ying yang beans

[hawthorns]

just harvested my ying yang beans and i want to freeze them. should they be boiled 1st or can they go straight in the freezer

[planetologist]

Why not dry them? Much more energy efficient. Or if you have a pressure cooker, put them in a jar with a metal lid (like a jam jar), screw on the lid, and cook at pressure for 20 minutes. Leave the pressure cooker to cool down in it's own good time. If the metal lid is sucked down the beans will keep for more than a year, if not eat within about a week.

[Glutton4...]

Awwwww Ying Yang Beeeeeeeenz - I haven't planted mine - I still sit and play with them!

I need therapy!

[zazen999]

I dry all mine. The about once a month, soak enough for 4 meals overnight, boil until ready, use 1/4 in a meal that night and freeze the other 3/4 in 3 portion sizes so that they can just go straight into meals. I haven't got anywhere near enough freezer space to freeze them all and they look so good all in glass jars.

[Jelliebabe]

I was thinking of buying some of these for next year...

a - How do you dry them? Just leave them on the plant or...
b - do they look like that once cooked? Or are they more bean like???

Fank Yoooo!

[SarrissUK]

Wow! They're beautiful! I'm gonna have to buy some of them, they're awesome! Isn't nature a wonderful thing lol
Marshalls sells them.. I might just need to order a pack What are they like to eat? Any beans they're similar to?

[shona_b]

I've grown these for the first time this year and whether it was just a bad year or I had too high hopes I thought the yeild was tiny. They are very pretty though. I left them as long as I could on the plants (but as they are really low growers I had to be careful the snails didn't get to them first!) then laid them out on a baking tray in the kitchen until totally dry. I made the mistake of putting some in a jar too soon and they ended up all furry!!

[Two_Sheds]

They are lovely beans. I got mine from Beans and Herbs

[chris]

I got mine from a v.kind member in this thread I also have some orca which look the same too.. I've some in the pods still not quite dry (same as my firetongues), hoping they'll dry.. *wonders if they can be further dried in a dehydrator?*

[hawthorns]

any special onditions to dry them and how do they get stored after

[zazen999]

I got mine from a v.kind member in this thread I also have some oca which look the same too.. I've some in the pods still not quite dry (same as my firetongues), hoping they'll dry.. *wonders if they can be further dried in a dehydrator?*

Orca.

I dry them on the plant, then in the pod in a tray and if the weather turns dank I pop them in the airing cupboard just to finish them off. A week or so should do it; the sound of the beans changes pitch when they are completely dry.

Pop them into a glass jar or paper envelopes to store. Glass jar for eating over winter, and paper envelopes for sowing next spring.

[chris]

That's what I said!

edit: I blame the old keyboard

[Glutton4...]

Sorry, when I read Orca, I laughed - G&T up the nose is painful!

[chris]

Infact... I've just checked and I have "yin yan" too, which look slightly different.

Infact........ I think I got those orcas from you as well zaz

[zazen999]

One is dwarf and one a climber....but yes they are pretty similar.