"Brooklyn1" > wrote in message
...
> 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.

The butter beans I have seen are larger and more of a beige/yellow color.
The lima beans are smaller and a pale green. Do not taste the same to me.