[silver8]

After eating and freezing bags of these I was wondering what else to do with them. Ive been told that the bean that develops inside is a kidney bean. If this is true when do I pick and store them? Can they be frozen and do you have to cook them for hours?

[Jake]

all about runner beans

It seems that the beans in the pods are very similar to kidney beans but might not be exactly the same.

Still, they need soaking overnight and the water must be poured away and fresh water used for cooking. The toxins in the beans can be as mild as causing a stomach ache to as severe as causing hallucinations and severe cramps. phew, good job you asked.

[Oliver]

It seems that the beans in the pods are very similar to kidney beans but might not be exactly the same.

Phaseolus vulgaris - Kidney bean
Phaseolus coccineus - Scarlet Runner Bean
I don't think a runner bean and a kidney bean are the same.
You can eat the bean inside a runner bean pod - either when they get too big to eat as a 'normal' runner bean, or when they are dry.
Runner beans tend to colour the dish and the colour of the dish depends on the sort of bean you cook. Painted lady beans are sort of dark pink speckled. The dish ends up sort of pinkish grey. Not very nice though! but the taste is ok.
Margoyles beans are white so the dish is a better colour.
Dried French beans are ok to cook and eat, the colour is less fierce. Blue Lake are particularly nice as the beans are white.
Generally though one grows the right sort of bean for the job!
E.g. Barlotto beans are grown specifically for drying and using in stews and soups. Jake is quite right about boiling them, but kidney beans seems to be the worst for the toxin that upsets the stomach.

[James]

when your runner beans come to an end in October/November, leave them up to dry out.  Keep them in a bag/jar, whatever.  They do perfectly well in Chile con carne.