Grow Your Own Magazine

Don't know if this is a daft question or not, can you eat runner bean seeds dried? And if so are these what's known as kidney beans?
Sue

Psychedelic has beens. Use them to decorate flower arrangements. I tried eating them, but not dried, I boiled 'em first. I thought they were a bit like butter beans

You can use the seeds of any of your beans dried. Soak them overnight in cold water, rinse then cook in fresh water until soft. This can be a long time -maybe an hour. Don't add salt until they're cooked as it makes the skins tough. I like to stir in a little red pesto as a 'sauce'. They are also brilliant with a teaspoon of butter stirred in. Make a Mediterranean bean pot with mixed beans and Med veg - courgettes, peppers, toms etc. or a Mexican bean pot with toms and chilies. Eat with crusty bread! Mmmmmm!

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Runner bean seeds are not the same as kidney beans, but as Flummery says you can eat any dried beans. Some (such as kidney beans) need fast boiling for at least ten minutes to kill off toxins before slow cooking to tenderise. I always soak dried beans overnight before cooking them. Bring to the boil, boil for ten to fifteen minutes, rinse, add fresh water, bring back to the boil and simmer until tender.

Not being picky LJ but Rustylady did say to fast boil for ten mins first so I guess if you did that you would be okay to chuck in the slow cooker afterwards? I couldn't say for sure as I never use beans other than fresh or baked!

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

The reason they have to be boiled for 10 minutes is that beans have a digestion inhibitor, presumably so they pass through animals intact and germinate nicely in the waste. It's not good for humans though, and boiling solves the problem. Once boiled, they can then be added to any slow-cooked dish without any problems.

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Sarah


“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Thanks for the advice, only I wanted a contingency plan in case I have too many runner beans, if you can ever have too many that is.
So they're not kidney beans, which ones are the red kidney beans then?

Have got loads of French beans on the go for drying, great winter food and that recipe looked good.
Sue

Can't remember what the variety is for Kidney Beans, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't do very well in UK - our growing season isn't long enough to ripen them. You can get a variety called 'Canadian Wonder', which is red seeded, so it looks the part, but it's also a bit slow to ripen. I'm pretty sure any drying bean would substitute in a chilli, so long as you follow the precautions.

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Sarah


“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

a bean from a seeded pod, dried, stored, then soaked over night, etc?

Can it be from any bean? Or should you steer clear from certain types and just eat the young pods? (can you tell I'm new to all of this? )

Last year I grew Canadian Wonder which is the one they say for Kidney Beans. Its a dwarf flat podded french bean. You can use as french beans or leave to develop as kidney beans. I found it best not to leave to fully ripen as this stops production. Pick the pods when they turn almost yellowed with beans showing inside. when shelled the beans are quite pale coloured but if left to air overnight they darken up lovely& taste just like the bought ones. I didn't bother to dry mine as I didn't have a huge quantity, I just put them in bags in the freezer, and as with all frozen veg just chuck into boiling water. I rarely plan meals in advance so dont want all that overnight soaking, I want em NOW! They still need fast boiling though.