We eat many types beans but only relatively few are eaten fresh. Many more are eaten in the dry form. Those eaten fresh are not necessarily distinct varieties but are simply picked at an immature stage, when the inner seed has just started to form. If these are left to mature on the plant, they eventually grow to full size and dry in the pod.

Fresh beans can be thought of in two broad categories: those with edible pods (Chinese long beans, haricot verts, Italian green beans, purple wax beans, scarlet runner beans and snap beans) and those that are shelled (such as lima beans and other "shell" beans). Those in the edible pod category are available from the New York State harvest from the middle of June and until the first frosts sets in.

Check out your region's GUIDE TO FARM FRESH FOODS** for locations of U-pick farm and roadside stands.

Interesting Facts:

	Green beans don't only come in green. You can find yellow, red, and purple beans too.
	Dry bean varieties come in a wide range of colors and may even be speckled with multiple colors!

Side Bar:

	Beans are excellent in stir-fry, stews, soups, salads, or steamed and topped with a little butter.
	Green beans are good sources of folic acid, vitamin A and vitamin C and have a fair amount of iron.
	Look for a crisp bean that snaps easily between your fingers. They should be firm and slender with a fresh, vivid color and a velvety feel.
	Store unwashed beans for up to 1 week in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Eating - Now That's Easy!
Cooking fresh beans: Before cooking the stems should be trimmed from the beans. A variety of cooking methods are well-suited to beans such as steaming, simmering or boiling (5-10 minutes) until brighter in color and tender. When you cook purple beans (yes, there are purple fresh beans, too!) they turn bright green. This can be a fun, quick cooking experiment to do with children. To minimize nutrient loss for beans as well as most vegetables, keep the amount of water used in cooking to a minimum.

Snap Beans with Dill Makes 4-6 servings.
2 cups green beans, cut in half	2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 large garlic cloves, pressed	1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup cider vinegar	1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Bring water to boil in small pot under a vegetable steamer. Add beans; steam 4-6 minutes. When beans are still bright green and just tender, remove from the steamer. Stir dill into warm beans. Combine garlic, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and sugar or honey in a saucepan and quickly bring to boil. Simmer 2 minutes. Pour dressing over green beans and mix well. Add oil and stir. Serve hot or chilled 20 minutes.

Green Bean Salad - Rose Valley Farm Food Book
1/4 cup minced onions	1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon Vinegar	1/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste	1 pound trimmed green beans
Chopped herbs - thyme, dill, or summer savory	1 garlic cloves, chopped or pressed
Mix all ingredients except beans. Marinate raw beans in dressing for 24 hours. Makes 3-4 servings.

Garlic Green Beans - The Market Basket, Maine WIC Program
2 pounds. fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
3 tablespoon Oil	3 tablespoon vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced	Pepper to taste
Cook beans by steaming for 5 minutes. Drain beans. Combine oil, vinegar, garlic and pepper in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Place lid on jar and shake until well blended. Pour over drained beans and toss. Serves 4-6.

Nutritional Value
Beans in their immature pod stage are good sources of folic acid, vitamin A and vitamin C. Beans also provide fair amounts of iron. Beans allowed to mature to dried seeds are high in protein and carbohydrate in the form of starch.

Best Way to Store
The best way to store fresh beans is for short periods of time (up to one week) in plastic bags in the refrigerator. Remember: Don't rinse before storing in the refrigerator. Beans can be frozen for longer periods of time by blanching first in boiling water, rinsing with cold water, draining and finally packing in an airtight container.

Selection
It is best to buy beans that are crisp and that snap easily between your fingers. They should have a fresh, vivid color and a velvety feel, and should be mostly straight or gently curved and slender (about the thickness of a pencil), with a firm texture. Generally, you want to look for a long, thin bean, one that doesn't show much bulging around the growing seed

Fresh beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) include snap beans, purple beans and purple wax beans. As a part of the plant, these vegetables represent the seeds and pods.

Beans are eaten at all stages from baby beans to dry beans with fresh and "shell" beans in between...When can you find the most tender, most succulent green beans? Now! from your local grower.

Beans make excellent additions to stir-fry, stews, soups, salads, or steamed then dressed with a small amount of oil or butter or marinated with onion rings in a dill vinaigrette dressing and served as a side dish.