Saturday, September 24, 2011

Best Beans

This year I grew two different types of  'new to me' beans.
They were so good that I think I'll be sticking with just them for a year or two.
 First, the beans drying in the picture are 'Frost' or 'Pea beans'. A very old variety they have a multitude of uses. You can pick and eat the young, almost empty pods like mange tout. A little later you use them as french beans. Wait another while and use the beans out of the pods and they taste like peas! Wait again for them to change colour and use as fresh beans and at the end of the season shell and dry for winter soups and stews.
With their half cream half brown colouring they look awful pretty in a jar too!
I just love them. I only had three beans from a friend to try and they grew so well we've been eating them all summer.
The other bean I grew was 'cosse violet'. Beautiful and tender and untouched by pests these will also be regulars at the plot from now on. They lose their vivid purple colour when cooked (reverting to fresh green) but they're so tender you can eat them in all their purple glory, raw in salads.
No pictures I'm afraid.....I've just bunged the most recent picking into a batch of piccalilli so you'll just have to trust me....with these two varieties there really is no need for any other bean on my plot!

2 comments:

Goo said...

We call those pretty beans that you feature yin and yang beans! We've always grown them to maturity, but having read this I will try the mange tout and french bean approach. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Cosse Violette fan here too. I love em. Even if they get big they don't go tough. They look beautiful on a homemade wigwam, with a sunflower or sommat bunged in for good measure

Lovely looking pickled lily there missus!