French Beans
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove the ends and stalks from the young beans.
Place the beans in cold spring water.
If using mature beans, remove the ends and strings.
Cut the mature beans lengthwise or diagonally.
Cook
Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Add a small amount of coarse sea salt to the boiling water.
Add a small piece of baking soda to the boiling water to help maintain the beans' vibrant green color.
Add the beans to the boiling water.
Keep the pot uncovered while cooking.
Cook the beans for 15 minutes until tender.
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
- French beans
- Form the main body of the dish, cooking to a tender texture.
- Baking soda
- Raises the water's pH, helping the beans keep their bright green color.
The step that matters
Keep the pot uncovered while cooking. Cooking beans uncovered lets volatile acids escape, which helps the beans stay bright green instead of turning dull olive.
“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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