In article ,
John wrote:
Following up on a thread from earlier in the year.

I grew runner beans this year - they were absolutely wonderful - lived on
them for months. However I tried to freeze the excess, followed the advice
given in the earlier thread and *didn't* blanche them before freezing. They
are *horrible* - tough, bad flavour etc. - even after cooking for *much*
longer than the fresh ones !! They're all about to be thrown out :-(

I'm wondering what went wrong? Advice given by amongst others was from Alan
Gould (I think Alan knows what he's talking about grin). Could it have
been the variety? ("Best of all" - or something like that - I've lost the
packet). Did I misunderstand something the freezing process?

In my view, no. Runner beans do not freeze well, for some reason,
though French beans do and broad beans freeze excellently. If you
want to freeze runners, my experience is that they need to be VERY
young - before they have changed from their dark green 'furry'
infant appearance to their lighter 'harder' mature one.

If yours are tough, almost certainly they were too old. I would
blanche them myself, but I drop not too many of them into boiling
water, bring back to the boil, and cool in cold water immediately.
Even then, I tend not to bother with runners.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

"Nick wrote in message

In my view, no. Runner beans do not freeze well, ((SNIP))

Yes, totally agree, not worth the effort. We enjoy them fresh and leave it
at that. Plenty of other stuff freezes well, French Beans and Peas
especially.
--
Regards
Bob

Use a usefull Screen Saver...
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
and find intelligent life amongst the stars, there's bugger all down here.

Yes, not worth freezing

On Thu, 28 Nov 2002 22:47:45 +0000 (UTC), "Robert"
wrote:

Yes, not worth freezing



I'm frankly amazed!

I've been freezing my excess runners for years now, and with glorious
success.

I pick them young - seven or eight inches tops - slice them into two
inch pieces and freeze them immediately.
This is done by laying them out on a tray and decanting them to bags
when frozen.
I don't blanch them.

Maybe the trick is to freeze them as soon as possible after
harvesting...they have a tendency to wilt within a few hours.

As regards cooking, they're steamed from frozen.. about 10-12 mins.

Perhaps the variety is critical - I've stuck with Red Rum for some
years now... always very reliable with a delicate flavour and a
pleasing texture, and none of the waterlogging that some beans are
inclined towards.

Regard,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

In article ,
says...

On Thu, 28 Nov 2002 22:47:45 +0000 (UTC), "Robert"
wrote:

Yes, not worth freezing



I'm frankly amazed!

I've been freezing my excess runners for years now, and with glorious
success.

I pick them young - seven or eight inches tops - slice them into two
inch pieces and freeze them immediately.
This is done by laying them out on a tray and decanting them to bags
when frozen.
I don't blanch them.

Maybe the trick is to freeze them as soon as possible after
harvesting...they have a tendency to wilt within a few hours.

As regards cooking, they're steamed from frozen.. about 10-12 mins.

Perhaps the variety is critical - I've stuck with Red Rum for some
years now... always very reliable with a delicate flavour and a
pleasing texture, and none of the waterlogging that some beans are
inclined towards.

Regard,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk


I grow climbing french beans instead, as well ordinary ones. They don't go
tough like runner beans and to my mind have a better taste and freeze well.
--
Jonathan Ward
Remove the 'X' when replying

I'm frankly amazed!

I've been freezing my excess runners for years now, and with glorious
success.

I pick them young - seven or eight inches tops - slice them into two
inch pieces and freeze them immediately.
This is done by laying them out on a tray and decanting them to bags
when frozen.
I don't blanch them.

Maybe the trick is to freeze them as soon as possible after
harvesting...they have a tendency to wilt within a few hours.

As regards cooking, they're steamed from frozen.. about 10-12 mins.

Perhaps the variety is critical - I've stuck with Red Rum for some
years now... always very reliable with a delicate flavour and a
pleasing texture, and none of the waterlogging that some beans are
inclined towards.


I too am amazed, in my household we have frozen "Enorma" for more
years than I care to remember in the exact same method. They are
picked on my allotment and within a couple of hours are in the
freezer. Sometimes there are a few that are overly long and ripe but
that is a minor problem. Regards Peter Charles Fagg, Isle of Wight.

On Fri, 29 Nov 2002 13:40:20 +0000 (UTC), (Jonathan
Ward) wrote:


I grow climbing french beans instead, as well ordinary ones. They don't go
tough like runner beans and to my mind have a better taste and freeze well.

I was thinking of giving these a go... I'm fed up of scrabbling around
the bush varieties... do you have any variety recommendations?

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

In article ,
says...

On Fri, 29 Nov 2002 13:40:20 +0000 (UTC), (Jonathan
Ward) wrote:


I grow climbing french beans instead, as well ordinary ones. They don't go
tough like runner beans and to my mind have a better taste and freeze well.

I was thinking of giving these a go... I'm fed up of scrabbling around
the bush varieties... do you have any variety recommendations?

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk


Off-hand I can't remeber. I get them from Marshalls. I'll have a look when I
get home (if I remember).
--
Jonathan Ward
Remove the 'X' when replying

In article ,
says...

On Fri, 29 Nov 2002 13:40:20 +0000 (UTC), (Jonathan
Ward) wrote:


I grow climbing french beans instead, as well ordinary ones. They don't go
tough like runner beans and to my mind have a better taste and freeze well.

I was thinking of giving these a go... I'm fed up of scrabbling around
the bush varieties... do you have any variety recommendations?

Climbing French beans are so much easier to harvest... I always grow 'Blue
Lake', usual Fr. Bean shape, and 'Hunter' , which are the 'wavy sided' type.
This year I also grew some bought in Italy....very long (8-10 inch) pods and
heavy croppers too....can't remember the name offhand, (the seed dry out pale
brown). This year I also grew some climbing Borlotti beans...very good crop,
and can be eaten fresh or dried.


Dave Hunt...Shropshire
----share what you know...learn what you don't----

In article ,
ospam says...


In article ,
says...

On Fri, 29 Nov 2002 13:40:20 +0000 (UTC), (Jonathan
Ward) wrote:


I grow climbing french beans instead, as well ordinary ones. They don't go
tough like runner beans and to my mind have a better taste and freeze well.

I was thinking of giving these a go... I'm fed up of scrabbling around
the bush varieties... do you have any variety recommendations?

Climbing French beans are so much easier to harvest... I always grow 'Blue
Lake', usual Fr. Bean shape, and 'Hunter' , which are the 'wavy sided' type.
This year I also grew some bought in Italy....very long (8-10 inch) pods and
heavy croppers too....can't remember the name offhand, (the seed dry out pale
brown). This year I also grew some climbing Borlotti beans...very good crop,
and can be eaten fresh or dried.


Dave Hunt...Shropshire
----share what you know...learn what you don't----


I have been growing Algarve from Marshalls for years. Even when quite large
they do not get anything like as tough as Runner beans.
--
Jonathan Ward
Remove the 'X' when replying

On Tue, 3 Dec 2002 09:48:59 +0000 (UTC), (Jonathan
Ward) wrote:

In article ,
says...


Climbing French beans are so much easier to harvest... I always grow 'Blue
Lake', usual Fr. Bean shape, and 'Hunter' , which are the 'wavy sided' type.
This year I also grew some bought in Italy....very long (8-10 inch) pods and
heavy croppers too....can't remember the name offhand, (the seed dry out pale
brown). This year I also grew some climbing Borlotti beans...very good crop,
and can be eaten fresh or dried.


I have been growing Algarve from Marshalls for years. Even when quite large
they do not get anything like as tough as Runner beans.


Thanks for the pointers chaps!

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk