Buton Runner Beans

[jayb]

An interesting selection on colours making up this 'mix' heirloom. Prominently shortish pods, some quite wide. The beans can be eaten when young as a green sliced bean, but probably best as a dried bean. Produced a good set of beans here.

[Galina]

In the UK we are so used to the long runnerbeans for pods. Only in recent years have we become aware that most of the rest of the world uses short podded runners for their seeds. Slovakian Soupbean (from HSL), the massive white Greek Gigandes, Austrian Kaeferbohnen, Hungarian Virag beans (flower beans) too - all used predominantly for their seeds and enjoyed as decorative plants. This variety, Buton, has lovely seed colours. Glad to read that they grew well and no issues with our longer summer daylight hours.

[Silverleaf]

They look lovely! I've started my own runner landraces this year - one for pods and one for seeds. Looking forward to seeing what happens.

[jayb]

Hi Slverleaf, good to see you

Sounds like excellent land-race projects to me, really looking forward to your progress. Green bean runners have to be an all-time yum for me.

[Silverleaf]

Lovely to be here! I don't remember ever eating runners (I assume I must have been forced to eat them or at least try them as a vegetable-hating child since my dad grew them on his allotment, but I only remember helping to destring and cut up vast amounts of huge hairy knobbly pods for the freezer). But I trust you guys over at A4A when you say they're yummy, and I'll find out for myself once mine start cropping. Can't wait!

[jayb]

Hope you love them
One of my best friends has very similar eating likes to me except for runner beans, she hates them with a passion after being made to eat tons of overgrown stringy runners as a Child! Can't say I blame her as there is nothing nastier that a mouthful of stringy beans.

[Silverleaf]

Well I love French beans and I'm going to pick the runners young (apart from the ones I'll eat as beans) so I'm sure I'll be good!

[Silverleaf]

I was just re-reading this and I'm pleased to report that I do like runners.

I'm finding that lots of home-grown veg tastes sweeter, more delicate and more tender to me than their supermarket equivalent, and runner beans definitely fit that. Yum!

[jayb]

Yayyy, tops Homegrown runners are just sooooo good

I agree with homegrown being more tender, tasty etc, I cut cooking times in half for homegrown fresh veggies.

I watched a TV programme recently, saying how most of the supermarket fruit and vegetables are subjected to yet more chemicals and treatments after harvest to extend their shelf life. It can't be good.

[Silverleaf]

I think the taste seems to be less strong, but much nicer. And yeah, the fresher the produce and the fewer chemical treatments the better, as far as I'm concerned.

[jayb]

Perhaps the varieties you grew were tasty ones too. I just love beany flavour