Hello, my nutrition-interested friend,
today I would like to introduce a great plant or its fruits: the fire bean.
In spring I wanted to plant green beans in my garden. Unfortunately, I did not get them at the moment, so I reached for the runner beans. Without knowing what to expect exactly ... And I have to say, I'm positively surprised =)
Runner beans are also known under the names: Runner Bean, Flower Bean, Makeup Bean, Turkish Bean, Arabian Bean or Greek Gigantes. Of these beans, there are again countless different varieties and species, all of which differ in shape, size and color of their fruits.
Since I have not had any experience with bean cultivation so far, these findings were already very interesting for me. The more pleased I was now in autumn, when I could harvest the beans sort "Lady Di" =)
In addition, this bean variety with its fiery red flowers is quite a gem for the garden.
There are 2 ways to harvest the beans:
if you want to eat the pods , you should always harvest the young beans;
if you want to harvest the seeds , keep the pods hanging until late autumn so the fruit can fully ripen.
Variant 1
The "Lady Di" can be harvested from about 5cm in length (up to 15cm). The ends are cut off and it is important to ensure that the sleeves really have no threads (which would be so similar to pea pods - just solid). If necessary, these threads are deducted, the food would not produce a good mouthfeel. But actually that should not cause any problem with this variety. You can then halve these pods or cut into 2-3 cm pieces (depending on the size of the pods) and prepare them exactly like cut beans.
Variant 2
If you would like to harvest the original Styrian beetle beans, you must ripen the pods on the plant - let them dry out - leave. As a result, the harvest is not so productive and towards the end it does not look very good either. Because the pods have to be really very light, almost yellow - brown, until you can harvest the beans. The plant looks the same accordingly ... BUT the result is very gratifying - I personally have only used beans in dried form so far.
The beans are then opened and the kernels are picked out. They can be used directly fresh. Personally, I've soaked them, since pulses generally contain phytic acid.
Since they were fresh, I just left them in the water for an hour and then used them like dried beans. They did not have to cook that long until they were done (about 1/2 hour).
Watch out:
Beans are generally always cooked to eat! Because in the raw state they contain phasein, a poison that causes severe poisoning even in small amounts. Cooking destroys this poison so that cooked beans are eaten without hesitation.
Phytic Acid - The poison of plants
Phytic acid is produced by plants to protect themselves. It is, so to speak, a herbal pesticide.
For us humans, however, phytic acid can have negative effects if we are not aware of how to handle it properly:
Phytic acid attacks the stomach, it blocks the mineral absorption of calcium and magnesium, but also of iron and zinc (and other minerals) and it can prevent the digestion of proteins (proteins) by blocking the responsible enzymes.
We mainly find the phytic acid in legumes, cereals and nuts.
And by soaking these foods, we can neutralize the phytic acid they contain. The negative effect is therefore no longer decisive and we can benefit from the positive properties of beans, nuts & Co.
Any cereals should be soaked at least ½ hour before preparation.
The same applies to nuts (they show the highest phytic acid values)! Nuts can be activated. They should be soaked for at least 8 hours - or overnight - in plenty of water with a pinch of salt. Then they are placed in a sieve, rinsed and dabbed dry with a kitchen towel before they are allowed to dry either in the oven or in the dehydrator. And that until you are no longer wet when you bite. This can take up to 10 hours depending on the variety ...
Just try it, you'll see it's worth it! The taste of an activated nut is simply incomparable and you will find that you are better able to tolerate it as well. Then keep the activated nuts in the fridge in a well-sealed container and if you are keen on experimenting, you can even spread a spice mixture (such as paprika, curry, chili, ...) on the nuts before they are dried.
How harmful is this phytic acid actually and how necessary is this effort?
Of course, it depends on how your diet generally looks. If you eat a lot of phytic acid food then it makes sense to rethink its processing. Especially if you regularly reach for nuts!