Pick your beans before they get stringy
There’s a reason we call them “string” beans. They have strings!
Some of them are really nasty strings, too, if you let the beans get too old before picking them. But I must have been out of town when they sent this memo. I had no idea that I needed to monitor my string beans as closely as I watch my okra. My daughter has accused me of trying to gag her with beans. My wife, spitting out a wad of strings, says there could be severe repercussions if I dare to plant these beans again.
The beans in question are pole beans, specifically Kentucky Wonder. My Southern Exposure Seed Exchange catalogue describes this bean as “a popular variety since its introduction.” But I must have glossed over the part where it says “stringless and tender when small.”
So what does “small” mean? How small? There are some rough guides for judging when a string bean has gotten too big. For instance, if you can see the outlines of the beans inside the pod, chances are you slept passed the point when those beans should have been picked. Or how about a week to 10 days after the flowers appear? That would require some pretty fancy counting. A farmer friend who occasionally stops by showed me his method for judging bean doneness: bend the bean pod in half: if it snaps, it’s ready for harvest.
We have had great success with bush beans such as Blue Lake and Contender and Romano. We never experience trouble with strings in these beans. I would hate to think that I am incapable of similar success with vining string beens. Growing them up a simple trellis makes a great display in the garden and saves lots of space in our urban plot.
The Southern Exposure catalogue is full of tantalizing heirloom varieties with romantic names: McCaslan, Potomac, Rattlesnake, Ruth Bible, Turkey Craw, Zelma Zesta, Cherokee Cornfield. There are also purple podded beans with fantastic foliage: Dean’s Purple Pole, Blue Coco, Louisana Purple. And there’s at least one yellow-podded bean advertised: Grandma Nellile’s Yellow Mushroom. Doesn’t this make you want to plant more string beans?
So come on, readers. Help save this marriage. Tell me what you think is the world’s greatest string bean for growing up a trellis. And what’s your strategy for serving them nice and tender, without the strings?
We are engaging the concerns of a hungry planet--slowly--right here in our kitchen garden in the District of Columbia, about a mile from the White House.
You probably figured I would have an opinion, Ed.
Of those on your list, I grow Rattlesnake, Zelma Zesta and Blue Coco. I also grow Kentucky Wonder.
Hand’s down, the best of them is the Rattlesnake. YES they have strings, but they are usually very easy to remove. I think these are the best beans because they have the most fabulous taste: so much more depth than a bush bean, and, unlike the other 2 I mentioned, the taste is there no matter what the size of the bean.
Don’t you do shelly beans? You know, the too-big-for-green, too-wet-for-dry beans? By far my favorite way of eating beans, ever. And: ANY bean can be a shell bean.
But: you should try yard-long beans and limas if you want some great climbers. Lablab too as the flowers are gorgeous. And then there’s the runner beans…ah, I adore beans!
Hi Ed, We planted Potomac and Blue Coco, among others, this year. While we’ve had some issues, mostly, I’m sure to nutritional deficiencies (this is our first year gardening in this spot), insects, and possibly even disease…I have to say that we’ll definitely grow Blue Coco again! Potomac stayed actually surprisingly bushy (although the plants really didn’t do too well due to aforementioned issues…so I’m not sure if that’s representative of their true character).
The Blue Coco on the other hand, just keep setting through thick and thin. In fact, we thought the plants were goners weeks ago when they stopped setting beans, but just Sunday we brought in a few more (I’ll be posting a picture of that harvest later this evening –http://5woodedacres.blogspot.com/, so you can check out the beautiful color and size)–and they’re quite tasty too! They twined nicely up the trellis that we gave them.
We ordered both varieties from Southern Exposure….and I would definitely give the Blue Coco my vote
Yes, El. I was hoping to hear from you. I know you’ve posted at some length about beans in the past, and where to acquire rare heirloom beans. I used to plant shell beans. Especially loved certain varities of limas, such as Christmas beans, as well as cranberry beans. But I’m afraid we’re off of those because of the starch/insulin issues. And thanks for opining on that question of whether any bean can be a shell bean. In fact, I rather like the flavor and texture of the seeds inside the older Kentucky Wonder beans (they’re tan) and other people have asked me whether they are edible. But I still have this question: when to you harvest your Rattlesnake beans? Do they always have strings? What’s your favored method of removing the strings. Because I’ve spent considerable time removing strings from Kentucky Wonder beans, and somehow they always have strings when we eat them.
Sparow, thanks for the heads-up on Blue Coco beans. And I guess I can skip the Potomac beans. What is your strategy for harvesting your Blue Coco? Do you get them before they develop strings? Or do you have a favorite method for removing the strings?
Hah, Ed! I harvest the Rattlesnakes before you see the beans. It’s only the bigger beans that have strings and those strings aren’t that bad (really). The Blue Coco has worse strings, but then again, they’re blue (always interesting), and take a long time before they hit the shell stage. The Zelma Zestas were a bit of a disappointment this year, they don’t seem to climb too well.
With all pole green beans, there tends to be a bit of a dormant period when it gets really hot. It is about then that they get hit by Japanese beetles, at least in my yard. Then, it cools down, and I am swimming in beans again.
For what it’s worth, I use all my bush beans as freezer beans, all the poles as summer dinner fare. Because of the uniformity of the one and the different sizes of the others, it seems to work better this way for me.
I think I will make a post about shell beans. I taught a couple gardening classes this weekend and got a lot of (to me, anyway) surprising questions.
I recommend ‘Lazy Housewife’ – great name, great bean. Pods are fleshy rather than stringy, until the beans are a good size. You can get this one in the US as that’s where my seeds came from.
But, do try the ‘shelly beans’ as described above. In France they’re called ‘flageolot’ (freshly shelled haricot beans) and they are the traditional accompaniment to lamb. Try with a pan fried leg steak. Cook the shelled beans in boiling water until tender, while you are cooking the steak in a pan. Remove the lamb steak from the pan when it’s done to your liking and tip the cooked beans into the meat juices. Jiggle them about a bit while the meat has a rest and you take a few sips of a good red wine and then serve the beans. Cheers!
Enjoy Ed!
Celia
Celia, thank you for persisting as a commenter here in the face of a daunting registration process. And thanks for the tip on Lazy Housewife. Until now, I had not realized there were so many different string beans with so many fascinating and delicious names. The bean nomenclature does paint a colorful picture of the garden. I do agree about the flageolets, or shell beans. They can make delicious and budget-conscious food. One of our favorites was a mock-casoulet with Christmas beans. Unfortunately, they are not on our menu any more because of the high starch content. But we’ll cook that lamb for sure!
HI Ed–I wouldn’t count the Potomac out per se—we’ll be planting them again next year, I think to give them more of a fair shot…,.but they definitely don’t seem like climbers.
As for the Cocos’ strings, usually we try to get them before big fibrous strings develop..(usually…try…being the keywords here). If not, I either zip the worst part off by hand–or more commonly, snap, the bean into smaller pieces and saute for a few quick min. I find they don’t really bother me then…but I may be desensitized
Scarlet runner. Wikipedia tells me that Americans only grow it for the pretty red flowers! Madness It’s the best bean by far. There are varieties that are less stringy, they say so on the packet. They are also perennial.
Bronwyn, really? Scarlet runner bean? I was going to plant some along our fence this year but never got that far. I’ll try again next year.