Cannellini beans

[CarolineSonning]

Hi there,
I've planted some Cannellini beans and they have podded up nicely but I wasn't sure if I should be picking them when the pods are still green or should I be waiting till they start to yellow?
Any help would be appreciated.

[smallblueplanet]

You can eat the beans fresh, ie before the bean is dried out, so I guess you can shell them anytime they're big enough?

[CarolineSonning]

Thanks smallplueplanet, that was what I thought.

Do you know if they have to be cooked or can they be eaten raw? Also I don't suppose you know of the best way of drying them do you?

[smallblueplanet]

I'm sure you have to cook them for 15-20 mins (just asked OH what we do with our fresh haricot), but I'm not certain whether they need the 'hard boil' for 10 mins that you give to 'kidney' bean types for toxicity reasons. They're normally allowed to dry in the pod on the plant and shelled after. When we get lots of 'haricot'/shelly beans we prefer to pick them before they dry out and freeze them. I think the taste is far superior to dried beans.

[CarolineSonning]

Great - many thanks.