Harvesting Gigantes beans

[Andraste]

It's my first time growing these. I'm thinking I'm looking for the hourglass figure of a broad bean? I don't think mine are ready yet but don't want to pick too early or too late. Any tips on how to tell when they're just right?

[Mark Rand]

No idea, but they look interesting for next year. Interwebs seem to think that waiting until they're ripe is the thing to do?

[Andraste]

Thanks Mark Rand I started off thinking wait as long as possible but someone told me they go wrinkly & disintegrate on cooking if you leave them too long? It took a few tries to explain I was growing them for the bean not the pod or for seed stock - I'm not confident they grasped that although gigantes might look and grow like runners but they aren't actually runners - so maybe runners would go wrinkly but gigantes won't....& does it matter if they do go wrinkly anyway? I' ve melted my own head lol

[Mark Rand]

I guess that the answer is to cook samples at various levels of maturity and report back, so us timid types can learn from your mistakes/learning experiences.

[ameno]

Thanks Mark Rand I started off thinking wait as long as possible but someone told me they go wrinkly & disintegrate on cooking if you leave them too long? It took a few tries to explain I was growing them for the bean not the pod or for seed stock - I'm not confident they grasped that although gigantes might look and grow like runners but they aren't actually runners - so maybe runners would go wrinkly but gigantes won't....& does it matter if they do go wrinkly anyway? I' ve melted my own head lol

Someone told you a whole load of nonsense.

Gigantes are a drying bean. They should be left on the plant until the pods and beans are dry, and the beans rattle in the pods.
Then you should shell them out, lay them out in a single layer on a tray, and leave them somewhere warm to dry even further until they are completely hard. Without this second drying they will not keep, and will go mouldy in storage. But once fully dry, they can be stored indefinitely at room temperature (unless you live in a rather damp house).

When you come to cook them, soak them overnight in cold water, then cook on a rapid boil for at least 10 minutes (this is necessary to destroy the toxin they have in them), before simmering until soft. Alternatively, the pre-soaked beans take 10 minutes in a pressure cooker at high pressure - this is sufficient to both cook them and make them safe to eat.

All runner beans can be grown as beans for drying and shelling like this, by the way (and should be prepared for cooking as outlined above, too). I grow several varieties for that purpose myself, as I find them far higher yielding than French bean varieties are.

[Nicos]

ameno …nice answer!

I was looking into this yesterday evening as I’d never heard of that variety of bean.
Turns out it’s a butter bean!
Well I never!

”I am referring to these meaty beans as simply giant white beans, as they fall under many different names. The Italians call them corona beans; the Greeks call them gigante beans. You’ll also sometimes find them labeled as butter beans. They all, in fact, stem from the good ol’ lima bean.”

from..
https://www.thekitchn.com/the-bean-t...s-meat-239351#

I really fancy growing some next year so at least I now know what to look out for!

[ameno]

ameno …nice answer!

I was looking into this yesterday evening as I’d never heard of that variety of bean.
Turns out it’s a butter bean!
Well I never!

”I am referring to these meaty beans as simply giant white beans, as they fall under many different names. The Italians call them corona beans; the Greeks call them gigante beans. You’ll also sometimes find them labeled as butter beans. They all, in fact, stem from the good ol’ lima bean.”

from..
https://www.thekitchn.com/the-bean-t...s-meat-239351#

I really fancy growing some next year so at least I now know what to look out for!

Actually, that's untrue.
Even in articles by professionals like that one they are often mistaken for butter beans (which are the dry beans of the lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus, a different species), but Greek gigantes beans (similar varieties of which are also grown in Northern Spain and Northern Italy) are actually a type of white runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus).

True butter (lima) beans grow poorly in this country. They need far more warmth than we have.
Runner beans grow well as they prefer cool, damp summers. In Greece, Spain and Italy the giant white varieties are only grown in the northern mountainous regions, as the rest of the country is too hot and dry.
The gigantes beans are also far larger than true butter beans.

[Andraste]

Thanks so much ameno - I shall leave them until they rattle as suggested (great description)

I kind of knew it was rubbish advice when it was given but the source is usually so reliable in their knowledge that it freaked me out! Hence my asking you wonderful people

I do have a damp house (1870's stone style that's never been fully dry a day since building). Would sandwiching between newspaper when on the tray for the second drying help do you think? Very, very, very low oven maybe? When 'fully dry' they can go in kilner jars so no worries there but I have to get them to that stage first.

Although I've not grown these myself before, they are supposed to be about twice the size of a butter bean Nicos & I've seen posts on other sites where people had difficulty sourcing genuine 'gigantes' seed - ending up with perfectly serviceable but much smaller beans. I trawled around the internet but wasn't confident to buy from the well known rainforest shop or fleabay - I got mine from RealSeeds.

[Nicos]

ameno …interesting to hear that - thanks!

[ameno]

If anyone wants to grow them and is having trouble sourcing seeds, Spagna Bianco is basically the same thing. Technically, they are the Italian version (named after Spain, slightly confusingly), but they are giant white runner beans all the same.

I do have a damp house (1870's stone style that's never been fully dry a day since building). Would sandwiching between newspaper when on the tray for the second drying help do you think? Very, very, very low oven maybe? When 'fully dry' they can go in kilner jars so no worries there but I have to get them to that stage first.

Sandwiching in paper would only serve to slow drying. They want to be as open to the air as possible.
A very low oven would work fine, though. In the past when I have had beans that didn't dry enough on the plant and were still rather soft when picked. I dried one lot by putting them in the oven after I had finished cooking something (oven off, but still warm inside), and another time I put them in the grill cavity while the oven was on cooking dinner, as it gets warm in there.
Bear in mind oven drying may kill the seeds, though, so you'll want to dry any that you want to save for sowing next year at room temperature.

If you have any of the silica gel desiccant sachets kicking about, chuck a couple in each jar just to make sure they stay dry.
One final tip I have on storage is keep them somewhere that will maintain a steady temperature. Even seemingly completely dry beans actually still have a moisture content of 5-10%. Normally, this is not enough to allow mould to grow so will not affect storage. However, swings between warm and cool temperatures can cause some of this water to evaporate and then condense again on the inside of the container, which then drips down onto the beans, wetting the surface of them and allowing mould to grow. This is more pronounced in glass or metal containers as they form condensation more readily than plastic ones (I actually stopped using glass jars and switched to plastic tubs for this reason).

[Andraste]

Thanks again ameno

As per your advice I won't use newspaper & will try the oven method as you described if need be. I always have silica sachets kicking around the bottom of drawers so thanks for that great tip. x

[Mark Rand]

I always have silica sachets kicking around the bottom of drawers so thanks for that great tip. x

Dry them at 105-110°C before using!

[Andraste]

I'm glad you mentioned that Mark Rand because I know I would have just chucked them in without thinking of them needing drying out (especially in our house)! x

[Plot70]

Those silica gel packs really need to be oven dried before re-use.
The seeds can go strait into a sealed container with freshly baked silica gel packs. You can tell if they are working or baking dry by weighing them.

[Andraste]

Thanks Plot70 - Does the weight drop by much do you know? I wonder if my scales would be sensitive enough - but I guess if I'm lucky enough to get a good amount I'll be able to tell (fingers crossed)