FRC: Is there an easy way to shell fresh lima beans? I'm sufferin' fer succotash here...

J

joe

Well-known member
I picked my first-ever peck of lima beans this morning, never having grown them before. Boy are they a pain to peel! I sat through two episodes of Good Eats with Alton Brown to shell them and ended up with about two measley cups. I'm used to popping open pea pods, but these legumes are stubborn. After a while I used a paring knife to cut off each end of the pod and pull off strings. The pods opened up a little more easily, but as my hands started to cramp I started discarding any that seemed immature or contained less than 3 beans. How does the industry do it?

I will say that although I love lima beans canned, frozen or dried, these were in a class by themselves. I simply simmered them covered in water, then drained them and tossed them in butter, salt and pepper. Wow. Jacques declared them to be absolutey sublime, and well worth any sacrifice they required. Easy for him to say!

Am I missing something obvious, or are they just a labor of love? Any advice?

 
My DMIL used to shell bushels of "butter beans"--tiny tiny lima beans--to freeze. So I decided

early in our marriage that I needed to do it also.
I got my bushel of beans and started. It was the last one I ever did. It hurts!! My DSIL still does it I think but I can buy tiny lima beans frozen that are as good or better!! I assume you are done, but if not be sure to spread the remainder out because a tremendous amount of heat builds up in a basket of beans.
There are mechanical shellers, of course. Our farmers' market has them going all the time. I don't eat large lima beans ever, but the small ones are really delicious.

 
Thanks, Gretchen. I'm glad to know it's not just me. I did notice the heat buildup and I hadn't

expected that either.

There should be a warning on the seed packet: "May cause hand cramping."

 
That sure brings back memories of my mom, my sister and I sitting around the kitchen table shelling

lima beans. With no a/c and the vegetable blanching the kitchen turned into an oven on produce canning/freezing days. The mature limas are easier to shell. Another pain in the patootie is cutting corn off the cob. It takes skill to cut it correctly and the kernels fly everywhere.

I'm with you, I LOVE lima beans. I especially like them with fresh tarragon.

 
have you tried fresh fava beans? they had them at the farmer's market and

I bought some, remembering the fava bean thread. I've never had them before and I had friends over for dinner and we opened a few pods to taste them and they taste like lima beans. they are very easy to shell.

alas, I HATE lima beans!

Joe, thanks for adding the onion amount to the shroom recipe, looking forward to trying it when I have some friends over in a couple of weeks smileys/smile.gif

 
Oh, I do corn every year and may have it down "pat". One method is to use a corn cutter==

you run the cob down the "thingy" and it scrapes the corn and the juice. I use a really large bowl to catch it. The other method I use is to cut the top third of the kernels down the cob and then scrape the "cream" off with the back of the knife. Doesn't really spatter very much at all. Getting ready to do some--corn is in.

 
now that's food torture! '-)) I'm not sure, but they really were just like lima beans. do you ...

have to peel lima beans?

 
No! I'd have just never eaten last night if you did. I've read that young favas can be cooked as

is but the larger older ones get a brown skin which has to be peeled off. I stopped reading after that! I've never cooked them.

 
This is why I've never taken up canning--it has to be done at the hottest time of year! I bet those

home preserves were worth it, though.

 
would you like to? I can send them off to you immediately and not have the guilt of...

just chucking them! '-))

 
Yes, you have to shell them, then peel off the tough outer skin on each bean, here's a quick way...

you blanch them in boiling water, then shock in a bath of ice and water. Then, take your favorite small child or helper, and pop each bean out of its skin - it goes really fast and they tend to pop all over the place, great fun when you are 8 or hanging out with an 8 year old!! It took us 5 minutes to do a 3 pound bag of shelled favas. yum. you can eat the young ones as is or make a nice crostini, or saute them in olive oil for a side dish. My Sicilian MIL's father used to do this with a little sliced garlic and fresh basil leaves, then make a similar sized panful of sauteed chard or escarole, combine the two in a bowl, and toss it with leftover stale Italian bread cubes for supper. she called this peasant food but it was so good - a nice memory from her childhood...

 
LOL, don't you have any Italians in your neighborhood? They'll love them. I'm only half Italian

so I don't have that primal fava urge. I'm also afraid I might like them, and I'll be stuck peeling individual beans from now on. Just what I need, another labor-intesive pasttime!

 
nope, since I left NYC I really don't have a "neighborhood" anymore...

living on the edge of the country, literally, in small fishing village on the Oregon coast. if Italy knew what they try to pass off here as "Italian" I'm sure they would declare war! it's semi-rural but growing rapidly.

the fava beans I got must be young cause they don't have the tough outer skin. if you can find young ones, they might save you from all the shelling. the beans are still good so I may have to try Heather's family recipe and see if I change my mind.

I put a link to one of our websites with pics of the area. what it lacks in everything else, it makes up for with it's incredible beauty!

http://www.newportnet.com/gallery/home.cfm?dir_cat=23609&sr=1

 
thanks Dawn, if we ever get out of the internet bus. DH will go pro with his photos smileys/smile.gif

 
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