Runner Beans

Runner bean season is upon us now, and we will be having some locally grown on the market over the next few weeks.  Sadly we do not have as many as years ago due to members moving away...so if you have a glut you know where to sell them, you don't always have to be selling items to join...check out our join us post.  We also have french beans - just as an aside.

I have childhood memories of my parents with a load of runner beans that they had grown on the allotment, and no freezer  - yes really - we didn't have a freezer...they only became affordable and popular in the late 60s early 70s - I think we had one before other people as we had so many vegetables that needed freezing! see it tells you all about it here: http://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_britain/70s/70s_high_tech_household.html :) .


I remember us all in the kitchen with a bean slicer at the kitchen table, piling them into glass sweet jars - you know the type that sweetshops have boiled sweets and salting them as a way to preserve them.  I have just found a link here to prove that I wasn't going crazy... http://www.1900s.org.uk/1900s-preserving-beans.htm
and then delving a little bit further it seems as though some people recommend this way of preserving over freezing - here is a youtube video and HFW-forum.



I personally remember them tasting quite salty, but that may not be accurate - I was a bit fussy as a child!  And I am pretty sure that my parents added more salt to cooking than I have ever done, and maybe they didn't rinse them enough?


So back to the bean slicer you fed in the beans and turned the handle a bit like a mincer...it was clamped to the table.  I have searched around and it was a bit like this one - ours used to have a little gadget on the top that you slid the beans along to 'string' them, no most of the varieties are stringless anyway.  I wonder if my parents still have it?

We do have a modern hand held one - no where near as quick, and not so much fun as we all had turning the handle.