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How to use overgrown beans

(4 Posts)
singingnutty Mon 10-Aug-26 20:33:03

For years we have grown runner beans and I threw away any which were not picked until they were overgrown and tough. I suddenly had the idea of taking out the beans from the pods and freezing them to use in soup at a later date. I did this last year with climbing beans as well. However, I wonder if anyone can explain to me why dried kidney beans (which must come from runner beans I assume) have to be well boiled when they are to be used or they can cause upset tummies. Does the drying process cause them to be potentially toxic? I am assuming that this doesn't happen when they are frozen, but I would like to be sure about this! Obviously when I used them for soup they were well boiled, but I just wonder?

tanith Mon 10-Aug-26 20:58:29

Thsy are not Runner beans they are Kidney beans and have a natural toxin in them which need boiling before they are safe to eat. You need to research how much boiling they need to make them safe.

Farmor15 Mon 10-Aug-26 23:24:00

I've taken out the beans from runner beans (also French beans) and used them without even thinking they might be toxic. I'm pretty sure red kidney beans are different.

Farmor15 Mon 10-Aug-26 23:30:00

I was wrong in post above- runner beans do have small amounts of a toxin but it's destroyed by cooking.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/28/alys-fowler-runner-beans?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other