[Rowan]

Hi

Have just come back from holiday and my french beans have gone crazy, my waterer couldn't eat enough so i have pounds of green beans for picking, the problem is some are quite large, i presume they will be tougher than nice young tender beans, but can you still eat them really big, and if so do you treat them like runners and cut them up a bit?

Thanks

[mumofstig]

Mine all get chopped into 1inch pieces - I really should remember to pick then small

they just take a bit more cooking, but I find they are still ok to eat

[Stevens706]

I tend to give any over about 6 inch to the guinea pigs as I think they loose flavour

[daisy1990]

if they are big enough to feel woody, they will taste woody!

[Salmo]

If the oldest ones eat OK they will freeze OK. Just bear in mind that they will not improve if you freeze them.

Any too old can go on the compost heap. Do not leave them on the plants or they will stop producing.

[andy135]

As long as they aren't F1 hybrids, I'd leave the older ones on the plant to dry out and then save the seeds for next year.

[Livinhope]

I thought you could grow them on and use as you would haricot beans removing the bean from the pod.

[Jay The Digger]

You can always make a green bean chutney.  I find that by the time they have been cooking for a while, you can see and remove any stringy bits.

Either that or make a lot of soup and freeze it.

[Rowan]

Thanks all

They are huge but not tought and have been really good eating. We have put around 8lb's of thhem into the freezer for the rest of the year.

[8doubles]

Mine all get chopped into 1inch pieces - I really should remember to pick then small

they just take a bit more cooking, but I find they are still ok to eat

I cut them into 2" pieces (i must have a bigger mouth  ) and find you can tell if it`s a stringy one as you cut it .

[Aunt Sally]

I pick mine at about the same size as Rowan does and chop them into 1" pieces, blanche and freeze.

They freeze really well unlike the runner beans - we eat them fresh only. 

[mumofstig]

I cut them into 2" pieces (i must have a bigger mouth    )

I couldn't possibly comment  ..................I like the smaller pieces cos they cook quicker...that's all


I see that Aunty likes dainty pieces as well

[JayG]

I pick mine at about the same size as Rowan does and chop them into 1" pieces, blanche and freeze.

They freeze really well unlike the runner beans - we eat them fresh only. 

Well said Aunty! (I've never managed to get my head far enough above the parapet to say that!)

Had a New Year's Eve meal a couple of years ago with some keen veg-growing friends; lovely meal apart from the runner beans from their freezer (yukky-tasting grey, soggy things which is all I've ever managed to achieve after freezing my own crop despite trying different techniques!)