Green beans (American English), also known as French beans (British English) & Squeaky beans, 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. It has come to be known commonly as the squeaky bean due to the noise it makes on ones teeth whilst eating.
The first "stringless" bean was bred in 1894 by Calvin Keeney, called the "father of the stringless bean", while working in Le Roy, New York.[1]
Contents |
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 129 kJ (31 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 7.1 g |
| - Dietary fibre | 3.6 g |
| Fat | 0.1 g |
| Protein | 1.8 g |
| Vitamin C | 16 mg (19%) |
| Iron | 1 mg (8%) |
| Potassium | 200 mg (4%) |
| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
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Bright green beans are of nearly universal distribution. They are marketed canned, frozen, and fresh.
Green beans are often steamed, boiled, stir-fried, or baked in casseroles. A dish with green beans popular throughout the United States, particularly at Thanksgiving, is green bean casserole, which consists of green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and French fried onions.[2]
Some restaurants in the USA serve green beans that are battered and fried, and Japanese restaurants in the United States frequently serve green bean tempura. Green beans are also sold dried and fried with vegetables like carrots, corn, and peas.
Beans contain high concentrations of lectins and may be harmful if consumed in excess in uncooked or improperly cooked form.
Green beans are found in two major groups, bush beans and pole beans.[3]
Bush beans are short plants, growing to approximately two feet in height, without requiring supports. They generally reach maturity and produce all of their fruit in a relatively short period of time, then cease to produce. Gardeners may grow more than one crop of bush beans in a season.
Over 130 varieties of snap bean are known.[4] Varieties specialized for use as green beans, selected for the succulence and flavor of their pods, are the ones usually grown in the home vegetable garden, and many varieties exist. Pod color can be green, golden, purple, red, or streaked. Shapes range from thin "fillet" types to wide "romano" types and more common types in between. French Haricots verts (green beans) are bred for flavorful pods.
The following varieties are among the most common and widely grown.
1 cup of green beans contains the following nutritional information according to the USDA:[5]
The flavonol miquelianin (Quercetin 3-O-glucuronide) can be found in green beans.[6]