Drying Beans and Peas

Method:

Wash, top and tail and string french or runner beans. If you use young beans they can be dried whole but older beans need to be cut into strips. Peas need to be removed from their pods. Young peas work better.
Beans and peas need to be blanched in boiling water for about 3 minutes and then fully drained. You can help to retain their colour by adding ½ oz (14 g) of bicarbonate of soda to each gallon (4.5 litres) of the blanching water but this does destroy the Vitamin C content.
Spread the peas or beans onto trays and dry at a temperature starting at 50°C/120°F/Gas Mark 0 and then increase the temperature slowly upto 65°C/150°F/Gas Mark 0.
The beans and peas are dry when they are quite crisp. Depending on their size, this takes between 2-3 hours.
Pack in tightly corked bottles or airtight containers and store in a dry, dark place.
They need to be soaked in cold water before using for about 12 hours or until they are soft.
Drying Foods Help

These articles will get you started and give you some basic guidelines on drying foods and methods such as oven drying, air drying etc. along with how to build a drying box and other equipment you might need.

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