Blanching necessary?

[mint]

Done the planting so it's broadbean harvesting time.  Nice crop too.  So, what do the cookery experts on the forum think I should do with the excess before freezing?

Do I need to blanch first or is it OK just to shell them and freeze them au naturel?

[Clair]

Blanch, refresh, peel then freeze.

[mint]

Clair, when you say peel, do you mean take them out of their pods or do you mean peel the actual beans?

Sorry to be so clueless!

[Clair]

See here: http://www.supertoinette.com/fiches_recettes/fiche_feve.htm

[Tancrède]

[quote user="sweet 17"]take them out of their pods or do you mean peel the actual beans?[/quote]

Shuck them from their pods. 

Peeling the beans themselves is a work of supererogation  -  though my mother, not otherwise known for her masochistic tendencies, used to do this for my father. 

One of the great benefits of freezing them is that it makes the skins much more delicate (for those with weak jaws).

I was so glad to learn, S17, that you remember Rockingham with affection.  So do I  -  but Mount Ephraim is my favourite.

[newbiee]

Blanching is necessary, otherwise harmful enzymes can give you a gippy tummy when you eat them after they've been frozen.

[mint]

Clair, thank you for the link.  I was interested to read that

"On la déguste toute fraîche à la croque-au-sel."

My elderly French neighbour gave me some earlier in the year and he said that I mustn't cook them but must just eat them with some salt.  But me, being a food philistine, wouldn't believe him and cooked them anyway.

I don't think I'll bother skinning them, however, as it would take me ages and I also think the skin must be good for you.  And after all, we haven't used any chemicals on our veg and discarding the skin as well as the pods would lead to a very low yield indeed!

Gengulphus, I was so intrigued by your mention of Mount Ephraim that I have just gone and found Mt Ephraim in the hymn book and picked out the tune on the piano.  Can't say that I have ever heard it before.  Does it have some special associations for you?  

[mint]

[quote user="newbiee"]Blanching is necessary, otherwise harmful enzymes can give you a gippy tummy when you eat them after they've been frozen.[/quote]

newbiee, I will blanch for sure as I am sure they'll probably freeze better that way.

[Tancrède]

[quote user="sweet 17"]Gengulphus, I was so intrigued by your mention of Mount Ephraim… [/quote]

Well, after your unexpected introduction of the topic of hymnody into a thread on motor-racing  -  an interesting diversion which the other contributors so ungallantly ignored  -  I felt that some sort of riposte was called for.

Associations?  No, only from singing it many times on various saints' days.  I much prefer C18th tunes to C19th.

It is the tune rung by the bells of Cullerne Minster in J. Meade Falkner's mysterious and powerful novel The Nebuly Coat.

I have to admit that I have never blanched a bean and have never had a belly-ache in which an unblanched bean was implicated. 

[mint]

Now, I'll just have to read the book!  No, not the one on blanching beans.

If you think the C19th tunes are not up to the mark, I'd hate to think what you make of the C20th ones.  I cringe when I hear "Shine, Jesus, Shine".

[Patf]

Back on topic [;-)] Remove the beans from the pods. Bring a pan of water to the boil and put in the beans. When boiling point is reached again boil for 3 minutes. Drain, cool and freeze.

Your hands will become stained brown in the podding process, but this isn't a job to do with rubber gloves on .

[Tancrède]

[quote user="sweet 17"]I'd hate to think what you make of the C20th ones… [/quote]They do at least have the eminent quality of being unmemorable.

[quote user="sweet 17"]I cringe when I hear "Shine, Jesus, Shine".[/quote]Oh, come now  -  that is High Art compared with the evo. favourite Jesus Put Your Tongue in my Mouth  -  which for its banality and the naïve but panting sexual repression of its lyrics, must surely touch a new and defining level of crassness.

 

[mint]

[quote user="Patf"]

Back on topic [;-)] Remove the beans from the pods. Bring a pan of water to the boil and put in the beans. When boiling point is reached again boil for 3 minutes. Drain, cool and freeze.

Your hands will become stained brown in the podding process, but this isn't a job to do with rubber gloves on .

[/quote]

Thanks, Pat, even I can't fail to follow such precise instructions.

I don't mind hands stained with honest toil, what brings a sneer to my face are those stupid false nails all so-called "French polished" and looking utterly ridiculous here in rual France![:-))]

[mint]

Gengulphus, I am delighted and relieved to be able to assure you that I have never heard Jesus put your tongue in my mouth.

Shall now have to put a request to the BBC that if this hymn were to feature on, say, Songs of Praise, that they put out an advance warning that the programme might be inappropriate for those of a sensitive nature.