Runner beans

Rhino666

A friend has neglected her allotment and the runner beans have gone ballistic. They are huge but the only useful thing to get from them is the massive beans which are the size of seed beans.

Can these be eaten or are they only good for seeds ?

Don't want anyone poisoned :-)

mikeywills

Yes you can eat them, they are otherwise know in seed form as kidney beans. They do not recommend eating them raw though, as they contain toxins that can make you sick, but they are that bitter you probably couldn't eat enough to reach that stage.
Cook them up or freeze them, use then as appropriate.

Rhino666

Thanks - I thought kidney beans were something different.

Do i need to remove the skins before cooking ?

Is it OK to just boil them or do they need a soak overnight first ?

Cheers

mikeywills

You dont need to remove the skins and you can just cook and eat them, you only need to soak the dried variety.
Happy cooking

csnann

Raw beans contain a toxin called Phytohaemagglutinin. you have to boil them for at least 10 minutes before you can eat them, if you boil them for a shorter time it will actually concentrate the poison. Red kidney beans have the most in but most beans contain some, see http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap43.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bean