View source for Green bean

{{Short description|Unripe, young fruit of cultivars of the bean}}
{{Redirect|String beans|the vaudeville entertainer|Butler May|the 1918 film|String Beans (film){{!}}''String Beans'' (film)}}
{{About||the cultivar of Asian bean sometimes also referred to as "green bean"|Mung bean|green coffee beans|Green coffee}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2018}}
[[File:Heaps of beans.jpg|alt=Lots of green beans in a pile|thumb|A pile of raw green beans|305x305px]]

'''Green beans''' are young, unripe fruits of various [[cultivar]]s of the common bean (''[[Phaseolus vulgaris]]''),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=134 |title=Green Beans |publisher=The World's Healthiest Foods |access-date=March 2, 2017 |archive-date=August 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802102427/http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=134 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="UIL">{{cite web |url=http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/beans.cfm |title=Beans – Vegetable Directory – Watch Your Garden Grow – University of Illinois Extension|date=May 20, 2024 }}</ref> although immature or young pods of the runner bean (''[[Phaseolus coccineus]]''), yardlong bean ([[Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis|''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis'']]), and hyacinth bean (''[[Lablab purpureus]]'') are used in a similar way.<ref name="UMN">{{cite web |title=Growing beans in Minnesota home gardens |url=https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-beans |publisher=University of Minnesota Agricultural Extension |access-date=December 23, 2018}}</ref> Green beans are known by many common names, including<!--Provide a reliable source with any name addition--> '''French beans''',<ref name="FGtP">{{cite book |last1=Green |first1=Aliza |title=Field Guide to Produce |year=2004 |page=126 |publisher=Quirk Books |isbn=978-1-931686-80-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3n0tqNigzbkC&pg=PA126}}</ref> '''string beans''' (although most modern varieties are "stringless"),{{r|FGtP}} and '''snap beans'''{{r|FGtP}} or simply "snaps."<ref>Singh BK and Singh B. 2015. Breeding perspectives of snap bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris'' L.). ''Vegetable Science'' '''42'''(1): 1-17.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hatch |first1=Peter J. |title="A Rich Spot of Earth": Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello |date=April 24, 2012 |pages=159–161 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-17114-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMSAvxZmuycC&pg=PA159}}</ref> In the Philippines, they are also known as "Baguio beans" or "{{lang|es|habichuelas}}" to distinguish them from [[yardlong beans]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Baguio Beans |url=https://www.maribehlla.com/vegetables/baguio-beans/ |website=Maribehlla |date=January 25, 2011 |access-date=20 October 2019}}</ref>

They are distinguished from the many other varieties of beans in that green beans are harvested and consumed with their enclosing pods before the bean seeds inside have fully matured. An analogous practice is the harvest and consumption of unripened [[pea]] pods, as is done with [[snow pea]]s or [[sugar snap pea]]s.

== Uses ==
As common food in many countries, green beans are sold fresh, canned, and frozen. They can be eaten raw or steamed, boiled, stir-fried, or baked. They are commonly cooked in other dishes, such as [[soups]], [[stews]], and [[casserole]]s. Green beans can be pickled, similarly to [[cucumber]]s.

A dish with green beans common throughout the northern US, particularly at [[Thanksgiving]], is [[green bean casserole]], a dish of green beans, [[cream of mushroom soup]], and [[Fried onion|French-fried onions]].<ref name="TNBR">{{cite book |author=Cook's Illustrated |title=The New Best Recipe |publisher=[[America's Test Kitchen]] |year=2004}}</ref>

==Nutrition==
{{nutritionalvalue | name=Raw green beans
| kJ=131
| protein=1.83 g
| fat=0.22 g
| carbs=6.97 g
| fiber=2.7 g
| calcium_mg=37
| iron_mg=1.03
| magnesium_mg=25
| phosphorus_mg=38
| potassium_mg=211
| zinc_mg=0.24
| manganese_mg=0.215
| vitC_mg=12.2
| thiamin_mg=0.082
| riboflavin_mg=0.104
| niacin_mg=0.734
| pantothenic_mg=0.225
| vitB6_mg=0.141
| folate_ug=33
| vitA_ug=35
| vitK_ug=14.4
| opt1n=Water
| opt1v=90 g
| source_usda=1
| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/1103337/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]
}}
Raw green beans are 90% water, 7% [[carbohydrate]]s, 2% [[protein (nutrient)|protein]], and contain negligible [[fat]] (table). In a {{convert|100|g|oz|abbr=off|adj=on|frac=2}} reference amount, raw green beans supply {{convert|131|kJ|kcal|abbr=off}} of [[food energy]] and are a moderate source (range 10–19% of the [[Daily Value]]) of [[vitamin C]], [[vitamin K]], [[vitamin B6|vitamin B<sub>6</sub>]], and [[manganese]], while other [[micronutrient]]s are in low supply (table).

== Domestication ==
The green bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris'') originated in Central and South America, where there is evidence that it has been cultivated in Mexico and Peru for thousands of years.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://cals.arizona.edu/fps/sites/cals.arizona.edu.fps/files/cotw/Green_Beans.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112082048/https://cals.arizona.edu/fps/sites/cals.arizona.edu.fps/files/cotw/Green_Beans.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Characteristics ==
The first "stringless" bean was bred in 1894 by Calvin Keeney, called the "father of the stringless bean," while working in [[Le Roy, New York]].<ref name="keeney">{{cite book |title=Taylor's guide to heirloom vegetables |location=Boston |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=1996 |isbn=0-395-70818-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/taylorsguidetohe00benj }}</ref> Most modern green bean varieties do not have strings.{{R|UMN}}

=== Plant ===
Green beans are classified by growth habit into two major groups, "bush" (or "dwarf") beans and "pole" (or "climbing") beans.<ref name="TBC">{{cite book |last=McGee |first=Rose Marie Nichols |author2=Stuckey, Maggie |title=The Bountiful Container |publisher=Workman Publishing |year=2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Garrelts |first1=C. |last2=Garrelts |first2=Megan |last3=Lee |first3=Bonjwing |title=Bluestem: The Cookbook |publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4494-0061-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLqRMBK_wyQC&pg=PA71 |page=71}}</ref><ref name="RHS">[https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables/french-beans How to Grow French Beans] – [[Royal Horticultural Society]], RHS Gardening</ref>

Bush beans are short plants, growing to not more than {{convert|2|ft|cm}} in height, often without requiring supports. They generally reach maturity and produce all of their fruit in a relatively short period, then cease to produce. Owing to this concentrated production and ease of mechanized harvesting, bush-type beans are those most often grown on commercial farms. Bush green beans are usually cultivars of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris'').

Pole beans have a climbing habit and produce a twisting vine, which must be supported by "poles," [[Trellis (architecture)|trellises]], or other means. Pole beans may be common beans (''Phaseolus vulgaris''), runner beans (''Phaseolus coccineus'') or yardlong beans (''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis'').<ref name="Capomolla 2017">{{cite book |last=Capomolla |first=F. |title=Growing Food the Italian Way |publisher=Pan Macmillan Australia |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-76055-490-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5MtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA143 |access-date=February 26, 2018 |page=143}}</ref><ref name="Watson 1996">{{cite book |last=Watson |first=B. |title=Taylor's Guide to Heirloom Vegetables |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |series=TAYLOR'S WEEKEND GARDENING GUIDES |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-395-70818-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/taylorsguidetohe00benj |url-access=registration |access-date=February 26, 2018 |page=[https://archive.org/details/taylorsguidetohe00benj/page/238 238]}}</ref>

'''Half-runner''' beans <!-- redirects to here --> have both bush and pole characteristics, and are sometimes classified separately from bush and pole varieties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://homeguides.sfgate.com/planting-directions-white-halfrunner-beans-45691.html|title=Planting Directions for White Half-Runner Beans|website=sfgate.com|date=September 30, 2012 |access-date=May 24, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AFnVCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT58|title=Blue Ribbon Vegetable Gardening: The Secrets to Growing the Biggest and Best Prizewinning Produce|first=Jodi|last=Torpey|date=January 9, 2016|publisher=Storey Publishing|isbn=978-1-61212-395-0|access-date=May 24, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CmrkBwAAQBAJ&q=half-runner&pg=PP1|title=Gardeners' Guide to Growing Green Beans in the Vegetable Garden: The Green Bean Book – Growing Bush, Pole Beans For Beginning Gardeners|first=Paul R.|last=Wonning|publisher=Mossy Feet Books|isbn=978-1-311-55978-4|access-date=May 24, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fVq0CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA58|title=Beans and Field Peas: a Savor the South® cookbook|first=Sandra A.|last=Gutierrez|date=October 15, 2015|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=978-1-4696-2396-2|access-date=May 24, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref> Their runners can be about {{convert|3|to(-)|10|ft|m|0|order=flip|spell=in|abbr=off}} long.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wOWkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT332|title=Appalachian Appetite: Recipes from the Heart of America|first=Susi Gott|last=Séguret|date=January 24, 2017|publisher=Hatherleigh Press|isbn=978-1-57826-705-7|access-date=May 24, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref>{{Irrelevant citation|reason=Never mentions stringless, even after expanding all the collapsed sections.|date=November 2023}}

=== Varieties ===
[[File:BBC Gardeners World - 2017-06-15 - Andy Mabbett - 02.jpg|thumb|Varieties of climbing French beans, from left: 'The Hunter,' 'Cosse Violette,' 'Rob Roy,' 'Rob Splashed,' 'Kingston Gold']]

Over 130 varieties (cultivars) of edible pod beans are known.<ref>{{cite book |title=Cornucopia II : a source book of edible plants |isbn=0-9628087-2-5 |last=Facciola |first=Stephen |publisher=Kampong Publications |year=1998}}</ref> Varieties specialized for use as green beans, selected for the succulence and flavor of their green pods, are the ones usually grown in the home vegetable garden, and many varieties exist. Beans with various pod colors (green, purple, red, or streaked.<ref>Singh B K, Pathak K A, Ramakrishna Y, Verma V K and Deka B C. 2011. "Purple-podded French bean with high antioxidant content." ''ICAR News: A Science and Technology Newsletter'' '''17''' (3): 9.</ref>) are collectively known as snap beans, while green beans are exclusively green. Pod shapes range from thin and circular ("fillet" types) to wide and flat ("romano" types) and more common types in between.

The three most commonly known types of green beans belonging to the species ''[[Phaseolus vulgaris]]'' are string or snap beans, which may be round or have a flat pod; stringless or French beans, which lack a tough, fibrous string running along the length of the pod; and runner beans, which belong to a separate species, ''[[Phaseolus coccineus]]''. Green beans may have a purple rather than green pod, which changes to green when cooked.<ref name="Press 2002">{{cite book |author=Press, L. |year=2002 |title=The Bean Book: Over Seventy Incredible Recipes |publisher=Globe Pequot Press |location=Guilford, Conn. |isbn=978-1-58574-473-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/beanbookover70re0000unse_s1h8/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=December 2022}}
Yellow-podded green beans are also known as '''wax beans'''.{{r|UMN}}
Wax bean cultivars are commonly of the bush or dwarf form.<ref name="Phillips 1993">{{cite book |author1=Phillips, R. |author2=Rix, M. |year=1993 |title=Vegetables |publisher=Random House |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/vegetables0000phil_j5e7/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-679-75024-6}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=December 2022}}

All of the following varieties have green pods and are ''Phaseolus vulgaris'' unless otherwise specified:

==== Bush (dwarf) types ====
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* Blue Lake 274{{r|UIL}}
* Contender<ref name="totab">{{cite web|url = https://harvesttotable.com/bean_varieties_best_bets_and_e/ | title = Bean Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow | date = May 10, 2009 | access-date = December 23, 2018}}</ref>
* Derby (1990 [[All-America Selections|AAS]] winner){{r|UIL}}
* Golden Wax Improved (yellow/wax), 60 days
* Greencrop, 53 days
* Heavyweight II, 53 days
* Improved Tendergreen<ref>{{cite web|title = Improved Tendergreen Bush Green Bean | url = https://www.victoryseeds.com/bean_tendergreen-improved.html | access-date = December 23, 2018}}</ref>
* Provider<ref name="totab"/>
* Rocquencourt (yellow/wax), 50 days, heirloom<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/heirloom-beans-zmaz06amzraw | title = Three Heirloom Beans | date = April 2006 | access-date = May 17, 2020}}</ref>
* Royal Burgundy (purple pod), 55 days
* Stringless Green Pod, heirloom<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.saveseeds.org/biography/keeney/index.html | title = Seedsmen Hall of Fame
 | access-date = December 23, 2018}}</ref>
* Triomphe de Farcy, 48 days, heirloom
}}

==== Pole (climbing) types ====
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* Algarve{{R|RHS}}
* Blue Lake{{r|UIL}}
* Golden Gate (yellow/wax){{R|RHS}}
* Gold Marie, 75 days, Common [[Mosaic virus]] (BCMV) resistant 
* Kentucky Blue ([[All-America Selections|AAS]] Winner){{r|UIL}}
* Kentucky Wonder{{r|UIL}}, 65 days, heirloom
* [[Rattlesnake bean]], 65 days, heirloom 
* Scarlet Runner (''[[Phaseolus coccineus]]'')<ref>[http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/runner-beans-are-beautiful-and-edible Runner beans are edible] – Oregon State University Agricultural Extension</ref>
* Trionfo Violetto (purple pod), 60 days 
}}

== Production ==
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; clear:left; width:14em; text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan=2|Production of <br>green beans – 2020<br/>
|-
!  style="background:#ddf; width:75%;"| Country
!  style="background:#ddf; width:25%;"| <small>(Millions of [[tonne]]s)</small>
|-
| {{CHN}} ||18.0
|-
| {{IDN}} ||0.9
|-
| {{IND}} ||0.6
|-
| {{TUR}} ||0.5
|-
| {{THA}} ||0.3
|-
| '''World''' || '''23.3'''
|-
|colspan=2|<small>Source: [[FAOSTAT]] of the [[United Nations]]</small><ref name="faostat">{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC|title= Production of green beans in 2020, Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity (pick lists)|date=2022|publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT)|access-date=6 May 2022}}</ref>
|}
In 2020, world production of green beans was 23 million tonnes, with [[China]] accounting for 77% of the total (table).

==Gallery==
<gallery>

File:A green bean.jpg|Green common beans on the plant
File:CDC greenbean.jpg|Whole raw green beans packed in a [[punnet]] for sale
File:Green beans with green bean slicer.jpg|Green beans with bean slicer
File:Cut Green Beans.jpg|Cut and cooked green beans
File:Four Different Varieties of Green Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris).jpg|Four varieties of the common green bean presenting variations in color, size, shape, and texture
File:Pickled Beans (3920862383).jpg|Pickled beans
File:GreenbeanFrance.jpg|Green beans on a bush plant
File:Signal-2023-08-05-204959 003.jpg|Mature green beans, freshly picked in France
File:Green beans, strung up to dry on the porch, known as leather britches or shucky beans.jpg|Dried green beans (known as leather britches or [[shucky beans]])

</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Cookbook|Green bean}}
{{Commons category|Green beans}}
* [https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/seasonal-produce-guide/green-beans Green beans] at [[United States Department of Agriculture]]

{{Phaseolus}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Edible legumes]]
[[Category:Pod vegetables]]
[[Category:Phaseolus]]
[[Category:Thanksgiving food]]