Green bean, string bean, french bean, snap bean – they’re all the same thing! Why do green beans have so many names? I don’t know, but I do know that they’re a vegetable everyone should be eating!
Green beans came from Peru but today, green beans can be found growing all over the world! In fact, they’re one of the most popular vegetables people grow in their gardens. Have you ever grown green beans?
Green beans are sometimes called string beans because they have a string that runs along the pod. The string doesn’t taste good so in 1894 a scientist figured out how to grow green beans with out the string. Most green beans today are stringless but the name, string bean, has stuck around.
A green bean is like a little machine that, when eaten, supplies your body with vitamins and minerals! Below are some of the main vitamins and minerals you get from eating the green bean machine:
Fiber: important for digestion and healthy blood sugar levels
Vitamin K: deficiency in this vitamin may cause blood to be too thin
Vitamin C: helps tissues stay healthy and promotes healthy growth
Folate: used to make new cells
Besides eating green beans raw, how else can we eat green beans? Here are some ideas:
- Dip them in your favorite dip
- Eat them with a salad
- Put green beans in a stir fry
- Roast them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt
- Cook beans, then sprinkle with your favorite cheese
- Garlicky green beans are easy and tasty
- Add green beans to a soup
- Make green bean casserole
Green beans aren’t always green, they can also be purple, red, or golden. Varieties of green beans are split into two groups based on how they’re grown – bush or pole.
Bush Beans grow without any support and can grow 1-2 feet tall. They’re able to grow in hotter weather compared to pole beans.
Pole Beans grow along a pole which helps grow more beans in less space. Pole beans take a little longer to grow than bush beans.
Information came from softschools.com, verywellfit.com, extension.illinois.edu