harricot vert stringbeans

don't know if i'm spelling it right but i understand these are prized stringbeans that
are hard to find. my local sams club has them packed in two lb bundles and i was wondering
whether i could use the seeds from them to plant into the garden.

are they that good to eat?

These are simply filet beans (french); that's what the word means in french. They are the super thin, highly delicious green bean. It's about all I grow in the line of bush bean other than festina (which can also be atten thin). .Seed is widely available. Morgane is a popular market growers variety. Cook's garden has them and I think Johnny's does; even Wilhite has a variety.

I wouldn't use any seed from Sam's. They are too widely available.

thanks

DM:

What does "too widely available mean"?

Thanks
BB

They're absolutely DELICIOUS - & I grow some every year. What's nice about them is that they reach a longer length without acquiring the same thickness that regular snap beans would.

You can't plant seeds from those available for eating. The seeds aren't mature - but the seeds are available from pretty much every seed company.

Your local Agway probably has them.

Breezy,

Do you cook the filets well done or are they meant to be more crunchy? I raised Festina last year but found them kind of green tasting to me...I like beans soft and well done...and eat a whole quart at once

By widely available I mean lots of seed co's have them (just a few: johnny's, cook's garden, even parks and burpees have some, Willhite in Poolville TX has some).

Filets cook faster because they are skinnier and you just adjust the times to how you like them--I like them kinda crunchy but my nextdoor neighbor cooks the Festina's I give him just as soft as any of them. Filet beans will do the same.

If agway is like home depot or wally-world; they probably won't have them. They are a bit, how shall we say it, "trendy" for them. I really like them though and its about the only bush bean type other than Festina I grow--kids will eat them better too. My 17 yr old daughter much prefers them over regulars. But she also prefers the skinny carrots (so do I). It's a taste thing--you know; its subjective! lol

Is it bad that they are widely available?

I've ordered most of my seeds from places like Johnny's, SSE etc. But occasionaly, I pick up things from the local "box" stores. I picked up some berry plants today.

No Bronze--it just means lots of folks like them. Willhite puts them under their "French" varieties (whatever that means!). Lots of "trendy" restaurants like them too so marketgrowers also grow them if they have a large urban center to sell them too. That's actually how I got introduced to them.....cows, soybeans, and corn just don't make the "big bucks" down here like the "niche" growers do.

Ya know, there's hope even for us Texans...lol (just don't ask us not to wear cowboy boots, give up our pickem' up trucks, or turn over our firearms--we haven't evolved quite that far yet! lol).
Deb

LOL

I had to move south before I could take a stand against turning over my firearms.

Just couldn't get the dang things up north!!!! Not legally anyway LOL. I think it had something to do with the soil conditions

Thanks for clarifying. I thought there was something wrong with buying them there.

I was at WalMart the other day to get some seed supplies. They were giving away these Bonnie cabbage seedlings. 2 to a customer.

Supposedly they grow 40 pound heads. (I have no idea what I'll do with 80 pounds of cabbage.......Great ST Paddy's Day maybe)

Anyway I was a little skeptical about taking them and then I misinterpreted your post.

Actually....I think its just a fashion statement down here to have those rifles up on the racks in the back window of your truck....shows you got a little extra money to "show off" I guess....harleys are big fashion statements down south too....speaking of 40 pound heads of cabbage (and if they were giving them away I'd have taken them too! lol) I hear Bill Maher's new season starts tonight. Both are good for a little "cold slaw" .....
Deb

Many varieties that are available at the big box stores are great. Most are popular, tried and true cultivars that are easy to grow and have familiar names...I use Wal-mart and it's kind for many of my seed needs....saves on shipping. Sometimes you get a real prize by digging through the seed racks. I'm one of the first to go sorting through them right after Christmas before stuff gets picked over. If they're giving anything away free...by all means take it and grow it!!

Phaseolus vulgaris is the Latin name for most beans...including green beans, pinto beans, italian flat podded beans, kidney beans and haricot verts....they are all also known as French Beans...as opposed to Runner Beans (which are totally different species than pole beans)

Haricot vert simply means...'bean green.' In the French language, the descriptive always follows the noun, unlike the English...'green beans'. Any green bean will work, but some varieties tend to lend themselves to this type of harvesting better than others. They tend to grow long and slim before fattening up and having the seeds mature. What you are eating is simply a very inmature version of the normal green bean. Some of the cultivars that wouldn't be as popular would just be smaller and shorter when you harvested them. The ones that get long and slim before maturing are just a better choice.

Three popular varieties are Maxibel, Normandie and Fortex...even the yellow wax beans can be picked this way too.

To save seeds from a bean that you like, you'll have to let it get totally mature and turn yellow and wrinkled on the vine...it will not in any way resemble the skinny little morsel that you love so much...it will be big and bumpy and full of mature beans. It's best to let the beans dry on the vine, but if they are yellow and wrinkled, you can pull them and let them dry elsewhere.

Indy, My wife steams them to retain color and crunch.

I admit it, I cheat! I have not grown this kind of bean though I adore them. I buy mine frozen from Trader Joe's... They are especially great for the winter when it's very hard (in Michigan anyway) to get fresh-tasting beans. A 1.5 lb bag is only $2.00 for us here and these are definitely a family favourite. They are wonderful when steamed up! I can only imagine how good freshly grown haricot verts are if they are this good frozen!

they are heaven on Earth fresh calypsa!

I never cook green beans until completely soft & well done. One reason why I absolutely HATED canned green beans as a kid - lol.

However, I also don't leave them "crunchy", just cook them until they're tender, yet still bright green. I then drain them & put them back on the hot, but turned off, burner & toss them with a big glob of butter & whatever seasonings I'm using. They'll continue to cook a bit during this process as well. Tasting as you cook them is the only way to really get them the way you like them.

Breezy,
I too don't care for canned green beans....unless they are cooked quite a bit longer after opening the jar and then I like them a lot better.
Dr. Andrew Weil said that he did not believe that an all raw food diet was as much healthier than with some cooking of food. He says that enzymes get mostly killed in the stomach anyway. The enzymes of raw food were the main reason I guess for eating them raw in the first place.....so his take is something to ruminate about.

Ugh - the very idea of cooking canned green beans longer than they've already been processed in the can is even worse!! You must have misunderstood me Indy. I HATE canned green beans because they're already overcooked into mush - not because I need them cooked longer - lol!!!

We cook em the Italian way: in salted water until tender but still green green, then toss w/ olive oil, salt and lots of pepper (and sometimes slivers of fresh garlic). Oooh yum.

Hmm.....My canned green beans are firm out of the jar...not mush.

Oh Zeppy - sounds perfectly delicious.

Indy - I've had home-canned green beans as well, but again, they're firm, but still just too soft for my taste.

Zeppy:

I have to try that recipe.

My wife simmers a piece of cured meat: usually a turkey wing or hock that I've smoked. Then she drops the beans in the water and takes the meat out. She always gets the consistency just right: not too soft and not too hard.

BB

i start with boiling water. thrown in the fresh stringbeans and when the water starts to boil again i take them out and throw the beans into a pot of cold water. i like them crunchy.

I found this one at Walmart for $.97 cents.

http://www.burpee.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=465&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=13&iSubCat=215&iProductID=465&iSubSubCat=1914

It sure didn't perform well for me....

Stringless slender pole bean "McCaslan" is the nicest I've ever grown. Everyone who tasted it fresh asked for seeds.

I'm a green bean freak I grow them every year and have been growing them all this past fall and winter. Just planted a new crop of Blue Ribbon bush beans from Sandhill P.
I like mine best like this - saute sliced garlic and chopped onions in olive oil for a minute or so, add the beans, lower the heat, salt/pepper and throw in any other spices I'm in the mood for, cover and let simmer for about 7-8 minutes. Yowzer!
Flip