Becca EmaNymton wrote:

>On 9/20/2014 3:50 AM, JohnJohn wrote:
>
>> We grow Madagascar beans
>> (http://rastaseed.files.wordpress.com...scar_bean.jpg). I
>> read they're the warm climate alternative to lima beans. I like them a
>> lot, but I haven't tried lima beans yet.
>>
>
>These are the butter beans that my sister grows.
>
>http://i57.tinypic.com/50pa8z.jpg
>
>Lima beans are not my favorite (I do eat them), but I love butter beans.
>People tell me they are the same thing, but they do not taste the same.

Butter beans and lima beans are exactly the same bean... butter beans
are what southerners call lima beans. If they taste different to you
it's either how they were prepared or it's all in your head. Of
course you can't compare the flavor of fresh to dried.

Those shown here with the reddish splotches are merely a varietal of
lima bean; some call them calico limas, carnival limas, etc.... just
different names for the same bean... many white beans are available
splotched, most reddish, some blue, I'm sure there are other colors...
the colors disappear during cooking. Baby lima beans are not
undeveloped lima beans, baby lima beans are a different bean
altogether.

Fresh beans are best shelled and eaten as soon as possible, raw or
minimally cooked... fresh beans are good raw dressed in a salad. If
held more than a day after harvest their sugar turns to starch...
that's why most are canned, pickled, or frozen right in the field.
Flash frozen beans are better than any sold at markets... if you like
fresh beans it's best to grow your own, pick early and eat
immediately... peas likewise, even snow peas bought at market are
nothing like fresh picked. My favorite is fresh picked sugar snap
peas, easy to grow and very prolific.