Tell me about shelly beans

Nematode · August 31, 2018

Garden has been neglected a bit this year.
Anyway there are loads of large northeaster and fortex beans, the seeds are mature, or near mature in the pods, but they are not yet drying.
I have questions.

Are fortex and northeaster(kwintus) suitable for use as shelly beans?
When should they be picked and shelled?
How do you cook them?
Any favorite recipes?
Thanks
Nematode.

whoose · August 31, 2018

The only thing I grow in my greenhouse, Fortex.

Zeedman · September 4, 2018

The best time to harvest shelly beans is when the pod becomes limp, especially on the stem end. Most beans will shell easily in that stage. The seeds within are fully mature... you could even dry them for next year's seed, if rain threatens. You can cook the shellies directly; but I prefer to blanch them first, then either freeze them, or resume cooking until tender. You get less breakage that way, and a little less gas too.

The shellies from Fortex are nothing special, and I've never tried shellies from Northeaster... but if you have a lot of them, better to cook them than let them go to waste. I like them seasoned with butter, salt, and either celery salt or basil. They are much better when the beans have had time to absorb the spices.

If you are close to getting dry seed for Fortex, take advantage of it; Fortex takes a loooonnnggg time to go from snap stage to dry.

Nematode · September 4, 2018

Thanks Z for taking the time to share all that good info.

August 31, 2018	#1
Nematode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: massachusetts Posts: 1,710	Tell me about shelly beans Garden has been neglected a bit this year. Anyway there are loads of large northeaster and fortex beans, the seeds are mature, or near mature in the pods, but they are not yet drying. I have questions. Are fortex and northeaster(kwintus) suitable for use as shelly beans? When should they be picked and shelled? How do you cook them? Any favorite recipes? Thanks Nematode.

August 31, 2018	#2
whoose Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Bozeman, Montana Zone 6b Posts: 333	Fortex Beans The only thing I grow in my greenhouse, Fortex.

September 4, 2018	#3
Zeedman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 313	The best time to harvest shelly beans is when the pod becomes limp, especially on the stem end. Most beans will shell easily in that stage. The seeds within are fully mature... you could even dry them for next year's seed, if rain threatens. You can cook the shellies directly; but I prefer to blanch them first, then either freeze them, or resume cooking until tender. You get less breakage that way, and a little less gas too. The shellies from Fortex are nothing special, and I've never tried shellies from Northeaster... but if you have a lot of them, better to cook them than let them go to waste. I like them seasoned with butter, salt, and either celery salt or basil. They are much better when the beans have had time to absorb the spices. If you are close to getting dry seed for Fortex, take advantage of it; Fortex takes a loooonnnggg time to go from snap stage to dry.