Green beans (American English), also known as French beans (British English), are the unripe fruit of any kind of bean, including the yardlong bean, the hyacinth bean, the winged bean, and especially the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), whose pods are also usually called string beans in the northeastern and western United States, but can also be called snap beans.

Green bean varieties have been bred especially for the fleshiness, flavor, or sweetness of their pods. Haricots verts, French for "green beans", may refer to a longer, thinner type of green bean than the typical American green bean.

Types:

Paulista, Bronce, Savane

Selecting:

Purchase green beans at a store or farmer's market that sells them loose so that you can sort through them to choose the beans of best quality. Purchase beans that have a smooth feel and a vibrant green color, and that are free from brown spots or bruises. They should have a firm texture and "snap" when broken.

Storage:

Many people wonder about the possibility of freezing green beans, or purchasing green beans that have already been frozen. Both options can work - green beans are definitely a vegetable that can be frozen. We've seen several research studies on the nutritional consequences of freezing green beans, and most studies show the ability of green beans to retain valuable amounts of nutrients for 3-6 months after freezing. If you don't have fresh green beans available on a year-round basis, purchasing frozen green beans can definitely provide you with a nutritionally valuable option. If you are thinking about freezing green beans yourself, that's also a possibility worth considering, even though we believe it is difficult to draw final conclusions about the best overall approach for the home freezing of green beans. In some studies, the act of freezing does not, all by itself, appear to cause much loss in nutrient value. But the passage of time does appear to lessen the concentration of multiple nutrients. There appears to be less nutrient loss at 3 months than at 6 months, and you may want to limit your freezer storage of green beans (whether frozen at home or pre-purchased in frozen form) to about 3 months for this reason.

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