Dried runner beans for cooking?

[fran]

Is there any reason why we don't seem to save our dried runner beans for stews etc? Wouldn't this be the ideal way to use our surplus? And they'd look so nice in a jar. Do they taste weird or need special cooking?

What do you think?

[Flummery]

No reason at all Fran, in fact many people do. I don't actually grow runners - I prefer french beans but I know Two Sheds is an enthusiastic bean drier. I use dried frenchies but also use them as freshly shelled beans when they are mature but not dry. The main thing I would say about cooking is make sure you boil them fast for 10 minutes or so - there is a toxin in the fresh beans which is killed by boiling - and don't add any salt till just before you eat them. Salt makes the skins tough.

[fran]

Thank you Flummery. Just what I wanted to hear!

[fran]

Hi Two Sheds! What do you think about dried runner beans in cooking? Flummery speaks highly of your expertise?

Fran

[Lovage]

Just come back from Bosnia where they grow a wide range of 'French' beans for drying - both dwarf and pole types.
Many colours are available from white through beige, green, brown, red and maroon to black and many families have a preference for a particular colour.
Over there they make a wonderful soupy stew with the beans for winter often flavoured with smoked dried meat

[Reb Williams]

I seem to remember eating dried beans as a child on our self-sufficiency experiment/failure... they took a lot of soaking and were very very chewy. That could be just our incompetence though.

Reb
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[Flummery]

I tend these days to shell them before they dry - what the Americans call shelly beans. They need an overnight soak if you dry them and they do take a while to cook. Nowt wrong with chewy food though! Salting at the end helps with this.

[HeyWayne]

Will be trying this out as we came back from the plot today with a carrier bag full of beans and still plenty on the plant that look "swell".

[fran]

Anyone using a pressure cooker nowadays?