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Preparing
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Runner bean
Phaseolus coccineus · Legume
40 pairings
The runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus), also called the scarlet runner bean, is a vigorous climbing legume grown for its large, broad, flat green pods, which are picked young and eaten whole — sliced into long ribbons and cooked as a vegetable. Coarser, beanier and more robustly flavoured than the slender French (green) bean, it is a mainstay of British and European kitchen gardens and a fixture of the late-summer allotment.
Picking a good onedrag
Snapping fresh, just pickedLeathery, stringy, over-grown
Market freshThe all-rounder. String the seams, slice, and cook it soft - a quick blanch or a gentle steam is not enough to count as cooked.Everyday best
The bendSnaps, but the break is quieter and drier
Pod surfaceGood green, a shade duller at the seam
Seeds insideFaint even bulges down the pod
Stalk endCut face pale, drying at the rim
What to look for, from snapping fresh, just picked to leathery, stringy, over-grown.
What one gives you
88%
Usable yield
About 880 g a kilo, tips, tails and strings off. Borrowed from USDA's snap bean (SR 11052, 12% refuse: ends, strings, trimmings) - USDA has no runner-bean record, and a runner's coarser seam string means treat 88% as a ceiling.
Keeping ittap a band
Chilling sensitive: under 5 C the pod goes opaque and pits, and AH-66 gives only about 2 days at 1 C. A cold fridge shelf is already too cold - use the warmest one.
Humidity
95-100%
AH-66 asks for 95-100% RH, but the pod itself must stay dry: ice or standing water leaves translucent water-soaked patches that rot quickly.
Airflow
Perforated bag, warm shelf
Bag it loosely and chill it fast. Left in a warm kitchen the pod yellows and the seeds swell, and it loses most of its keeping life in a couple of days.
Yellows beside ripening fruit
The pod makes almost no ethylene but reacts to it: AH-66 puts the loss at 30-50% of storage life above 0.1 ppm. Keep it off the apples and bananas.