Runner Beans

It might work I guess, I don't like frozen beans so end up giving my surplus to my girls to use. I don't think it would do my blood pressure much good to eat beans preserved in salt though.

Love runner beans, my favourite veg, bought some in sainsburys yesterday, they were rubbish, hard and stringy, and guess what, all the way from Kenya! Why oh why?

We always grow them, but cut them for cooking when slim and small( a bit like I used to be!?) If you leave them to grow long and get fat as the beans inside swell, they are yukky.

I wouldn't have salty anything, not good for hypertension.

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/spicy-recipes/spiced-pickled-runner-beans

Green runner beans - you can preserve by bottling but need a steriliser.
We grow Tarbes beans which are runner beans but you leave them to dry out on the vines. Then pod them, and use like dried haricots ie you soak them over night first. They're lovely in winter stews, the skins seem to melt.
I don't know if you could grow them in UK as they need sun.
I could send a few by post if anyone would like to try ?

I bought runner beans to grow from the supermarket. Not the usual ones- seemed a posher version!! I planted them using but a wigwam from bamboo. The plants eventually grew but refused to grow up the canes as they usually do. Anyway they eventually grew tomatoes and weren't runner beans at all!!!!!!!

mumof

I remember a neighbour did this, sliced the beans as normal then layered them in a jar, layer of salt, layer of beans, to the top of the jar. Can't say I ever tasted them though.

People used to do it in the last war. I've heard my relatives talk about salting stuff.

trisha I'd love to take you up on your offer, please, I'll pm you my address. 8 would be grand I grew haricots one year and they were a great success and you're right, it's good to grow something that will see you through the winter months.
For the second year since moving away from my large house and even larger veg. Patch and greenhouse, I've been successful in growing in tubs on my SW facing terrace. Have already harvested French beans, both green and purple, green and yellow courgettes, and have Swiss chard as a cut and come again crop which will see me through the winter. My runner beans will be ready to crop in a week or so. My chillies (Apache) were a qualified success, tho. (Qualified by the number (2 in total) and size - small!) definitely need the heat of a greenhouse, I reckon..
Can offer you the flat climbing bean, Goldfield, in exchange? Beautiful golden colour, grow to about 10" long, stringless. Let me know. Thanks again.

mumof

Here in Germany they pickle them, like sauerkraut. I've never been tempted to try them though.

Before we had a freezer, I think my mother used to bottle the runner beans. She must have had loads of jars because we had dozens of jars full of bottled tomatoes.

I don't know what she did with them because I can't remember having stews all winter. She was (is) a very good cook though.

I used to salt runner beans when I was first married. We sliced then layered them with the salt in giant sweet jars. They were rinsed thoroughly before cooking and I don't recall them being overly salty. They retained some of their crispness, which frozen ones don't, so I am also thinking of giving it a go. I only have one wigwam, but at the moment I am just eating mountains of them at every meal. Fortunately they are my favourite veg.

Thanks all am just out of bed to see this. I have pretty much been in bed since saturday with flu :-(. All I have eaten snce sat is half an apple, yeuk.

Anyway IF I am ok before the beans go all stringy on the vine I am going to give it a go. I guess one gives them a good soak before eatng so shouldnt be too salty. Mind you I dont normally use any salt in my cooking so I may fine it so...back to bed.

Detailed instructions and salt quantities www.foodsafetysite.com/resources/word/desk/DRSalting.doc

Don't forget that it is recommended that you are very careful when preserving vegetables, as they don't have the acid that is in fruit and helps keep out bacteria.

Thanks for the link Elegran, unable to open it in that format . Yes I am a bit concerned about the bacteria thing, but I figure the brine should help that, they don't, as you say have the acid like the fruit, but then we don't preserve fruit in salt either. I will have a good read up to make sure I check everything before we eat any though.

Back in the land of the living now after my Flu , so the beans are done, and starting to make some brine already. Am treating this really as an interesting experiment, and if we end up with tasty beans as well then that is a bonus

for TRiciaF

Many thanks for the bean seeds, just received

I've got Purple Teepee dwarf French beans, any good? They're Johnsons Seeds and I bought a pkt in the Sales last week. If you can pm me your address, I can get them in the post to you tomorrow.

Unfortunately, if you don't see this in time, I'll not be able post until the Thursday after. Not to worry, tho -we won't be planting til the Spring, and I won't forget. Promise

But first...your address, please?

Glad they arrived safely.
I'll pm you with my address.
T.