One of the delights of the fall garden is the harvest of fall beans–many times–especially in Appalachian areas–called October beans.
I ordered these October beans, an heirloom bean, from Sow True Seed. The hulls are a beautiful hot pinky striped and cream colored when they mature fully. The beans inside are also a reddish pink and cream speckled bean before they are dried or cooked.
These beans are for shelling and cooking or drying. Although you might be able to eat them as a green bean if you harvest them early enough when they are young.
We didn’t plant a whole lot of them as we were just simply trying them out this year and wanted to see how they would grow, and thus we didn’t get a ton of beans but certainly enough for a meal or two.
To cook the beans, I soak them overnight in water. The next day while cooking the rest of dinner you can cook them as you would any other bean or simply let them simmer with some onion and garlic, bacon fat, and plenty of salt. Enjoy!
