stripped away with the stem during preparation — hence the name “string beans” — were eliminated by a New York breeder in the late 19th century; these days only heirloom varieties tend to have strings There are two general forms of green bean, one with round and thin pods, the other with flat and broad pods Flat varieties have been found to have a more intense flavor The flavor of cooked green beans is interestingly complex; it includes a number of sulfur and “green” compounds, but also the essence of fresh mushroom (octenol) and a flowery terpene (linalool) Good-quality green beans can be hard to find, because they’re one of the most fragile vegetables Their tissue is very active, so they quickly consume their sugars and lose sweetness even in cold storage And thanks to their subtropical origins, they don’t keep well at refrigerator temperatures; their cells become damaged and lose chlorophyll Once they’re picked, tender low-fiber varieties quickly become wrinkled and limp as they lose moisture and sugars Commercial varieties have been bred with more fiber to help them survive shipping and marketing with a better shape Long or Yard-Long Beans Long beans, sometimes called asparagus beans, sometimes reach a yard/meter in length They’re the thin, small-seeded pods of a subspecies of black-eyed pea, a native of Africa that was taken to Asia more than 2,000 years ago Asian cultures already had a number of excellent seed legumes but no warm-climate vegetable legume, and it was India or China that developed the yard-long version of the black-eyed pea These beans have a higher fiber content than common green beans and therefore a drier, firmer texture when cooked They’re also sensitive to chilling (they keep best in the cold but ... China that developed the yard-long version of the black-eyed pea These beans have a higher fiber content than common green beans and therefore a drier, firmer texture when cooked They’re also sensitive to... help them survive shipping and marketing with a better shape Long or Yard-Long Beans Long beans, sometimes called asparagus beans, sometimes reach a yard/meter in length They’re the thin, small-seeded pods of a subspecies...they’re picked, tender low-fiber varieties quickly become wrinkled and limp as they lose moisture and sugars Commercial varieties have been bred with more fiber to help them survive shipping and marketing