The flowers light up like blazing flames and the leaves make the runner bean plant an effective privacy screen. But wait, isn't this plant also a useful plant? The question is: Can you eat runner beans or not?
Can you eat runner beans?
Are runner beans edible? Yes, they are edible when cooked or fermented because the toxic lectin phasin is neutralized by heating or fermentation. Raw runner beans are poisonous. Cooked beans and flowers are suitable for cooking in soups, salads, purees or as a vegetable side dish.
Do not eat raw
You should never eat fire beans raw! They are poisonous. It is the phasin they contain, a lectin that is a toxic protein compound and causes chaos in the body. But this lectin is destroyed at temperatures above 75°C. Therefore: runner beans are only poisonous when raw.
Cooked and fermented edible
You can eat the whole, young pods as well as the later-ripening seeds. The bean seeds are extremely rich in nutrients and fill you up well. In addition, the flowers of the runner bean plant are also edible. You can even eat them raw. They are suitable, for example, as a decorative element for serving food.
While the taste of the flowers is reminiscent of sugar snap peas or the flowers of the sweet pea, the bean seeds taste nutty and their floury consistency is reminiscent of chestnuts. You can also ferment the beans (sour beans). Even in this state they are non-toxic because the fermentation process breaks down the lectins.
What can you use runner beans for?
Fire beans can be used like normal beans. If they are dried, they should be soaked in water for 12 to 24 hours before cooking. This shortens the cooking process. Here are a few preparation ideas:
- for soups
- for salads
- fried as vegetables with meat
- for purees
- with rice
- as filling for dumplings
- for casseroles
A Styrian speci alty
In Styria in Austria, runner beans are even a speci alty. They are called runner beans there. A runner bean salad is often found in restaurants. It consists of runner beans, onions, vinegar and s alt.
Tip
If you have harvested too many runner beans and cannot use them immediately: How about drying the kidney-shaped bean seeds and using them later for stews etc.