Romano Pole Bean

A multi-prupose pole bean for eating green, as well as demi-sec & dried. The pods are ripe to pick demi-sec when they change colour from green to ivory: when the beans rattle within when shaken they are fully dry. When first harvested the seed is a delicate fawny rose colour, but turns brown with age & exposure to light.

Blue Lake Runner

An American cultivar, bred in California in the 1900's and further improved in Oregon in the 1950's, which rapidly became a preferred pole bean due to its flavour and reliability. The pod is stringless and distinctively round. Seed-saving is easy but being quite small they are not that practical to use as a dried bean for cooking.

Dried Green Beans

There are various ways of preserving these beans, some less successful than others. Freezing them results in a mushy texture; salting them creates an unpalatable colour; pickling causes general loss of colour. We choose to dry them, to use as an essential ingredient in Lin's Bean Stew.

Top and tail, briefly blanch then refresh. Towel dry excess water then dry till solid in a dehydrator. Store in sealed jar - they keep a long time this way.

To reconstitute: pour boiling water over, cover then leave to soak overnight. Drain, reserving the liquid to use as vegetable stock. They are still quite tough at this stage and require further cooking to tenderise - long and slow is best, perfect for winter stews & soups.