Green beans
Phaseolus vulgaris · Vegetable
Top 10 pairings
Green beans are the immature, tender pods of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), eaten whole — pod, seeds and all — before the inner beans swell. Slim, bright green and famously snappy when fresh, they are mild and grassy raw and turn sweet and silky once blanched, steamed or sautéed; sold variously as string, snap, French or haricots verts.
Picking a good onedrag
Squeaky, snapping, slimBendy, freckled, seeds bulging
Shop freshEveryday bestThe all-rounder: blanch, steam or sauté hot with garlic.
The snapSnaps, but quietly and slowly
Pod surfaceColour dulling, a few pale scuffs
Snipped endCut end dry but still pale
Smell in the bagGreen, close to nothing
What you get from one
88%
Edible part
5.5 g · ends snipped off
6.25 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
Below 5 C the whole pod goes opaque and dull and can pit — about four days at 2 C is enough. Rusty brown freckles show even at 5 to 7.5 C after a week.
95-100%
Humidity
Vented, never wet
Airflow