Different Kinds Of String Beans

Let’s talk string beans. Not the boring kind you hide under a napkin at dinner—the glorious, crunchy, snappy legumes that deserve their own fan club. They’re also called snap beans, green beans, or haricots verts if you’re feeling fancy and want to charge triple the price. I’m here to crack open the pod on the wild world of string beans, one hilarious fact at a time.

The Classic Green Bean: Your Reliable Friend

First up is the regular green bean: the workhorse of the vegetable drawer. It’s the bean your grandma steamed until it wept, then drowned in butter. But here’s a surprise: those “strings” that gave them the name? Almost gone.

Breeders spent decades removing the tough, fibrous string that ran down the seam. Today’s green bean is a lazy bean—no strings attached, so you can snap it in half with a satisfying crack that sounds like breaking a tiny twig. It’s the most forgiving bean: overcook it and it’s a sad, mushy soldier; blanch it right and it’s a crunchy green bullet of joy.

Yellow Wax Beans: The Solar-Powered Cousin

Meet the yellow wax bean: the green bean’s sun-kissed, show-off cousin. It’s the same plant, just a different color, like a chameleon that forgot to finish the job. These beans get their sunshine hue from a lack of chlorophyll, which sounds like a botanical identity crisis.

Here’s the kicker: yellow wax beans are naturally sweeter than green ones. They’re the candy bars of the legume world, minus the guilt. Pro tip: toss them raw into a salad and watch your friends ask, “Are these… banana slices?” No, Brenda, they’re beans. Get out of here.

Haricots Verts: The French Bean That Lifts Pinkies

Now we enter the haute couture of beans: haricots verts. These are the skinny, delicate French beans that cost as much as a small latte. They’re thinner, longer, and so elegant they should come with a tiny beret. Don’t let the name fool you—they’re just green beans that went to finishing school.

But here’s the funny part: haricots verts are not younger versions of regular green beans. They’re a different variety that matures to stay slender, like a skinny jeans model who never hits the buffet. They cook in two minutes flat, so if you blink, you’ve turned them into bean confetti. Serve them with butter and almonds, and you’re basically a Michelin-star chef.

15 Types of Green Beans You Should Try - Mothers Always Right

Purple Beans: The Unicorn of the Patch

Purple beans are the wild child of the bean family. They look like they’ve been dipped in grape juice and left in a dark alley. Plant them in your garden, and kids will ask if they’re magic. Spoiler: they are magic—sort of.

Here’s the shocking science: when you cook purple beans, they turn green. That gorgeous purple pigment is an anthocyanin, the same stuff in blueberries, and it dissolves in heat like a shy celebrity at a press conference. So you start with a bowl of amethyst jewels and end with regular green beans. It’s a vegetable magic trick that disappoints everyone except a botanist. Serve them raw for a showstopper, or cook them and confuse your guests.

Roma Beans: The Flat-Tire Bean

Roma beans, also called Italian flat beans, are the bodybuilders of the bunch. They’re wide, flat, and about as subtle as a brick through a window. These beans were designed for slow cooking and hearty stews, because they refuse to fall apart. They’re the leather boots of the bean world—tough, reliable, and they only get better with age.

Fun fact: Roma beans have a richer, nuttier flavor than green beans. They’re the farmhouse cheese to green bean’s processed slice. Slice them into strips, sauté with garlic, and suddenly you’re an Italian nonna who yells at people to eat more. They also freeze beautifully, so you can hoard them like a squirrel with a pension plan.

Types Of Beans

Chinese Long Beans: The Stretch Armstrong Bean

Chinese long beans, or yard-long beans, are the NBA players of the legume court. They can grow up to three feet long, which is basically a bean that needs its own zip code. Don’t confuse them with regular beans—they’re actually related to cowpeas, which sounds like a cow’s sneeze but is a real thing.

They’re stringy, yes, but in a good way—they stay crunchy even after stir-frying. You can tie them in a knot, which makes a great party trick if you’re desperate entertainment. Warning: eating them raw is like chewing a rubber band, so always cook them with garlic, soy sauce, and a splash of “I-have-no-idea-what-I’m-doing” confidence.

A Surprising Fact That Will Blow Your Mind

Here’s the mic-drop moment: all string beans are technically unripe fruits. That’s right—you’ve been eating plant embryos surrounded by a crisp shell. They are the teenage versions of the plant world, full of potential (and crunch). Let them mature, and they become dry beans like kidney or pinto beans. So every time you snap a green bean, you’re eating a pod that would rather be a bean burrito. Hilarious, right?

Now go out there and choose your favorite. Green, yellow, purple, or long—each bean has a personality. Just don’t boil them into oblivion, or you’ll offend the entire legume kingdom. And if you’re ever bored at a dinner party, drop the “unripe fruit” fact. You’ll either be crowned the bean expert or politely asked to leave. Either way, you’ll be the hero of the salad bowl.