Well, I have and just earlier this evening ...and now it's all gone...but here's my photo I made earlier plus one of my garden harvest
My very first dwarf bean harvest and let me tell you, the bean plants were an after-thought when buying the runner beans I'd just found, already looking forward to planting them in the garden, with very definite longings for future bean-feasts ahead!
I really don't remember noticing any mention of a particular colour with the plant name so when I finally noticed my developing dwarf bean plants sprouting purple beans, I was rather amazed.
Now there's lots of purple beans growing in my veggie garden and I'm rather pleased. What doesn't please me is the info. from gardening friends that when these beans are cooked, they turn green. Ah ha! I thought, I'll eat them raw and that's what I've done tonight, in a mixed salad.
But OMG..the inside portion of the bean is GREEN so presumably that's why they're green once cooked. Well, I must say, I think this is an absolute swizz. And how does this happen and is it an added colouration? And if so, how and when could this added colour have been introduced.
If the colour is introduced early in the growing process, does it come from the soil; the type of soil or perhaps, perhaps, is it a natural phenomenon, this purple colouring of some vegetables. I saw others in Australia last autumn in seed catalogues and longed to buy such seed, or better still plants, here in England. So what's the answer! Well, we shall just have to do a bit of culinary sleuthing, hey???
Well sleuthing done, and not such a hard job in the end because I just went online where I found all kinds of info from a wide variety of people, posts and seed companies - all about purple veggies - dwarf beans, carrots, cauliflower, red cabbage!!!, red onions and chocolate.
All of these items contain flavenoids which are, apparently, plant pigments and from these come the colours red, pink, violet and magenta shades of various plant bits and pieces. And another piece of info is - flavenoids are also known as Anthocyanins which come from the Anthocyanidin group.
These same anthocyanins are also responsible for the colour of blueberries, in flower petals and leaves.
NB - all the above info comes from Google Search - flavenoids at https://www.google.co.uk and
info on my question I put to Google search "where does the purple colour in veggies come from?" comes from - http://science,howstuffworks.com/life/botany/question439.htm/printable.
I hope no bother comes to any sleuther out there after reading this blog, or for me, for that matter. I liked science at school so perhaps it's time I got scienced-up again, hey!!!
Happy reading and keep digging that colour purple and, don't just eat up your greens, as your Granny told you, and me to do - eat up your purple veggies too...and plums and blueberries and red onions and red cabbage too. They're really good for you and everyone else, for other things too. Watch this space for more news when I've got me some more science!!!.
Daisy xxx
PS just had to dash out shopping for aubergine, plums, radishes and blueberries ....
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