String, Snap or Green Bean
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove the ends and strings from the green beans.
Soak wilted beans in cold water for at least 12 hours to refresh them.
Cook
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 teaspoon of salt.
Add the beans to the boiling water and cook for 20 minutes with the cover partly off.
Drain the beans in a colander and rinse with cold water.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Green beans
- The main vegetable; boiling softens its fibrous structure into a tender texture.
The step that matters
Cook the beans for 20 minutes. Boiling for too long breaks down the cell walls and chlorophyll, so the beans turn soft and dull olive-green. Checking them early helps keep a firm, bright texture.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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