Do You Know Beans?

It’s time to spill the beans, or at least the basic facts, about varieties of the legume family that are eaten whole, pods as well as seeds. Here’s a rundown of edible-pod beans you’re most likely to come across in the produce section of your supermarket.

Chinese long beans: The slender, 1- to 2-foot-long pods are sometimes labeled yard-long beans or asparagus beans. When fresh, they should be pliable but not soft or spongy. Chinese long beans are a different genus of plant with a less assertive flavor than the other varieties listed, but they are treated much the same way in cooking.

Green beans: Blue Lake and Kentucky Wonder are two of the most popular varieties in this category. The different types vary somewhat in size, but all have slender pods ranging from 5 to 7 inches long. When properly cooked, they retain their crisp texture. Along with the following, they are often lumped under the heading of snap beans.

French green beans (haricots verts): These are smaller (3 to 4 inches), very thin, tender green beans. They are meaty, with only wispy seeds inside.

Italian green beans (not pictured): They may be labeled Romano beans. The pods are wider and flatter than standard green beans.

Purple beans: Though deep purple when raw, this variety turns green when cooked.

Yellow wax beans: Similar characteristics to green beans, but the pods are yellow and the flavor is more subtle. Sold in different sizes.

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Until the late 19th century, many bean varieties had tough strings along the sides that needed to be removed before cooking. The term string beans is sometimes still used, but almost all are now stringless.

Generally speaking, you should select slender, crisp beans that are free of blemishes. Older beans begin to bulge and turn leathery.

Figure a quarter pound of beans per serving. The quicker you cook them the better, but if placed in a plastic bag, they’ll hold well in the refrigerator three to four days.

To prepare the beans for cooking, snap or cut off and discard the ends, then rinse the beans with cold running water. Leave whole, cut into pieces or French cut.

Use a 3-quart saucepan for a pound of beans. Cook in about an inch of boiling water, covered, until just tender-crisp, four to 10 minutes, depending on size and maturity. Reduce the cooking time if the beans are cut.

Allow more time if steaming beans--10 to 15 minutes for whole beans, eight to 12 for cut beans.