borlottie beans

[MURFE 18]

Hi, can any body tell me what way you eat cook, these beans have grown them for the first time this year got a good crop but do not know what way to use them, do you cut them like runner do you shell them, when do you pick them,?

[Sue]

Murfe
Are you planning on using these dried for things like chillie?
My borlotti beans are nowhere near dry enough to pick yet. However my hunter beans, some are ready. the pods all dried and very stiff and crumbly and if you shake them on the plant you can hear the beans rattling inside.
I found it very comforting to have pots of dried beans on my homegrown produce shelf. I used them in veg casseroles, chilli etc. Taste much better than the shop bought ones and don't take nearly so long to boil and soften.
Lets hope we get a good run of dry weather now to get them to dry out properly.
best wishes
Sue

[MURFE 18]

Hi, thanks for your help, sue i really do not know, some are dried up, but most are fresh, green /red colour, do not even know how they are cooked other than biol till soft in salty water, many thanks mick

[yoanbob]

thats all you do murfe, you can have them fresh or dried, up to you

[kentvegplot]

Hi, can anyone tell me how they store their dried beans? I've seen two conflicting pieces of 'advice', one to store them in glass jars (which keeps moisture out presumably) and the other to store them in paper bags (which allows them to breathe and re-absorb moisture potentially)

Err, I'm confused

What do you do?

And do you follow any of the advice about 'freezing' them briefly or heating to 82 degress to get rid of any nasties?

I'm growing 'Soissons' and 'Blue and White' and they are already drying nicely on the plants.....

[Two_Sheds]

You can boil them "fresh" like any other bean, French or runner. No salt though, doesn't it toughen them up?

Or if they are bigger, pop out the beans and discard the pod.
If you are drying them, make sure they are totally dry...at least a week in the sun, before storing in glass jars. Any residual moisture and they will rot in the jar.
Enjoy, aren't they the most stunning bean you ever grew? Like big fat pink sausages.

[Sue]

Hi
I'm keeping mine in glass jars, but would perhaps think again if they were in full light in the kitchen, mine are on my "preserves shelf" (very grand) in my hall so not in full light. I made sure they were dried, washed the jar in boiling water and then dried in the oven to make sure it was very clean and when bone dry put my beans in.
I'm sure if they are fully dry then there should be no problems, gave mine a few hours in the dehydrator to make sure.
Finger's crossed that the weather forecast holds and we get the promised sun, should then see them ripening nicely.
And if you can't think of anything else to do with them then add them once cooked to your allotment soup to make a really hearty meal, lob in a chilli or too when the weather gets really cold, a very welcome meal when huddling in the shed!
best wishes
Sue

[Two_Sheds]

You can, and probably should, add beans to most of your meals (tho perhaps not cornflakes). They are excellent for a healthy heart, fibre, protein etc etc. as well as being very cheap compared to animal forms of protein (meat, fish)
We had beans mashed up into mashed potatoes last night, and bean soup for lunch today

[Sue]

Murfe
Only a few days later and the borlottis are starting to dry really well, managed to pick quite a few today with my Hunter beans and Cherokees.
So worth keeping a close eye from now on
Sue

[Charlie Farley]

Murfe- Jamie Oliver did an amaing recipe on his program the other week with beans- it looked amazing. Unfortunatly its not on the website and you have to buy the book i think. I wrote the basics down but not sure if they are 100% rite!! Try looking on the Jamie forum, mite find it there