In article , Davy
says...
Now done a bit of online research.......

It seems that runner beans contain the same toxin as kidney beans but to a
much lesser extent. The toxin, in the levels found in kidney beans, causes
about 24 hours of vomiting and diarrhoea - but no lasting harm. Soaking the
beans in water for about 5 hours, discarding the water, boiling for at least
10 mins reduces the toxin to safe levels. The soaking also leaches out the
sugar that causes flatulence after eating beans. So if you don't take these
precautions then you may suffer both diarrhoea and flatulence - best not to
think about it.

Because in Britain kidney beans are only available as dried beans and
therefore have to be boiled to make them edible, there are few recorded
cases of red kidney bean poisoning - mostly due to people adding the beans
to slow casserole cookers which don't boil the beans. I could find no
reported cases of poisoning from runner beans.

Such a shame since I thought the raw runner beans tasted superb.

Davy


"Davy" wrote in message
om...
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






We cook and eat left over runner bean seeds at the end of the season,
but they aren't the tastiest of beans.
--
David in Normandy