Stringless pole beans
Every time I have grown pole green beans they have a lot of strings in the pod. I sure would like to have suggestions on a kind that is stringless.
Gail Erman
Palisade, Colorado
There are many stringless green pole beans. My favorite is Cherokee Trail of Tears (available through Baker Creek, among others). It starts out purple striped, but any purple goes away when you cook or can them. Other stringless varieties include Blue Lake Stringless, Fortex, and Kentucky Wonder. Be sure to give your pole beans plenty of water while they are filling out the pods and then pick them before the seeds get fat to have absolutely tender, stringless beans. — Jackie
Pressure cookers not made for canning
I have a 4-quart electric pressure cooker. I also have a large Mirro pressure canner to do large batch canning in. The electric pressure cooker has hi & low options. I wanted to use it for small batch canning. I did 4 pints kidney beans at low pressure for 75 mins & they sealed. Should I have used the hi pressure option instead? I just thought hi would turn the beans to mush.
Chris Stierwalt
Paragon, Indiana
Pressure cookers are really not made for canning. They are made for cooking meals. Better to use the canner for even small batches. If it’s too large to be handy, maybe you could pick up a smaller one, even a used one at a yard sale? — Jackie
Congrats, Mrs. Clay-Atkinson, on your latest article in THE magazine. I’m ready to do the potato thing now. Blessings.
Pressure cookers may not be good for pressure-canning in, but I like the size for small-batch waterbathing.
About the canning in a pressure cooker. What is low pressure? Just because the jar sealed doesn’t mean that the product is safe. You can get it to seal in a water bath canner but I wouldn’t eat any vegetables out of that can.
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