View Single Post
  #5   Report Post  
Old 15-11-2007, 09:05 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Uncle Marvo Uncle Marvo is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Aug 2006
Posts: 742
Default Are Runner Bean Beans Edible?

In reply to Davy ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

Like many people I have left the last pods of my runner beans
unpicked to provide seed for next year. But the pods are still very
green and lush and not drying at all. So I opened one to check the
beans - they were purple - just like the beans I sowed in the spring.
Out of curiosity I tasted one - it was superb - even raw.
Now I have a question - why are not runner beans grown to produce
edible beans? I know that the very similar red kidney beans are
poisonous until soaked in water for many hours. Is there a problem
with runner beans? thanks, Davy


IMHO runner bean beans are not as tasty as broad beans. Though when we were
kids, we used to fight over the "fairy slippers" while mum was splitting the
runners. They are very tasty raw, as you say, and to the best of my
knowledge I never died as a result of (usually) winning the fairy slipper
fight.