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Produce - Bean Season

Prime Time for Freshness

By Dan Avakian

When I was a teenager, shoppers had more time to spend at the grocery store. I remember a customer who would stand at the green bean display for a full hour, picking through the green beans just to find half a pound of beans that were all straight and the same length. We thought it was a little strange, but to her it was everything.

Other customers who wanted to get to the green beans would get irritated. When the ones who did manage to get in would start to fill their bags, she would slap their hands. It was hysterical. I wish I had that kind of time on my hands. Today's customers may not have that kind of time, but they can get the same fresh beans, and bean season is in full swing. Green beans from California start as early as Easter from the Imperial Valley, but the official season begins in May with beans from Oxnard and Watsonville. However, it is the crop closest to home that is most popular with the local folk. What's left of the Brentwood growing area brings us many varieties of green beans that come to the market in some instances on the very same day as picked. The Brentwood green bean season begins in mid-June and runs until mid-September and sometimes into October.

Brentwood beans include several tasty varieties. The ever-popular Romano or Italian Bean, is a flat, stringless bean that, along with its yellow cousin, ranges from 1/2 to 3/4 inches in width and about 5 to 7 inches in length. The bean is usually a little tough when raw but steams up tender, meaty and mildly waxy. Its unique flavor is outstanding.

French beans, also known as haricot vert, are picked early while still very small and thin. These beans are long and straight, tender in texture, yet crisp and very tasty. They are very popular with chefs and are served at high-end restaurants. Although this bean is mostly sold through foodservice distributors, recent years has found it making its way to the retail stand.

Yellow wax beans are also French beans, and, like green beans, they are crisp, but milder in flavor. Many chefs prefer them over green beans because they make an attractive presentation. Yellow wax beans are also the bean of choice in pickled vegetables, because unlike their green counterpart, they don't fade in color. Yellow wax beans dehydrate rapidly, so buy them fresh and use them right away.

Purple beans are still considered a specialty item, although they are making the crossover to mainstream. Purple beans are lovely in color and form and make an excellent presentation when used raw, as they do turn green with the slightest amount of heat. Using lemon juice or vinegar in the water when cooking does not work in keeping their color; however, they do cook up very nicely and have a very similar flavor to green varieties.

In the mid 1970s when I first started in the produce business, the improved "stringless" Kentucky Wonder flat green bean was most prevalent on the produce stand. The bean was crisp and very tasty, but was prone to rust and was soon replaced in the market by the round Blue Lake bean that we commonly see on the stands today.

When selecting green beans in the store, look for firm beans with a velvety texture and good color. A good bean will snap when broken in half. Avoid beans that are dull in color and have brown spots, especially on the ends.

Green beans are full of nutrition, providing vitamin A, fiber, potassium, folate and iron along with magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, copper, calcium, phosphorous, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and niacin. Fresh green beans are available year round from California, Mexico and Florida, but right now, we are in the heart of our local green bean crop, and the freshest tastiest beans should be what you find on your favorite produce stand.