fin17

[fin17]

I have a great crop of runner beans lots of flowers what do I do next? Any suggestions much appreciated

[boxtops]

Eat them!

[Whoever]

Don't get too confident. You might find that many of the flowers don't set and turn into runner beans. Keep them well watered and hope they don't get overtaken by black fly. If you have more than you can easily it, freeze the surplus. Chop them into 2 inch chunks, put in boiling water for 2 minutes to blanch them, Drain them, cool in cold water for 2 minutes. Dry them on a clean teatowel and freeze on an open tray in the freezer until they're hard (about 30 minutes). You can then put them loose into a bag in the freezer and pull out a handful whenver you need some.

[modeller]

I know that blanching is the recognised way of preparing them for freezing . I tried it and it was just a soggy mass and tasteless when defrosted and cooked . However I found that cooking them properly first and then freezing them I was able to eat them 18 months later. They were delicious.