French Beans
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Remove the ends and stalks from the young beans and place them in cold water.
If using mature beans, remove the ends and strings, then cut them lengthwise or diagonally.
Cook
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a small amount of coarse sea salt.
Add a small piece of baking soda to the boiling water to help preserve the beans' green color.
Add the beans to the boiling water and cook uncovered for about 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
- Fresh young french beans
- Provide the main vegetable, whose tender texture softens as they cook.
- Baking soda
- Raises the water's pH, which helps the beans keep their bright green color.
The step that matters
Adding the baking soda to the boiling water. Baking soda makes the cooking water more alkaline, which helps preserve chlorophyll and keeps the green color bright. Too much can soften the beans and give them an off flavor, so only a small piece should be used.
“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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