Beans
Green & Yellow
(Phaseolus vulgaris)
Varieties
Principal varieties of green beans for fresh market are Improved
Tendergreen, Contender, Provider and Strike; for processing
are Bush Blue Lake 247.
Yellow (wax) beans varieties for fresh market are Cherokee
Wax and Honey Gold; for processing are Eureka and Gold Rush.
Buying and Storing
Look for beans with a smooth pod, ones that will "snap"
cleanly when broken. Those that bend are likely drying out
or too tough to eat. Also avoid bumpy pods because they contain
enlarged seeds that have lost their tenderness.
You can refrigerate these beans for up to one week; they should
be stored dry, unwashed and bagged in plastic.
Preparing
Rinse off and top and tail beans before using.
They can be mixed with corn kernels to make succotash or cooked
in boiling water for 8 minutes with the lid off to retain
their bright colour.
Serve them with parsley butter; fresh lemon juice and sweet
butter; or some chopped green onion and finely chopped garlic.
Or try a German-style dressing of sour cream thinned with
a spoonful of vinegar and mixed with a little chopped onion.
A Middle Eastern dish might feature steamed beans with olive
oil and lemon. A Greek meal calls for slowly cooked fresh
beans with tomatoes and cumin.
The French purée them in soup or serve with tuna, hard-cooked
eggs, tomatoes and olives as part of a salade niHoise. In
China, they fry beans with slivered meat and hot peppers,
served with rice.
Nutrition
A source of folacin and Vitamin C. One cup contains only
35 calories.
History
Green and yellow beans are part of the haricot category which
have been cultivated as long ago as 7000 BC in the Americas.
Haricots, soy and flat beans have all been sources of food
for humans since prehistoric times.
Columbus discovered beans growing in Cuba and, about 15 years
later, Jacques Cartier found them near the mouth of the St.
Lawrence River.
Beans formed a mainstay of aboriginal diets, particularly
in what is now Canada and the south-west United States.
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