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Rich in protein, carbohydrates, amino acids and vitamins, the seeds of beans are nutritionally comparable only to meat, which means they deserve to take an honorable place in the diet of healthy people and those who have heart disease,urinary and digestive tract. In addition to seeds, dry valves, which are used in the treatment of diabetes, can also bring health benefits.
How to prepare beans for the winter?
Beans can be considered a versatile vegetable plant. Green pods with barely tied seeds is an excellent source of protein and sugars, dietary fiber and vitamins. Seeds are consumed in both green and mature form. A flap is used as therapy for diabetes.
Juicy pods and green bean seeds are harvested for the winter in frozen and canned form. Mature beans at home are easiest to husk and dry. So in vegetables will remain the maximum amount of useful components. The main thing is to properly store beans in the winter and protect the grown crop from possible spoilage.
The collection of beans intended for drying is carried out in August and September, when the flaps change color and lose juiciness.
The drier the pods at the time of harvest, the simpler the seeds leave the sash when peeling and less time is spent on their final drying. However, it is important to remember that the pods of some varieties and species open independently when ripe, and the seeds quickly fall to the ground.
Haricot beans removed for winter storage in pods:
- are sorted out, removing beans with signs of spoilage, the presence of pests and diseases;
- laid out in a ventilated shaded room for drying.
When the harvest is massive, or the harvesting of beans for the winter takes place at the end of the growing season, the dried tops are uprooted with the root and all the pods on the bush. In this form, the beans are dried, hanging under canopies and pre-spreading a clean cloth or paper under them. This measure will save even those seeds that fall out of the open pods.
If, after peeling, it turned out that not all seeds are sufficiently solid and formed, they can be brought to readiness at room temperature or, depending on the degree of maturity, discarded.
In the process of sorting, not only sluggish, soft to the touch seeds are removed, but also those that show signs of mold, dark spots or insect strokes.
How to store beans in the winter?
The main danger for winter storage of beans is:
- damage to the bean weevil, whose larvae are inside the bean as early as the summer months;
- development of mold fungi and rot, when injected into the containers with seeds of moisture.
When harvested for the winter beans are well dried and scattered on glass jars with tight-fitting lids, in a dry, cool room, the risk of rotting and damage to the beans decreases many times.
But pest bugs are one of the most serious problems. With a massive defeat of this pest within a single pod in the summer, several dozen larvae develop, which, finding the seed, penetrate inside and develop, feeding on the beans and making passages in it. By the time of pupation, there may be practically no pulp under the seed coat. As a result, the beans lose not only germination, but also all the nutritional and taste qualities.
Traces of the pest's presence are clearly visible through the seed coat, and sometimes even rounded holes are visible on the surface - this is the place of emergence of adult beetles. Under favorable conditions, the weevil is able to give up to four generations per season and cause serious damage to the gardener.
The larvae of the beetle caught in the jars with the beans remain viable at a temperature ranging from 10 to 48 ° C.And the dense lid will not save from damage destined for the winter storage of beans, if you do not take more effective measures.
If the beans on the site are grown exclusively for the production of grain, and green pods are not eaten, it is reasonable to use insecticides to combat the bean kernels. This event, held at the flowering stage or in the first days of bean formation, will effectively protect the future crop.
Also, it is not worth waiting for the moment when the ripe beans will spontaneously unfold, which facilitates the access of the female weevil ready to lay the seeds. Harvested for the winter beans only in strong pods. And when the grains fall on the ground, it is not necessary to collect material, possibly infected by a pest.
At home, before drying beans, remove obviously unsuitable beans and seeds. And then, to destroy the larvae, the peeled beans, agitating, are heated in an oven or dryer at a temperature of 50–55 ° C.In 20–30 minutes, the pest in the larvae stage is destroyed in such conditions. If the temperature is higher, the seeds will lose germination, but when using beans, for food purposes only, you can insure yourself without harming the taste of the grain.
At temperatures below 10 ° C, the larvae also do not develop, which means that one of the methods for storing beans in the winter is a domestic refrigerator or non-heated dry rooms where there is ventilation:
- in glass jars and tightly closed.
- For storing beans in the winter in sub-zero temperatures, for example, on the balcony of a city apartment, it is better to use thick linen bags, but to protect the seeds from getting wet.
To scare away the pests from the beans will help the unpeeled garlic clove and dry fennel and dill seeds. The shelf life of beans, depending on the variety, is 4 to 12 months.
How to dry beans for medicinal purposes?
For medical use of bean leaves for medical purposes, the raw materials obtained after peeling are sorted out, removing rotted or spoiled by pests, and then dried.
It is better to dry the bean doors under a canopy, where there is no direct sunlight and wind, but the air does not stagnate.
When the lids of the beans become brittle, they are poured into cardboard boxes or dry tight bags for later storage in the winter. It is possible to use such raw materials for medicinal decoctions and infusions until the next harvest.
Today, electric dryers for vegetables and fruits are increasingly being used in everyday life. Therefore, more and more often the question arises: “Is it possible to harvest beans for the winter by drying green pods?”
Indeed, drying allows us to preserve a lot of useful properties and qualities in the product. Green beans are no exception. It is perfectly amenable to drying at gentle conditions and temperatures up to 65 ° C, but after cooking a truly summer dish from such a product will not work. The fact is that after drying the fabric of the pod is not able to restore the consistency and retain as much moisture as it was in the sugar spatula.
Therefore, dried bean pods can be used to add to soups, stews and other dishes, but do not serve as an independent side dish.
It is much more useful and easier to freeze juicy asparagus shoulder blades, which are pre-blanched, then dried and stored for storage in the freezer. So do the green seeds, for example, lima beans, which are boiled in winter, stewed and served as a side dish to fish and poultry.
