yes; Different varieties have different flavors tho.

... and there's also the shelly stage, some varieties are really tasty this way :).

Annette

Thanks to both of you.

I never thought about the shelly stage. Is there a trick to shelling them at this stage without major difficulty? Do you have to dunk the whole pod into boiling water, cook for a bit, cool, then slip them out (like green soybeans) or what. Tks.

Just let the pods get leathery. usually they change color a bit. Shell the same way you would English peas, cowpeas or limas. Common beans are actually easier to shell than the aforementioned. Beans need to be full size but still plump.

Thanks, farmerdill. Shelly beans it'll be - except for my lovely True Cranberry beans, which I allow to mature, then cook at Christmas time.