In article ,
(WaltA) writes:
| On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 20:26:46 +0000 (UTC), "Robert" wrote:
| You're not supposed to eat them without boiling them first
|
| I did some googling ( because I am growing various beans both for
| green beans and for seed) :---
|
| Phytohaemagglutinin
| Red Kidney Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Poisoning,
| http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap43.html
|
| Sounds frightening !
| but section 6 of that page seems to suggest that it is not common,
| and 9 suggests that it may not have been due to the beans anyway !

The reason that it is rare is that the toxin occurs in mature
beans, and much less or not at all in immature ones, and they
require extensive cooking to make them palatable. A red kidney
bean boiled for a mere 10 minutes is edible but not eatable!

The one normal circumstance that can cause the problem is beans
cooked in a slow cooker on low, where the temperature may stay
at 70-80 Celcius for long enough to cook the bean - which is a
good many hours. Hence the need to boil them first, or use the
cooker on high.

I don't know when the toxin develops, but I doubt VERY much that
any bean that is still eatable raw or lightly cooked contains
enough of the toxin to matter. That is certainly true of broad
and soy beans.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.