2022 Little Easy Bean Network - We Are Beans Without Borders

[Decoy1]

I don't quite understand the bean designations in the UK? Dwarf varieties and French runner beans are the two categories. I'm thinking these are bushes and poles?

In UK, P. vulgaris are often called French beans. Within French beans there are climbing beans (pole) and dwarf beans (bush).

The term Runner beans usually refers to P. coccineus.

The term ‘French runner bean’ doesn’t sound at all UK. Were you referring to Adam Alexander’s use of that term in his book or website?

 

[meadow]

In UK, P. vulgaris are often called French beans.

Oh! That's good to know... I'd thought they were green beans (as opposed to shelling beans).

 

[flowerbug]

Did a couple more tallies.
...

i keep finding that scale's display to be really odd. in the last pic to me it looks like it is saying .9 1/4 lboz so .9lb + 1/4oz, but is it really saying 9 & 1/4 oz? kilos/grams make so much more sense.

 

[Decoy1]

Oh! That's good to know... I'd thought they were green beans (as opposed to shelling beans).

In UK making use of either shelled beans or dry beans is quite unusual. It's only real bean enthusiasts who are likely to use P. vulgaris in any way other than as snap (green) beans. So in effect you're right; it nearly always does imply green beans.
I hope I'm not confusing things further!

 

[meadow]

In UK making use of either shelled beans or dry beans is quite unusual. It's only real bean enthusiasts who are likely to use P. vulgaris in any way other than as snap (green) beans. So in effect you're right; it nearly always does imply green beans.
I hope I'm not confusing things further!

Thank you for the clarification! That explains it quite nicely.

 

[jbosmith]

Oh! That's good to know... I'd thought they were green beans (as opposed to shelling beans).

I haven't paid a lot of attention to the main stream seed catalogs in a long time, but "French Beans" used to refer to the longer, Haricot Vert style green beans rather than our stubbier American varieties.

I also vaguely remember it being a style of store-bought, metal-canned bean where the beans were 'frenched'. I assume that's related to this sort of gizmo which I've seen, and may have had as a kid, but don't remember ever using.

Bean Frencher

Make French-Style Beans Easy! Gourmet cooks say French-style beans taste better and are more tender when cooked. Our bean frencher makes it easy by quickly turning several beans at once into 1/8 slivers. Stainless steel blades Aluminum gears and body 3-1/4H Clamps to surfaces up to 1...

www.lehmans.com

ETA. None of this is to disagree with the idea that europeans call P. vulgaris French. I've seen that on youtube as well. This was mostly just random flashes of memory that I felt like sharing.

 

[Blue-Jay]

@Bluejay77 I was browsing The Seed Detective website in the UK, and your Bluejay bean is the first one on the dwarf list!

I checked into the Seed Detective. Trouble is they have the history wrong. He is not as good at uncovering secret histories as he thinks.

 

[heirloomgal]

I checked into the Seed Detective. Trouble is they have the history wrong. He is not as good at uncovering secret histories as he thinks.

Oh no! I didn't read the blurb, just saw the bean name up there...

 

[heirloomgal]

In UK, P. vulgaris are often called French beans. Within French beans there are climbing beans (pole) and dwarf beans (bush).

The term Runner beans usually refers to P. coccineus.

The term ‘French runner bean’ doesn’t sound at all UK. Were you referring to Adam Alexander’s use of that term in his book or website?

Yes, that's where I saw those headings. I just rechecked the site and didn't realize it also says Dwarf French beans as well as Climbing French beans, so I got that mixed up a little. It's the 'French' in there that threw me! Didn't know what it was a reference to.

 

[heirloomgal]

In UK making use of either shelled beans or dry beans is quite unusual. It's only real bean enthusiasts who are likely to use P. vulgaris in any way other than as snap (green) beans. So in effect you're right; it nearly always does imply green beans.
I hope I'm not confusing things further!

Are dried beans more likely to be purchased in a store, or are they just not really part of the food culture? Admittedly, though Canada is a large international legume exporter, the average diet here doesn't contain them in any significant way. Baked beans with pork and molasses is the only official recipe I can think of.