Drying Beans

[Anon001]

All I've ever done is can my vegetables. I have dried Romas many times, but that is the only drying experience I've had.

My question is this: When my green beans are ready, instead of canning them, can I go ahead and snap them like I usually do and then dry them?

I always dry my Romas in the oven, but can I build screen "trays" and dehydrate the snapped beans outisde?

If so, when they are recostituted, will they taste as good as canned green beans?

I am trying to find ways to have to cut costs of lids and rings and still preserve my harvest.

Thanks,
Paul

[sissy]

PaulNKS
I dried a lot of the frozen green beans this winter. I use them in homemade dog food, they cook up great. When I cook them up for us, I would cook the same as if they were fresh. I think they would taste the same. I break mine into 1in' pieces. I do the carrots & peas also. They cook up good.
I don't know about the drying outside. I don't see why not. They used to. I use a dehydrator.
Sorry I couldn't be more help. Maybe someone with more experience will pipe in.
Sissy

[Thyme]

Your beans must be steam blanched for 4-6 minutes before drying.Cut or snap into 1 inch pieces. The beans we dried this fall I wasnt happy with. When cooked they were tough. Found out they recomend freezing beans for 30 minutes before drying to tenderize them.Will try that this year. Try drying chopped onions we love them , turns them sweet .Kids eat them dryed with a little balsamic vinager sprinkled on top.

[Anon001]

I never thought of drying my onions.

Thanks for the info.

[sbemt456]

Hey Paul, are you talking about drying green beans in the shell? If so that is what we call "leather britches or shuck beans" and no they wont taste like green beans when cooked. They have a totally different taste. When I dry beans for shuck beans I do break and wash them, drain well and dry on screens in the sun. They do need to be brittle when dried. If ya have any other questions please feel free to PM or email me. And drying is the best way to preserve a large amount of onions, peppers, and carrots. The onions can be sliced thin and dried till brittle then crushed to make onion flakes. Same with peppers and carrots.

Have a great day!

stella

[B00kW0rm]

I put some green beans in the dehydrator today and I'll let you know how they turn out. This is the first time I've tried it so I only used three screens. One screen of beans will be plain, no seasoning. One screen of beans have been sprinkled with Mrs. Dash and I sprinkled the third screen of beans with sea salt. My goal is to create a snack food.

[Anon001]

B00kW0rm,
I look forward to reading what you think of it.

[NCLee]

Leather Britches

I've made them before. Agree the taste is entirely different from canned or frozen geen beens.

When I made them I broke off the stem end, then using a needle and heavy thread strung them by threading through the center of each bean. Then hung them in a shady cool spot to dry.

Here's a couple of links that'll give more info.

http://www.recipesource.com/fgv/beans-grains/03/rec0305.html

http://www.cherokee-nc.com/index.php?page=91

http://www.northernoutpost.com/news.php?id=16

Another option for an over abundance of green beans is to let them dry on the vine. Pick before the hull pops open. Put them into a cloth bag and hang up for storage. To shell, simply beat up on the bag to knock them loose from the hulls. Empty the bag and pick out the beans.

Lee

[B00kW0rm]

My first try at drying green beans was a failure. We planted half-runners. All the round shaped one were broke and canned. The flats ones were put to the side (my grandma, who was helping break/string the beans said they didn't seem to can as good...so we put them to the side.) I tried drying the flat ones.

Hmmm, I will try again:).

[sissy]

BOOkWOrm, try blanching them first then, then freeze them on a flat pan first. Then dehydrate them. It works for me.
Sissy

[MrGreenJeans]

A1 on the leather britches. I just strung up 2 bushell today and have them a hanging in the garage rafters. Putting more in dry storage. After dry i put them in large tins and load with a big dose of black pepper. Keep in a cool dry place, or put in gal. freezer bags and drop in the freezer. Have eaten 2 yr. old beans stored like this and they were just fine. Vac sealer would be better i think.

[Anon001]

That's what I'm in the middle of trying. I just strung up my first batch.

[sbemt456]

Hi all, for good shuck beans or leather britches you do need to have a bean in the shell. The flat ones dont seem to do as well or taste too good. And bookwormom the white half runners are my favorite for drying. But also ky wonder bush beans are good too as long as you let the lil bean develope inside the shell. Good luck. The string method is good, but for time element, drying on screens works just great. I'm lazy, I know these things.:yes4:

Have a great day!

stella

[gunsmoke]

I'm looking for instruction on drying zKidney zBeans, Black Beans, Purple Hull peas and vacumm packing for long term storage.

We used to do this when I was a kid but I don't remember participating in it I was into the cattle and cooking chili, pasta sauce and canning that hot pack.

Does any body have any links for instruction on drying Kidney Navy Black and Purplr Hull for vacumm packing and long term storage of dry beans?

Thanks much!

[NCLee]

Around here if we want dried beans/peas, as if we were saving them for seeds, just leave on the vine until they are dry. Same principle that's used for harvesting soybeans, wheat, oats, etc.

When dry, pick the pods and store in a dry place where air can circulate around them. For example, hang in the rafters in a cloth bag. Shell/thrash when time permits.

When they are drying on the vine, you have to watch their progress and the weather. They need to stay on the vines for as long as possible to reduce the moisture content. However, if they stay too long, the pods will start to pop open and "spill the beans". When the pods are dry and brittle that's the time to pick. If they are almost ready and the weatherman's forecast is for several days of damp cloudy days, you may want to go ahead and pick.

Spread the hulls somewhere that's dry and protected from the weather in a nearly single layer to let them finish drying. For example, spread an old sheet on your shop floor then spread out the beans. A screen door placed on saw horses or some other support works well. If you have to stack the beans several hulls deep, just stir them about once a day, until they are dry.

When storing the unshelled beans, don't store them in a damp place, such as a basement. The excess moisture in the air can cause them to mold.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your drying, as there's some good eating ahead.

Lee

Edit: Make sure they are thorougly dry before you vac seal. Moisture content should be about the same as those bags of same item in the grocery store.

[Laura]

I have a dehumidifier in my basement that keeps the humidity at 38% or less, all year round.....

Is this still too humid?

Thanks
Laura

[NCLee]

Since your basement is similar to a root cellar, here's some info on storage and humidity requirements.

http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=MP562

Lee

[Laura]

I checked out the site.......and everything is calling for HIGH humidity, and low temps........

My basement never has above 40% (usually hangs around 35%) and in the winter is about 62 degrees, and right now in the summer is 72 degrees.
It is an unfinished basement, so the floors and walls are bare concrete.......

Thanks
laura

[NCLee]

Laura,

My thinking is that with the temps and humidity level that you have in your basement, your dehumidifier should be OK to help dry your beans, if you can't dry them outside or use a dehydrator for some reason.

Your humidity level is much lower than it is around here during late summer when they're naturally drying on the vine. However, there's one diffierent that may come into play .... air circulation. You may need to use a box fan to keep air movement.

Did a further search and couldn't find anything specific to the relative humidity needed during the drying process, but didn't turn up anything that would be applicable.

Hoping someone with a basement and a dehymidifier will come along and confirm my thinking or tell me that I'm all wet in this instance.

Lee

[Anon001]

When I do black eye peas, I pick them while still green. I shell and can most of them. Then, toward the end of the season for seed, I will let them dry on the vine, bring them in, and store in glass jars. We have high humidity and I never had trouble. With pinto beans, I do the same thing so, I'm sure kidneys would be similar. I've never had my beans mold... maybe because they are stored in airtight jars and such.

By the way, the green beans I strung up did great. I strung up 5 strings about 6 feet long. They all dried down great just hanging in the house. I didn't blanch or freeze them first. I'm too much of a "purist", I guess. LOL.... I know back "when", they weren't frozen before drying. All I did was rinse them, snap off the stem end, string them up. I was afraid sewing thread wouldn't be strong enough to hold up so I used some of the "thread" I use for sewing leather and it worked great.

Thanks for the help everyone.

[pcrowder]

Paul - sounds yummy! Uh...what time did you say dinner was? ;-)

[Anon001]

Paul - sounds yummy! Uh...what time did you say dinner was? ;-)

umm...... umm...... I didn't.... :lol: