Snap Beans
Discover the varied shapes, sizes, colors, and textures of the season's best snap beans.
With most beans, you eat only the seeds, usually after they've been dried. But you can eat snap beans pod and all. Until a century ago, the pods had tough strings that cooks had to pull off before cooking (hence the name "string beans") but the snap beans you'll find in markets today are almost all stringless.
Look closely at the beans in the market. If the sides of the pods are bulging from the seeds, the beans will be tough because they were picked too late. Make sure the skin is taut. Old beans have leathery, discolored skin, and they may be limp. Next, pick up a bean, and break it in half. If you hear the signature snap, the bean is fresh. Once you get them home, cook snap beans as soon as possible. To preserve, wrap in a damp paper towel, place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate up to a week. If you can't cook them within a week, trim the stem ends, blanch the beans, cool, and freeze until you're ready to use in a recipe.
Over 2700 acres of Idaho crop land is planted with snap beans every year. Look for fresh snap beans at your local farmers market - and as always, look for the Idaho Preferred logo for the freshest product.
