I’m picky about green beans. Lately, my favorite way to eat them is to toss them with a gob of Dijon mustard and a ton of spices, then broil them. You get a crust of sorts. I eat them like French fries!
But no matter how they’re prepared, I won’t eat green beans if they’re rubbery or tough. Sometimes they just need to be cooked longer. Other times it’s simply the green beans themselves. They’re bad and no amount of culinary magic could save them.
It all starts with sourcing good beans. I use a handy little test to help me decide if they’re up to spec.
Credit: Simply Recipes / Getty Images
How To Tell if Green Beans Are Good
They have to snap! If a green bean snaps when you bend it, it’s a sign that it’s fresh and tender and good eating. Take it from a lady who’s spent hours and hours snapping beans. It might be a Midwestern or Southern thing, but in the summertime when you have a big batch of green beans from the garden, you sit on a porch and snap off the heads and tails. No paring knife at all! It’s faster and really quite satisfying.
You can try this out in the store without decimating their green bean offerings. Just bend one and if it makes a “U” with no resistance at all, move along! Those are not the green beans for you.
The occasional tiny green bean you find won’t snap when you bend it, normal for an immature green bean. This test is for full-size green beans. Be respectful and don’t manhandle the whole bin of beans. All you’re doing is giving one an exploratory stress test.
Other Signs of Green Beans Worth Skipping
Quality green beans are smooth, firm, and not too thick or thin. The tail end should be perky, not limp. Here are some other red flags:
-
Beans that are wrinkled or shriveled
-
Big bulging beans visible underneath the green pod, which indicate they’re too mature
-
Lots of spotty brown freckly patches
-
A dark green color versus a lighter, brighter green
If you’re making a from-scratch version of green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, when green beans aren’t in season, you might be better off using frozen green beans if the fresh offerings don’t look good. So the next time you’re shopping for green beams, remember to make it snappy! No one deserves flaccid beans.
Read the original article on Simply Recipes