Ask the folks in the beans and legumes forum. They know everything there is to know on the bean topic!

j.

Most likely, steaming the frozen beans is the problem. Yardlongs are delicate, and are easily over-cooked. I have frozen them after parboiling... but after thawing under running water, I cook them lightly, or add them as the last step in a dish. Check them frequently for doneness. "Chinese Red Noodle" held its quality better than the others when frozen.

DirtFood, your experience with Yardlong beans exactly describes my experience. Since I only stir fry the Yardlongs, the "limp" texture is not very appealing. So I no longer freeze them. However, I do freeze the contender snap beans. These are not to be used in a stir fry fare. They seem to do OK with the alternative cooking methods.

I have similar experience with Tindora.They become leathery when cooked after thawing.

If your yardlongs have seeds inside the pods, you should be able to save the seeds and use them fresh as shellies, or dry them for storage and later use. The fresh shellies might freeze well.

This time of year, my beans have mature and immature seeds, which are delicious cooked with garlic (think snail/escargot garlic butter):
ÂShell and rinse the beans. ÂCook one head garlic (cleaned and chopped) in a generous portion of olive oil and butter, Âadd salt and pepper to taste. ÂWhen garlic is tender, Âadd the beans and Âone cup water (or more to barely cover the beans). ÂCook till beans are tender. If the beans absorb all the water, add a little more water to make dish barely moist. ÂAdd a handful of finely chopped parsley just before serving.
ÂUse as a side dish or as a Âpasta sauce. Many things can be added for flavor: Âchopped anchovies, Âspicy chilli peppers, etc., etc., etc.

Re: thawed, mushy beans: I thought they could be made palatable by puréeing them and using the purée as a soup base to which other (sauteed) vegetables (and spices) were added to improve the taste. Thawed beans should be heated through to kill latent bacteria.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shelly Beans

Thanks for the input. I'll take Corapegia's advice and just eat them every day during the season. Much better crisp and fresh.

I thought your yardlongs yielded more beans than you could consume, and that you sought ideas on what to do with the excess beans..... :-)

Kicking self for misunderstanding and writing long response.....

PPod: Actually they do produce more beans than we can consume. The extras will go back into the compost pile except for the ones I intend to save the beans from.

Could the extras be donated to neighbors, mailman/woman, food pantry, or put in a box at the road with a sign offering them for free? (Someone in my neighborhood is doing that with apples: they put a large box of apples on a table next to the road with a sign offering them for free.)

Just a suggestion.....

I have a similar problem -- saw a traditional Chinese recipe today for fermented long beans, which can be stir fried later with ground pork. Sounds pretty tasty and I have airlock fermentation crocks, so I might give it a try.