Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Do You Say Green Beans or String Beans?

farmers' market string beans

What's the vegetable in the picture above?

Did you say "green beans," "string beans," "snap beans," or something else? I hope you didn't say broccoli. Then we'd have a real problem.

I grew up in New England where we called them "string beans." Despite the fact that I've lived in California for eight years now where I seem to be only one who calls them "string beans," I just can't bring myself to call them "green beans." And I certainly never called them "green beans" or "snap beans" when I lived in the South either. What kind of Yankee would I have been?

Apparently, it's just a geographical preference -- no right or wrong answers here. So how about you? What do you call them, and where are you from?

I not only like saying "string beans," I really like eating them. Here are four of my favorite string bean or green bean recipes:

rainbow carrots n beans orange mat


Green beans with prosciutto, pinenuts, and Meyer lemon


string beans and tofu in Thai peanut butter sauce


DSC_0019


Here are five more tempting string bean or green bean recipes to try:
Pickled Green Beans recipe from The Cilantropist
Green Beans with Balsamic Brown Butter recipe from Pinch My Salt
Spicy Green Beans with Ginger and Garlic recipe from The Perfect Pantry
Green Beans with Caramelized Red Onions recipe from Andrea's Recipes
World's Easiest Garlicky String Bean Stir Fry recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen