Cherokee Trai of Tears Pole Bean

[Satchel]

I have grown so many of these that they have gone past the green bean stage to having lovely black beans inside. Can I eat these, and if so how do I cook them?

Thanks

Satchel

[petal]

me too, these really are a must have bean, firstly I am going to keep some seeds for planting net spring, and some to dry for stews(soak overnight) in winter.

[dinah gale]

I have to try them! Do all the seed companies sell them, do you know, or shall I have to go to a particular company?

[Satchel]

I bought mine from realseeds.co.uk. Try their mini white cucumbers too.

[Flummery]

You can eat them now as shelly beans - shell them out and boil till done. However, you can also leave them on the plant for dried beans. They then need soaking overnight and take longer to cook (probably about an hour - but they store very well and you can sow some for next year. This bean was new to me this year - got mine the the Heritage Seed Library - but I'm going to grow them again. Gorgeous!

[dinah gale]

Thank you. I'll get on to that.

I grow Borlotto beans and they're really good dried so this is another one to add to the repertoire.

[CarolineW]

Sounds like I need to get onto the seed swap forum and see if anyone has any spare that I could swap for :-)

[Stacey Steve]

I was told when I was young (heavens that was some time ago) that dried Kidney Beans have to boiled for quite a time as they contain a poison that breaks down in the hot water.

Is this the same with other dried beans?

[Flummery]

Yes, it' best to give a good rolling boil for about 10 minutes to any dried bean - to be sure.

[Hilary B]

I always 'safety boil' dried beans in the pressure cooker (10 mins at pressure) at the START of the soaking process. They 'soak' faster after the boiling (2 hours instead of 6, for the ones I tried). I usually soak them in the water they were cooked in, but discard it and start with fresh when making the chilli (the usual reason for using them). Not what the books suggest, but it seems to work for me.
Not sure which beans NEED the treatment, so safest to do it with all of them.....