This year I grew some gorgeous Borlotti beans. They are sometimes called cranberry beans and they are just beautiful on the plant.
Which is good. Because you can just leave them there to dry. And like all of us, they look lovely in their youth and then the world sucks their souls and they become withered, angry legumes ready for the soup pot.
You can pluck them in their youth and shell the beans for fresh use. Or you can freeze the beans. But either way you’ve got to unzipper them and pop them out. The pods are not edible (that I know of), but even the beans are pretty.
I picked a bunch and shelled them, but I left a whole lot more on the plant to dry. In a few weeks they’ll be ready to pull and save for the winter. Soups. Ham. Served cold with tuna.
Filed under: Uncategorized , borlotti beans, drying beans
Wow, what gorgeous beans! When you shell them fresh, how do you prepare them? And what a super-adorable picture of your bean-happy baby!
He was awfully happy to play with that bean! Freshly shelled beans can just be boiled, tossed in some olive oil, lemon etc. and eaten. I’ve boiled them and let them cool and mixed them with tuna for a cold bean salad. I’ve also made soup from the fresh beans. Really the only difference between the fresh and the dried is that you don’t have to soak the fresh ones like you do the dry.
Those beans look stunning.
I was talking to a friend about the garden and mentioned that I was thinking of growing some dried beans next year. She said why would you bother. But really why would you not? The beans you buy in the store are OLD. But fresh dried beans are wonderful and are so much easier to cook.
I think that most people agree with your friend. You can buy tons of dried beans – even organic ones. But there’s just something fun about growing them yourself. I don’t devote too much garden space to them, but these beans came from 1 of 2 pole plants.
Yum! What was your yield from how many plants?
Ali in Maine
I have two clusters of these plants with about 3 plants in each. They are pole beans. I probably have 40 beans from each of the clusters with about 5 beans per pod. 80 Total beans X 5 = 400 delicious little beans. Enough for lots of soup and lots of other concoctions. I will freeze some and let most of the rest dry. The ones I shelled here are getting boiled tonight and tossed in some olive oil, lemon and chucked into some pasta. Since dried beans are so easy to come by (see above comment) I don’t devote too much garden space to these guys. But they are very pretty and bountiful!
They’re very pretty — they remind me of Easter candies.
I’m sure they’ll be delicious!
Gorgeous colours. I am planning to grow a whole lot of drid beans this year. I have one perennial one that I have planted, no beans yet, but it’s only just turned spring here in Australia.
Hannah
I’m beginning to like growing beans and peas more than anything else. Reliable, bountiful and resistant. And they’re good for the soil. Next year, i’m doing more. And I’m jealous of your spring! Great time of year…
Those are some beautiful beans!!
The beans are pretty, the pods are pretty and even the flowers are nice.
If the fates let me, I think I’ll grow more beans next year and try some of these, they look great!
I’m with you Amy. I plan to do more beans next year and this time I will be smarter about how I plant them. I foolishly planted my pole beans in mixed batches at each pole. This meant that it was a little hard to tell which bean was which! These borlottis need to grow longer and in the early stages look like Kentucky Wonder. I couldn’t tell which was which and therefore let the kentucky wonders go too long. Live and learn.