The runner bean is a trailing vine that produces edible pods and is popular in the UK. It produces red flowers and is attractive to hummingbirds. The entire pod is edible, but the seeds should be cooked before consuming. The beans can be boiled, sautéed, or cooked into a soup and the seeds can be saved for the next season.
The runner bean is a plant that produces long, edible pods and is a type of trailing vine that usually grows to about 6 feet (about 1.8 m) tall. While the runner bean plant originally came from Central America, the beans are popular in the UK where they are grown to be eaten. In the United States, the plant is mainly grown for its beautiful flowers.
Typically, runner beans tend to produce red flowers, which is why it is also sometimes called scarlet runner bean. The flowers can also be white in color or a combination of red and white. Painted Lady varieties produce bi-colored flowers while White Lady and White Apollo varieties produce white flowers. Runner bean flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, so gardeners who would like to attract birds to their garden might benefit from growing beans.
Gardeners usually start the beans in late May in colder climates, such as England, or whenever danger of frost has passed. The plants will start producing edible legumes towards the end of June. As long as the pods are harvested throughout the season, the plant will continue producing beans well into October or the first frost of the season.
While the entire bean pod is edible, many people find the pod quickly becomes too stringy and difficult to eat. If the pod itself becomes too stringy, the seeds inside can still be eaten. The roots of the plant are also edible and are commonly eaten by the natives of Central America. Runner beans contain lectin, which is poisonous, and therefore should be cooked before consuming. A runner bean is a good source of several vitamins, such as vitamins C and B, as well as iron and fiber.
There are a number of methods of preparing beans – the beans can be boiled, sautéed, or cooked into a soup. The tips of the bean pods are usually removed before eating, as is a string that runs down the center of the pod. The beans can also be marinated or used in a relish or chutney. Fresh beans can be blanched in boiling water for about a minute and then stored in the freezer for later use. The seeds can be left to dry inside the pods and then used as dry beans or saved for the next season and planted in the ground.
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