Fred, please'slain the Bean pocess....

[lve2143]

Fred,

Would you once again explain to me, and the
oncoming folk, what constitiues a really "fresh"
dried bean, and what does not.

You did this a'couple of years ago, and I found it
damned informative.

There's been Ton's of folk come on here since then.
And, I've gotten drunker than Kooter Brown since then.

So, We'll all enjoy it new, together.

Please repeat the true "Fresh Bean" Infomurcial
to us. I need it.

Thanks Man,

Larry

 

[BeanMan]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-19-08 AT 08:45AM (MST)[p]Larry,

Bean out of town for my 30th High School Reunion in Fort Collins.

The story I'll give is basically the same for any food. Fresh is best. All seeds are living organisms which respire and change as they age. They give off moisture and become harder as they age (respire). Part of the process is the slow conversion of complex sugars to complex starches, both are carbohydrates. The older they are the longer they take to cook and ,in my opinion, the taste is poorer for older beans. Stored beans are adept at taking in odors from the area in which they are stored. The odors can affect taste. For example if stored in a silo or other storage facility where there are mice present (or fertilizers, or ag chemicals...)(that's every bulk storage unit in the world for rodents) then they could become contaminated with mice urine and droppings or other odors etc which affect taste. Older beans are darker and have a dark colored hylem (bellybutton) Fresh beans are bright white and have a bright yellow/orange hylem. By the time you purchase drypack beans from a retailer they are at least two years old. From a canner it is a crap shoot.

An analogy that I like to use is with coffee. Would you like your morning cup of Java to come from some beans that have sat in a warehouse and then your cupboard for years or would you like fresh and aromatic coffee beans from a vacum sealed container?

Beans that are one month post harvest

Beans that are one year old. Both are the same variety and are one of my varieties.

I exchanged some beans for Pecans last fall with 264Mag and those pecans were the best I have ever had.

Buy Fresh, buy local. Applies to all food.

BeanMan

 

[lve2143]

Thank you sir,
that's what I was asking about.

Larry