Quote:
Originally Posted by barefootgardener
Here is a shot where the beans are more mature. Zeedman, the pods are flat and about four inches long. Ready to eat at this stage? I should go back out and pick one and eat it. How do you cook the pods as snaps, at this stage? Stir fry?? Saute in olive oil and bacon??
 |
The smaller pod in the foreground appears to be at the best stage for eating as a snap, the ones behind it are a little too old. The pods do develop fiber as they enlarge, so they are best picked small. "Small" is relative, depending upon the weather where they are grown... in my quick-to-warm summers, the pods are shorter, and I harvest at about 3-4"; but in a cool Maritime climate, they could be longer in snap stage. The young pods eaten raw had no trace of strings for me, and were quite pleasant.
IWK had a bumper crop for me last year, but I'm growing Gigandes and Tucomares Chocolate runner beans this year. TC has really beautiful flowers, bi-colored pink & red... the hummers have been all over them.