There are two schools of thought on how to freeze broad beans – some people blanch the beans before freezing and some don’t.
Blanching involves plunging the beans into boiling water to stop all enzyme activity with the beans, so the beans stay exactly as they are without any deterioration. Therefore, the healthy vitamins and minerals will remain in the beans. After a couple of minutes at boiling point, the beans are dropped into ice-cold water, to stop the cooking process.
Podding-Medes-BroadBeans
To freeze broad beans by blanching:
- shell the beans
- plunge the broad beans into a very fast boiling saucepan, so the water just covers the beans
- return the water to the boil as quickly as possible
- after 3 mins,drain the broad beans
- immediately put into ice cold water to bring temperature down quickly
- drain
- fill freezer bags with the cold, dried beans
- squeeze air out of bag – suck out remainder with straw- then seal bag
- freeze the broad beans immediately
Helpful tip: make large blocks of ice in margarine/yoghurt tubs to keep water cold when cooling beans
To freeze broad beans without blanching:
- shell the beans
- fill freezer bags with the shelled broad beans
- squeeze air out of bag – suck out remainder with straw – then seal bag
- freeze the broad beans immediately
It is worth trying both methods, to decide how to freeze broad beans for yourself.
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Carol has asked if it is possible to cook beetroot in the microwave.
We think it is much quicker & easier to microwave beetroot. Boiling takes so long!
Put 4 egg-sized beet in a microwaveable bowl, add about 3 tablespoons of water and cover. Microwave on full power for about 8 minutes, turning half way through cooking. Remove the beet from the oven & rest for 2 minutes. Drain then cool the beet in cold water.
Has anyone else tried microwaving beetroot?
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To Prepare Beetroot for cooking:
- Pull the Beetroot when they are on the small side, as they have a better taste & texture. The ideal size is that of a golf ball up to a cricket ball size.
- Twist off the leaves leaving 2″ of stalk.
- Leave the roots on.
- Wash the beetroot in cold water
The Beetroot is now ready for cooking. If you cut the leaves too close to the beet, or if you cut the roots, the beetroot will ‘bleed’ and all the red colour could be lost from the beetroot. So just twist the leaves off, wash the whole beetroot, with roots & stubbs of leaf stalks attached
beetroot-growing
- Put the un-cut beetroots into a saucepan
- Cover with cold water
- Bring to the boil
- Once boiling put a lid on the pan and leave to simmer gently for 1 hours, or 1.5 hours if beetroot is very big
- Leave to cool
- Remove from water and gently scrape the skin off with fingers
- Serve sliced or cubed
- Some people like the beetroot to be covered in vinegar
Click this link for more cooking ideas for beetroot and recipes.
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We have been cooking the Midwinter Broad beans! They are a great addition to the veg garden.
The cooked Midwinter broad beans are:
- delicious
- sweet
- mild in flavour
- pinkish when cooked
cooked-broad-beans
The Midwinter broad beans have:
- yielded well
- stood up well without staking
- been disease free
cooked-beans
The breeder of this strain, Malcolm Allison, said “the red-seeded character develops while the beans are young & good to eat, whereas the purple colour only comes as the beans are drying out & not worth eating.” We found that the young immature beans had pink tips where the bean is attached to the pod. But as the beans mature the pinky/red colour develops over the whole bean. This colour stayed on the beans after they had been cooked by steaming. One pod did not have the pink colour, and these bright green broad beans contrasted with the Midwinter pink beans after cooking and added to the picture on the plate!
This recipe for green bean and tomato stew is a novel way of using up a glut of runner beans & tomatoes at the end of the season.
bean-slicer
Ingredients:
- 2lb runner beans
- 1lb ripe tomatoes
- 3 onions
- 1/2 pint olive oil
- 1/2 pint hot water
- 1 tbs sugar
- salt & pepper
Method:
- string & slice beans
- peel & chop tomatoes
- peel & grate onions
- heat oil in pan
- add onions and tomatoes & cook slowly till soft
- add beans, sugar, salt, pepper & hot water
- simmer till tender
- remove pan from heat & stand for 30 minutes before serving
- serve warm or cold
This green & tomato stew recipe is good for vegetarians.
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To Prepare Beetroot for cooking:
* Pull the beetroots on the small side, as they have a better taste & texture
* Tear off the leaves leaving 2″ of stalk
* Leave the roots on
* Wash the beetroot in cold water
It is important not to cut the beetroot in anyway – hence leaving the roots on, and twisting the leaves off well above the root. If the beetroot is cut it will bleed, and loose all the purple colour, and will appear a nasty off-white colour. For this reason the beetroot is not peeled before it is cooked.
beetroot-growing
It is quick and easy to prepare beetroot for cooking as the less that is done to it the better!
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Our King Edward potatoes are not cooking well this year; they slump and
form a soupy mush when boiled.
cooked-KE-potato
The culinary quality of potatoes is influenced by crop management,
particularly irrigation and nutrition.
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The Food Standards Agency have published advice on how to reduce the amount of acrylamide in potatoes.
Saxon
Acrylamide is a chemical found in starchy foods that have been cooked at high temperatures, but boiling food does not seem to produce the compound. Swedish scientists discovered acrylamide in 2002. As acrylamide causes cancer in animals there is a possibility that it may harm the health of humans.
As it seems impossible to stop the production of acrylamide, and impossible to remove acrylamide once it has been produced, research is trying to find ways of reducing the levels of acrylamide in food.
Cooking and storing potatoes
Potatoes stored in the fridge can increase their sugar levels. Higher sugar levels leads to more acrylamide being produced when the potatoes are roasted, baked or fried at high temperatures.
Therefore to reduce acrylamide levels:
- store potatoes in a cool, dry place – not in the fridge
- use boiling as your chosen cooking method for potatoes
- cook chips to a lighter colour, as the darker they are the more acrylamide they will have
- soak potatoes in cold water for 30 minutes before frying them (BUT DRY them before putting in hot oil, to avoid hot fat spitting & burning you)
- follow the instructions on the packet for cooking frozen chips – this temperature produces the least acrylamide
Acrylamide is produced naturally when starchy foods are cooked to a high temperature. Potatoes will contribute to a healthy diet when following simple guidelines for storage and cooking.
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Sara said “I made caramelised beetroot to accompany beef burgers, mash, carrots and sugar snap peas and it was delicious.”
beetroot-growing
Here is the recipe for caramelised beetroot.
Ingredients
1 large beetroot
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablesppoon of balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Method
1. Peel and cut up the beetroot into about 8 pieces.
2. Boil the water.
3. Place beetroot in boiling water for about 5-10 minutes.
4. Remove beetroot from water and chop up into thin strips.
5. Heat olive oil in frying pan.
6. Add beetroot strips and fry.
7. Then add sugar and balsamic vinegar and fry for 10 minutes.
This recipe for caramelised beetroot will be added to the list of other ways to cook beetroot.
Beetroot is a versatile vegetable which can be eaten hot or cold. The trick is keeping the red colour. If the beetroot is cut before cooking (or if the leaves are cut too close to the root, or the roots are cut off) the beetroot will bleed, and loose its colour.
beetroot
Beetroot takes longer than some vegetables to be cooked so that it is tender.
Click this link to check how to prepare beetroot for cooking.
Beetroot may be:
- Roasted whole wrapped in foil at 200 degrees c for about 45minutes
- Roasted whole in casserole dish, tossed in olive oil & herbs for 1-2 hours at 180 degrees c
beetroot-boiled&skinned
- Boiled whole in a saucepan – cover with water and bring to the boil, then cover with a lid & leave to simmer for 1 hour. The skins will come off easily once cooked
slice-boiled-beetroot
- Pickled – try this great FarmingFriends recipe for pickled beetroot.
- Jellied - Peel & cube 2lb of boiled beetroot. Dissolve 1 raspberry jelly in 1/2 pint water + 1/2 pint white vinegar. Pour over the beetroot and leave to set in a jar. This is good with salads & cold meat.
- Grated – and eaten raw in a salad.
There are many different recipes using Beetroot, including:
- beetroot hummus
- beetroot soup
- caramelised beetroot
- beetroot chutney
- chocolate and beetroot cake
- caramelised beetroot
