
Boil for 10 minutes and they will be soft and yummy.
Either freeze them straight after podding them but they will need a 10 minute boil.
OR
Boil for 10 minutes and then freeze.
They can then be used straight out of the freezer as salad veg or thrown straight into
meals without thinking about them.
3) Dried.
Either let them dry on the plant, or pick them and dry them in the pods.
Then you can store them dried in a jar. (Look great)
Then you need to either soak them overnight (Or a 1 hour hot soak)
They also need a 10 minute rapid boil to kill the toxins.
Followed by a 45-60 minute simmer. (Do I need to change the water in between the boil and simmer?)

Other points:
Beans come in a variety of heights and various seasons.
There are a number of types.
They can be sown in succession.
They can be grown up stuff. (Three sisters)
They fix nitrogen. (My toms closest to them were much the best.)
They are great for you.
Can be used in an awful lot of types of meals from salads to soups to warming stews and bolognaise type meals or as the protein in their own right.
They are quite a robust plant.
Their yield per square foot is great.

BRILLIANT

[Chuffedas]

Oh, and just for completeness, if you spread them out on a baking tray
(with a layer of tin foil under them) and pop them in the freezer, they freeze individually.
Then pop them in a container and they dont freeze together.
So you can take out the amount you want.

I am soooo looking forward to next year.

[Two_Sheds]

You can also grow chickpeas, butter beans and lentils in this country

When the beans have become pregnant

brilliant! I'm totally stealing that

Remove from pod (I assume that is now quite tough)

Yes, tough & stringy. But try one, just so you know

Followed by a 45-60 minute simmer. (Do I need to change the water in between the boil and simmer?)

You should change the water, but I tend not to, unless it's gone cloudy or foamy

They fix nitrogen.

but only for themselves. Legumes fix nitrogen in their root nodules, but it is used for pod production. They don't give it away free to other plants.

If you want to use legumes to create nitrogen for other plants, then you would treat them as a green manure, which means cutting them down before they flower