Broad beans are like zucchini - boy, do they proliferate...!
So I really tried to limit the number of broad bean plants that went into the ground this year. But, even with 6 plants, I had more than I could give away and more than RMan was willing to eat - to frequently. So, I went searching for some way to preserve them.
 |
| The umteenth harvest of broad beans |
I had tried blanching and freezing them a few years ago, only to take them from the freezer and discover that they had "turned". I obviously didn't prep them properly, or I left them in the freezer for too long. I'm not sure which error I made, but I wasn't keen to try that again. They were revolting.
Drying for me is not an option, as the yucky looking brown beans don't appeal.
Then I hit upon a recipe for marinating broad beans. But, the life span was still too short - only 3 - 4 days in the fridge. That is classified as serving them too frequently as far as RMan is concerned...
Finally, I found a recipe to pickle broad beans.
 |
Pre-cooked, twice shelled, and ready to add to the pickling liquid
in the sterilized jars.
Just a note on the jars. Yes, they are re-purposed, but their
previous contents were not vacuum sealed so the lids are
re-usable and will form a perfect seal when water bathed. |
I shelled them (from the main pod) and, after boiling them for 5 minutes, allowed them to cool and I then removed the inner "sheath". Yeah, I'm a sucker for punishment... 😏 It is tedious and time consuming, but we prefer to eat broad beans that way.
 |
| The inner shell / sheaths went to the dogs |
As I am on a zero waste everything mission, the outer pops went to my compost heap, and the inner shell / sheaths went to the dogs - they L-O-V-E broad bean shells.
 |
On the left is the plain pickled broad beans, and on the right
is two jars of water bathed pickled broad beans. |
One jar was just pickled (3 - 4 months), but the other two were placed in the pickling liquid and then water bathed in order to prolong their life (6 - 8 months).
I will report back on the pickled broad beans in 3 weeks time. And, I will also report back IF the water bathed broad beans are not viable after six months If you don't hear from me, then they were good 😏
If you'd like to try for yourself, here is the recipe I used.
Ingredients
1 shelled broad beans
1 cups water
1 cups white vinegar (apple cider)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large red chilli pepper or 4 - 5 dried chillies
4 cloves garlic
4 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
Instructions
Shell the beans.
In a large pot of boiling water,
blanch the beans for 3-5 minutes or until bright green and tender-crisp. Drain,
and immediately transfer to an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Remove 2nd shell / membrane.
In a medium saucepan set over high heat, bring
water, white vinegar. kosher salt and sugar to a boil. Continue boiling for 2-3
minutes, or until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.
Divide the chili pepper between the sterilized jars, and add two garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons of mustard and fennel seed per jar.
Fill each jar with beans, packing them in fairly
tightly, but without squashing them. Pour the hot pickling brine over the beans, filling up to 6mm / ¼"
from the top.
Seal jars with lids and / or rings. Let the jars cool on the
counter and then transfer to the fridge.
Allow at least two to
three weeks to fully pickle before opening. The plain pickled beans will keep for 3 - 4 months in the fridge.
For longer storage, process the jars
for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath, then store in a cool, dry place - away
from light - for up to 6 months.
 |
| Dated so that this time I know when their best before date is 😏 |
