Who can Teach Me All About Beans?

[LindyAdele]

Soo... I never grew up eating beans. I think my parents hated them, so I didn't touch them.No dried beans, no chile, no refried beans, no beans in salads, NOTHING. In university I discovered I loved 'green beans' in various dishes, and they were tasty fresh. I now cook regularly with green beans, and in the summer I have grown bush green beans.

Beyond this, I wouldn't know what to do with other varieties! I have bush beans (Blue Lake, Yellow Wax and Dragon's Tongue) planted in the ground, as well as pole beans (Flamingo, Purple Podded, Jaminez and Rattlesnake) set up in a big box planter with 10 foot twine to the top of a pergola.

What can I do with pole beans? Can I eat them like green beans? Do I shell them? And if so... do you eat beans fresh? Dried and then cooked? I really have no idea about the different beans available or what to do with them!

What bean types should I try next year, and what can I do with them? I love cooking food from around the world, but have always been scared off by beans for their... um... reputation.

Thanks so much to anyone who can give me ideas!

[Labradors2]

Hi fellow Ontario-ite!

It's not too late to grow beans! Why don't you try some this year? They are supposed to be planted after the soil is warm, so that will take a while around here!!!!

Pole beans are great (if you like beans). I pick them, rinse, top and tail them, and then break them into halves or quarters (depending on how long they are) then cook them in a little water until they are done - yum! Since I always grow too many, I just let the extra pods sit on the vine until they are dry, then pick them, shell them and save the dried beans, either for eating or planting the following year.

Purple Peacock is one that grows abundantly, and they turn green when cooked. Runner beans are great too, and their red flowers attract hummingbirds. To eat runners, I string them and cut them into thin strips.

I'm sure others here will have ideas for good varieties.

Linda

[LindyAdele]

So I can eat pole beans just like bush beans? Awesome!

Now this question might sound dumb... both my mom and grandma passed away when I was young and I was raised by my vegetable adverse dad. When you dry beans and then eat them, do you just boil the dried beans? Or add them to soups? Can you do this with ALL beans? Do you add flavour to them?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by LindyAdele

So I can eat pole beans just like bush beans? Awesome!

Now this question might sound dumb... both my mom and grandma passed away when I was young and I was raised by my vegetable adverse dad. When you dry beans and then eat them, do you just boil the dried beans? Or add them to soups? Can you do this with ALL beans? Do you add flavour to them?

What I do with just about any dried bean is to soak thim over night and then drain the water off and rinse.
Then I simmer them until they are tender.
You can spice them but do not put slat in them and no sugar untill they are as tender as you want them to be.

The salt may make them turn dark and sugar in an uncooked bean with keep it from getting tender.
I always use canning salt, sea salt or un-iodized salt in beans.
Never add cold water to cooking beans if you need to add water add hot water.
The cold water will make the skin peal off on some beans.

I eat dried beans by themselves or with other things.
Some of the beans from Peru can take up to two days to cook.
Soak over night drain simmer put in the refrigerator and then the next day simmer again.

I'm eating pole pinto beans green and raw out of the garden now.
Try the young tender uncooked green beans in you next salad.

Worth

[Cole_Robbie]

Pole beans will grow on just about any trellis; my family makes teepees out of tree limbs. The beans like to grab onto the bark as they grow.

Strike is the variety of bush green bean we grow for market. The beans don't get huge; they stay medium-sized and tender.

[BigVanVader]

I grow the purple podded and you can eat them raw or cooked, great either way.

[Tormato]

It'll take me a few days to address all the possibilities of what to do with beans.

First up, you should do a bit of research on Phtohaemagglutinin. It's a toxin that is mainly in dry beans, especially in red and white kidney beans. All dry beans need to be cooked.

As for eating raw "green" beans (snaps) it's likely best to only eat young pods where the beans have grown very little inside the pod. If you only eat cooked green beans, there will not be any problem to worry about.

More, later.

Gary

[Nematode]

You are in the northeast, er I mean southeast Canada. 2 outstanding pole beans are Fortex and Northeaster. Both stringless. Both yummy and good producers and my second favorite to tomato!