Ok, let's get it out there first: I'm a well intentioned idiot. I thought I was planting moon flowers. They're dreamy flowers, and I wanted to give moths a treat. Turns out, I planted hyacinth beans.
They were absolutely gorgeous in bloom even if they did completely drown my poor Douglas Firs. The weather is getting cold, so. I harvested them all. I didn't realize how many there are! This is like…15-20 lbs?
What do I do?? I've never canned in my life. I'm scared of the pressure cooker rig, and I've seen the photos from when it's done incorrectly. I'm nervous about botulism. Do I even have time to prep the not dried ones before it all goes bad? How does one prep? I only have one big pan! Do I rinse them or wait until I'm ready to use them? Soak them in water? Am I just too late already?
I'm so over my head and out of my depth. But I have to do something. I grew real food! That I can eat! That I can maybe use over the winter??
I've started searching this subreddit for answers, but I'm desperate and hoping some of you will take pity and tell me what the heck to do.
by nonoffendingname
17 Comments
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Ignore me if this is dumb, I don’t actually know, since I’ve only grown fresh eating string beans. But… Can’t you just dry them all?
Uh, I don’t know about these beans, but generally you let them dry out and separate the beans and then store them… no canning required?
I am basing this off of internet searches, but it looks like these are only edible after boiling and otherwise poisonous when raw?
It is my understanding that mature raw beans have toxins that must be removed before cooking…..same as raw lima beans. Please make sure to find out how to remove the toxins for eating.
These are not really edible. But you can let the pods air dry and then sow the beans in the spring. If you want to eat then make sure you look into how to process them, I think it requires significant boiling
Ok, so this isn’t perhaps a canning project, but you can preserve most of what you have there. Dried or drying ones, or ones too mature to eat steamed or fried, you should continue to dry and once fully dry you can remove the beans from inside the pods and follow dried bean recipes for hyacinth beans. For ones that are still young and tender I recommend blanching and cooking or freezing. The blanching process removes the toxins.
Those are not edible beans
Yeah I wouldn’t eat or can these.. 1) looks like you have to boil them in multiple changes if water because they’re not poisonous anymore? Why chance that and 2) I don’t believe you can sub these in for any recipes. If you could it would have to be a pressure canning one.
Contact the Seed Savers exchange. Seedsavers.org. There is a program to save seeds. You may be able to trade these for other seeds in their catalog.
I’ve only grown these as ornamentals. I personally would not consume these. Looking online, it’s really confusing on how to prepare and at what stage they are edible/non-edible. The ones that are dried, I would save for seeds to grow hyacinth beans next year (the seeds look like little round Oreos when fully ripe!).
If you want to try eating them, do some research on how to prepare safely and find out whether it’s actually something tasty. It’s a low acid ingredient so you’ll have to look at a different way to preserve other than canning.
Don’t can these, dry them. Save your canning energy for elsewhere.
These hyacinth beans, or Lablab purpurea, are edible but as others have noted they require specific preparation to be safe to eat. I would say just save seeds to plant for flowers next year and compost the rest.
I’d be more concerned about potential hydrogen cyanide poisoning than botulism when it comes to those beans 🫘.
Safe canning takes patience and attention to detail.
🤔 Sun dry them? In most places beans are stored dry, they last a long time, to cook you just have to soak them overnight generally although theres some that require a little more time.
Read moths in your text? You have to be careful because moths and some other bugs like to dig into dry beans
I am currently drying my bean harvest in my garage, with a box fan and a couple of window screens. Once they get leathery dry, you can shuck them. A freeze will kill any bean weavles. You can also dehydrate them at 135f for 15 min. Then store dry in vacuum canisters or regular jars.
But mine are culinary pole beans. Actually a pod eating variety that I let go too long so now they will be dry beans. Blue Lake and Scarlet Runner.
I will say that I expect to get a little more than a pound of dry beans from about 4 grocery bags full of pods.
You may have better luck over at r/foraging than this forum.
I need to know more about how you accidentally gathered at least a bushel of poisonous beans?