I have a question. A bean question. Or, rather, a question about beans. I got home today after a lengthy (for me) absence from home. Can you guess what I did as soon as I got home? I ran (well, more like sauntered) out to my garden to look things over. Among other things, my green beans are producing. And I guess they've been producing for what looks like almost the entire time (3 weeks) I've been gone. There are beans of all maturity, but lots of older ones. Could I use just plain old green beans as dried beans? Could I pick the older ones, dry them, and cook them up later instead of throwing them into the compost heap? Would it be worth the work, or would I be better off to use them as compost, and try a true dried bean variety next season? I've never grown dried beans before, and now am at a total loss as to what to do with this multitude of old beans.
Thank you for any and all help you can give me. Oh, and I know that was more than one question, but I was sort of on a roll. Besides, it's been a long day, and maybe, I might kind of be suffering from the effects of 2 bowls of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I sort of didn't stop after the first one. True story.
Signed,
Just One Simple Human Bean
I think it should be possible to pick and dry them... but then I'm not a bean expert.... A pity if you have to throw them...
ReplyDeleteSure...use them as dried beans and save some to plant next year. Beans are great little buggers!
ReplyDeleteI planted a variety of pole beans this year that was a huge flub. Stringy and hard. I am going to let them dry. I figured since we really don't like them anyway, what's the harm in trying? No seed saving on these tho. Ick. I vote that you give it a try!
ReplyDeleteAnother thing you can do is use the bigger ones as "shelly beans". Just remove the beans from the pods and cook them that way (in a pot of water, drain, season with s & p and add a bit of butter) or, my favorite way, cook them right along with the younger green beans. They taste a bit like the dried cooked beans, but cook quite fast....no soaking! You can add bacon, onion, whatever you like.
ReplyDeleteCan you shell them and blanch them and vac pack them for soups and stews in the fall and winter?
ReplyDelete@Becca, what a great idea! Now I'll have to let my beans get old and overgrown so I can freeze the shelly beans for soups!
ReplyDeleteOh, what great ideas! I will not be tossing them in the compost any longer. Looks like today will be another bean picking day! I'll pick a bunch, and then see about having some for dinner tonight! Oh, and we have bacon in the frig! Sweet! Thank you for all your great ideas.
ReplyDelete~~Lori