Kidney Beans

This is a cross-reference more than a recipe: it points back to the book's lima bean method and tells you the stage at which to pick. A few things need translating.

• Which bean, at which stageKidney beans picked young enough that the seeds are still soft, and shelled out of the pod as lima beans are; the pods themselves are not eaten as they are with snap beans. The recipe gives no further description of the pod at picking.
• "Cooked like lima beans" means boiled"Cooked like lima beans" -- The entry simply points the reader to the book's lima bean method, which is not given here; in practice this means boiling until tender. Nothing more elaborate is indicated.
• The timing is generousFresh shell beans are usually tender well under an hour; the book's one to two hours is long, though it does not say why. Start tasting early and stop when the skins are soft and the interior floury rather than chalky.
• Bring them to a full boilKidney beans contain phytohaemagglutinin, which is destroyed by boiling but not by long, gentle warming. Cook them at a genuine simmer or boil on the stove — this is one bean that should never be cooked all day at low heat in a slow cooker.
• Salt and acidSalt the water lightly from the start; hold back tomato, vinegar, or molasses until the skins have softened, as acid slows them down considerably.
• If your beans are dry, not freshDried kidney beans are a different proposition: soak them, then boil hard for at least ten minutes before simmering an hour or more. The instruction here does not cover them.
• YieldRoughly two pounds of pods gives about two cups of shelled beans, which serves three or four as a vegetable.