Bean Me Up Scotty. (Broad Beans)

Member Name: Emmald

Product:	Broad Beans
Date:	21/04/09 (197 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good healthy vegetable

Disadvantages: None

I have to admit that I am one of the BBC Gardeners world website fans ! The Other Half will frequently log on to the site in search of trustworthy advice.
We have planted broad beans for a few years now and have had varying degrees of success with them. This year we decided rather than pay that expensive visit to the garden centre and buy the young fleshy broad bean plants to transplant straight into the soil that we would experiment and plant the beans directly into the soil as someone on the website had suggested.
Maybe many of you have already trialled this method and have had success but we were hedging our bets on the outcome.
So, a while ago the beans went straight into the soil, which had been well prepared and lo and behold the beans have now surfaced and we have two rows of healthy young broad bean plants.

The plants welcome some sun but they don't enjoy being in a windy spot, the plants are also very susceptible to blackfly and rust. We net them to keep our feathered friends from devouring them before they mature and we keep everything crossed that the slugs don't suddenly choose to add them to their ever expanding menu! Each evening the young plants are given a good drink of fresh water to help promote good growth.
Broad beans are one of the first of the bean family to mature and crop but they are most definitely not everyone's cup of tea.

As the plants start to grow they will need to be inspected daily for fly or rust problems and in the not too distant future they will start to flower. If the plants need support then this can easily be provided with a bamboo cane. Last year the variety of broad bean that we chose grew no taller than three feet.
The broad bean flower is white and delicately attractive and as the flower starts to die back the tiniest of pods will start to appear. As long as they are well looked after the pods will flourish and before you know it there will be a picking ready.

The whole make-up of the broad bean is fascinating, when they crop the plants start to produce huge almost ugly pods. The pods are often blemished but usually the beans inside have been well protected. To pod the broad bean you start at the tip of the pod and make a split, then run your thumb down the length of the pod until the fresh beans are revealed.
You will more than likely notice that the tip of your thumb has turned black after a `podding` session. Inside of the green pod there is a white furry layer which protects the beans, it has an unusual if not slightly unpleasant smell and this furry layer is ultimately responsible for your blackened thumb, the discolouration will clear with a good scrub.

Unfortunately you do need to pod quite a few beans to get enough for a meal and this does all take time and effort but the reward is well worth it.
The broad bean itself has a strong `jacket`, when the young beans are cooked in some salted boiling water the tough outer skins soften slightly and the inner part of the bean has a soft and sludgy texture. If they are cooked when they are young, then taken out of the boiling water and buttered and peppered they are quite a delicacy.
When they reach the supermarket shelves the hefty price tag that is put on them is way past most purse strings.

Broad beans are a marvellous source of carbohydrate and protein, they are rich in vitamins A, B1 and B2.
They also contain a chemical called Levodopa which is a chemical that is used in drugs to treat Parkinson's disease

If you have an influx of broad beans they will freeze or you can keep them in the fridge for a few days without any worries.
Broad beans have been a food source for many hundreds of years and it is thought that they were intially grown in Mediterranean countries. Today the beans are enjoyed all over the world. The Egyptians use them in their national dish, Ful Medames and also in falafels.
In America the beans are known fava beans and in some areas of Spain they fry or roast the bean and serve them as a bar snack.

Summary: A good fresh vegetable.