Stringing Green Beans - Page 2

Sweetbay magnolia · ‎04-14-2013

I think green beans are better raw than cooked (very fresh is best, of course). They are a good example of keeping your hands busy while not eating, then eating something good for you!

Cogito ergo sum

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@KatieB wrote:
@Mz iMac wrote:
@colleena wrote:
Omg, I must live under a rock, how the heck do you string beans & why?
My parents are from the south. It was my job to "snap" beans........
With the "fresh" string beans in a large bowl, you go sit out on the front or back porch of your house.
You pull the pointy end down all the way to the other end. You're pulling the "string" (spine) off of the bean.
Afterward, you snap the bean in half & remove the bean eggs (it's what I called them). They are actually "seeds." Some folks leave the seeds inside. I didn't. If my mother snapped beans, she left them inside.
You throw the snapped string beans into another bowl. Trash the bean eggs, the string & pointy ends into the trash or throw them on the ground for any "2 or 4 legged strays" to eat.
@Mz iMac wrote:
@colleena wrote:
Omg, I must live under a rock, how the heck do you string beans & why?
My parents are from the south. It was my job to "snap" beans........
With the "fresh" string beans in a large bowl, you go sit out on the front or back porch of your house.
You pull the pointy end down all the way to the other end. You're pulling the "string" (spine) off of the bean.
Afterward, you snap the bean in half & remove the bean eggs (it's what I called them). They are actually "seeds." Some folks leave the seeds inside. I didn't. If my mother snapped beans, she left them inside.
You throw the snapped string beans into another bowl. Trash the bean eggs, the string & pointy ends into the trash or throw them on the ground for any "2 or 4 legged strays" to eat.
@Mz iMac I'm from the South (NC) and still live in the South (NC), but I've never heard of throwing the beans away. In fact, I love the beans in pole beans. When cooking them, the beans come out of the pod and mix in. They're the best.

You throw away the pointy bean ends and the strings attached to to them after you've snapped off the end and pulled it down to de-string a lot of varieties of beans. Pole beand and Kentucky Wonders for sure!

We never put anything in beans but ham or one strip of bacon is we have no ham in the freezer! But pretty much only ham.

Here's another tip for the little thin beans in bags that don't have a string really. I get a handfull, put them on the cutting board and "spank" them with the side of a big knife to line up the ends. Then I whack off all the ends.

I turn them around, "spank" the other end and chop off those ends. It gets rid of the sharp point end that will choke you if you don't see it after they are cooked.

A big pot of green beans and a significant amount of ham along with some cornbread is a great meal!

ECBG · ‎01-08-2011

@Icegoddess wrote:
If you don't string them, when you eat them the "string" is tougher than the rest of the bean, so it doesn't disentigrate in your mouth the same. It'll feel like you have string in your mouth.

@Icegoddess

For the last couple of years, our grocery chain has been working with a local farm that sends a narrow bean that is virtually "stringless". I don't like the flavor as much as pole green beans, but even Publix across the street had the same thing with no variety.

I remember my grandmother stringing a green bean that had a lot of seeds. They LOVED them. I hated the seeds, but I never liked any been seed dried or fresh. I can't stand the consistency of the starch.

ECBG · ‎01-08-2011

@lolakimono wrote:
I just cut the ratty ends off.

@lolakimono

This looks more like the green bean I have bought in the past before our stores went with a local farm. Mine are about 1/3 less wide.

software · ‎06-08-2016

Growing up in CT, the only green beans I knew were from a can, I didn't know there were all kinds of green beans.

Living in the south the past 40 years I learned only some can be eaten raw. Not all. Some have to be cooked a long time to be edible, some don't. Some have strings, some don't.

I'm the only one who prefers raw but even at that, I blanch everything.

I only use Crisco shortening when cooking some vegetables, never bacon.

Something about the Crisco makes the vegetables very tender. I've tried it both ways, with & without.

colleena · ‎03-27-2010

@Mz iMac And I bet the beans tasted so good after all that work.

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

@ECBG wrote:
@Icegoddess wrote:
If you don't string them, when you eat them the "string" is tougher than the rest of the bean, so it doesn't disentigrate in your mouth the same. It'll feel like you have string in your mouth.
@Icegoddess

For the last couple of years, our grocery chain has been working with a local farm that sends a narrow bean that is virtually "stringless". I don't like the flavor as much as pole green beans, but even Publix across the street had the same thing with no variety.

I remember my grandmother stringing a green bean that had a lot of seeds. They LOVED them. I hated the seeds, but I never liked any been seed dried or fresh. I can't stand the consistency of the starch.

@ECBG I never really learned how to properly cook flavorful green beans. Mashed potatoes is my claim to fame. I did recently cook them in a pressure cooker that I sauteed some bacon, garlic, and onion in first and them added some seasonings in and it was really good, but it left a bad smell on the silicone seal that I can't get completely out. So, I may try it some time just in a pot and cook a lot longer.

For years, I have been buying the Haricot Vert in the plastc bag from Publix. Those are very thin and kinda short green beans. I blanch them in salted water just till tender then shock them in ice water. I wrap them in a paper towel and leave in the fridge until almost time to eat and them I sautee them in some butter.

ECBG · ‎01-08-2011

@Icegoddess

Green beans are a basic vegetable that are prepared differently in each region.

In the south for decades, a pot of green beans simmered on the stove with a piece of salted pork for about 2 1/2-3 hours until they were soft enough for a small child, but not mushy.

With my chemistry ad food science background, I became a "heart healthy" cook before it was cool, lol! I do a pot of fresh green beans with a few packets of Goya pork seasoning and worcheschire. People that had had both said my beans had a fresher taste, even though we were all buying beans at the same store.

My beans may be too soft for you if yours have some crunch left.

silkyk · ‎03-03-2011

I love fresh green beans and grow them every year. I like them cut with a multiblade cutter like this one and then just steam for a few minutes or stirfry. Great little tool at Amazon, ebay etc.