General Information
Deep green in color, ranging from 3-5″ long. Very straight, round, and slender. A pronounced “grassy” taste and soft skin characterize this wonderful bean. Haricot vert [ah-ree-koh VEHR] is French for “green bean”. They have long, slender pods with intense color and flavor. And there are no “strings” to remove, so only the ends need trimming when cleaning them.
French beans are harvested anywhere from three to four inches in length, when their texture and flavor is at its peak. French beans have a thin, cylindrical shape with plump indentations along their contour, outlining the peas inside, which are shelled tightly within the bean flesh. The peas, which are essentially the bean’s seeds, are a vibrant lime green in color, semi-starchy in texture with a mild taste of the beans sweet and grassy flavors.
History
French beans’ ancestors are native to South and Central Americas. It was not until the late 16th century that green beans were introduced to France via the Conquistadors. It would remain a low profile vegetable among common agrarians though until the 19th century, when the French made the bean a household vegetable, the name Haricot Verts ultimately branding the bean as French indefinitely. Yet, there is little difference, botanically between a French bean and a green bean, though sub varieties and improved cultivars continue to be developed. The first string-less green bean was developed in New York State by Calvin Keeney in 1894.
