Where The Lima Beans At?

[Kid Lester]

"Lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus L.) are an important crop in Delaware and the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Grown primarily for processing, lima beans are planted on more acres in Delaware than any other vegetable crop. Other major production areas for succulent, green lima beans grown for canning or freezing are California, the Pacific Northwest, and certain areas in the Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. Delaware plants more acreage annually (10-12,000 acres) than any of these areas. The total annual acreage of lima beans planted for commercial processing purposes in the United States is approximately 40,000 acres."

http://ag.udel.edu/extension/vegprogram/pdf/vf-06.pdf

Okay. Now you know that Delaware supplies more lima beans than any other region in America. We produce fully 1/4 of all the lima beans in the country.

Now...I've lived all over this state. Slower, North- my entire life. Question?

Where the hell are all the lima bean farms? I have NEVER seen one? Where do we have 10,000 acres of lima beans growing? I'm serious here. Where the hell are they at?

[longnecker]

I have never heard of commercial lima bean growing in slower/lower or adjacent Md Counties. Years ago we had King Cole in Milton which was a major processor which might have processed them. Nothing like that around now.

[max1]

They are around Sussex county they usually plant in the same area as peas since they use the same type of equipment to harvest and plant :-) As an aside most farmers don't want to many people knowing where these type of plants are, its bad enough they have to compete with mother nature, and deer, imagine if everyone came and took a small basket home. A lot of real nice "eating corn" is grown around the perimeter of a horse corn field, and most never know it. Thats why sometimes you see a field get cut on the outside and the inside waits a while.

[cracker]

Lima beans and corn. That's good eatin'.

[Chase]

saw a video last night of a old guy showing you how to cook and clean corn, it was awesome

get the corn from the store with the husk still intact, DO NOT husk it or clean it

put in microwave for 4 minutes per ear, with husk still on, so like 8 minutes for 2 ears

take out of microwave hot and immediately cut the end off so you just cut through the end of the ear

hold it but the other end gripping the outer husk

shake it a few times, the whole clean ear falls out the end with 0 silk on it

[longnecker]

Sounds real easy to cook. How does it taste?

[Kid Lester]

I always had the best corn from the crab restaurant I worked at. You husk the corn, leaving just 1 layer of husk on the corn. You'll actually be able to see the corn through the translucent husk. Break off the end and steam on high for just about 17 minutes. That tiny layer of husk locks in the flavor and keeps the corn from getting water logged.

[Tralee]

The majority are in Sussex County, the reason you don't see one huge lima farm is that they are grown by many small farmers and sent to one processing site. I used to work at Draper's, years ago as their accountant, and that is how it was done then and I suspect it's done that way today. If you want fresh, Haskell's usually has a big supply when they come due. Personally, I love them fresh, but they are way too much work to shell and you have to shell a ton to get a good supply, fresh frozen are actually easier and cheaper. One of the few frozen veggies I ever use.