nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio
List archive
- From: "Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>
- To: <jas39a@earthlink.net>, "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [NAFEX] heirloom veggies
- Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:47:15 -0600
A nearly completely lost vegetable is the type of
bean known as a cutshort or a shortcut, aka cornfield bean, bunch bean, fodder
bean. The knuttle bean looks like one of this type, but I haven't grown it
to know if the hull is tough on it. A cutshort is usually a pole bean with
smallish pods that start out very flat and wind up bumpy becasue the seeds grow
large in a very thin tender hull. The hull never gets tough. You let
them get fat, then string them. You can then cook them up or dry them
hulls and all. Reconstituted, they taste almost identical to their fresh
taste. Eaten fresh or dried, they look like a mix of green beans and
shelly beans. This is my absolute favorite type of bean. The modern
ones are like eating zucchini, mostly water.
A very few companies offer
strains of this formerly widely grown type. Southern Exposure is one of
them, Sandhill Preservation is another. I have mostly gotten mine from
Seed Savers members and from older local gardeners. They were nearly wiped
out by the recommendations through the 50's and 60's to stop saving your bean
seed and buy blight free seed grown out west.
As southerners began using canning jars the emodern modern
fleshy stringless varieties became popular, but many families kept their old
seed too because of the superior flavor. As recently as 15 years
ago I was told that most of the local women who were famous for their
canned green beans were canning heirloom beans. However, each year
there seem to be fewer jars of the old cutshort and caseknife varieties in the
county fair. Donna
|
-
Re: [NAFEX] Nafex and the economy,
jas39a, 11/14/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Nafex and the economy - heirloom vegetables,
Hilborn . E, 11/14/2008
-
[NAFEX] Superior plum,
Mark Angermayer, 11/14/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Superior plum, Brungardt, Sam, 11/14/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Superior plum,
Steve, 11/16/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Superior plum, John S, 11/17/2008
-
[NAFEX] Superior plum,
Mark Angermayer, 11/14/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] heirloom veggies, Donna &/or Kieran, 11/15/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Nafex and the economy, S & E Hills, 11/15/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Nafex and the economy - heirloom vegetables,
Hilborn . E, 11/14/2008
Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.