Finally, after YEARS of trial and error failures, today I’ve made Thicket Beans palatable and not poisonous! I went whole hog, 24 hour soak with 2 changes of salty, alkaline water. Boiling in another change. Pressure cooking after. And then boiling AGAIN. Lastly stewing with some sauce as a faux baked beans. It’s pretty good! The process could certainly be optimized but now I know it IS at least doable.
#foraging #nativeplants @foraging@slrpnk.net #technicallynotforagingigrewthis
Phaseolus polystachios. Same genus as most of our common beans in the U.S., but the only one that’s native I think? And it’s perennial. It’s more closely related to lima beans than any variety of vulgaris though, despite looking more like the latter than the former.