Using uncooked or raw green beans

[heidih]

Well I just had a taste revelation. There was only one perfectly ripe green bean on my small plant. It had to be picked and but I wanted to use it right away. I sliced it in half inch segments and added to a tiny bowl of cabbage slaw and shrimp. Wow! I really got the green bean flavor. I have had them raw in the classic Thai spicy green papaya salad but they were overwhelmed by the spice. Anybody using them raw with tasty results?

[Lisa Shock]

They are mildly poisonous, although not as poisonous as the mature beans, and I cannot really recommend their consumption.

[Chris Hennes]

Lisa, I'm having trouble tracking down a reliable scientific study that demonstrates that. McGee makes no mention of it even though he specifically discusses eating them raw, and a Google search just yields anecdotal evidence. None of the scientific papers I read note green (string) beans as poisonous. Do you have a reference?

[Lisa Shock]

http://www.voedingscentrum.nl/nl/eten-veiligheid/schadelijke-stoffen/natuurlijke-gifstoffen/in-planten/peulvruchten-en-bonen.aspx

http://paleohacks.com/questions/308/non-paleo-lectin-content-of-green-beans-vs-dried-beans

It's difficult to know exactly what variety a particular person is growing in their garden. They aren't poisonous to the point of killing you immediately, but, they certainly aren't beneficial to health. They contain both Phytohaemagglutinin and lectins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytohaemagglutinin

[heidih]

okey dokey- well I am growing green beans which are not meant to be eaten past their very young stage anyway so looking at the sites above I do not think I am concerned. Plus all those people eating the green beans pounded into their som tom are still kickin.

[andiesenji]

The green "snap" or "string" beans commonly grown in the US and Canada, both bush and pole, as well as the classic haricots vert and which are picked while immature (green) can be eaten raw with no ill effects. Cornell University conducted extensive tests many years ago and has published numerous papers on the subject.

There are stories about these beans containing a "poison" and most of the stories seem to be coming out of Germany.

One person insisted that green beans have to be boiled until soft to "inactivate" the poison.

There are certain types of beans that should not be eaten raw, such as lima beans as well as the ones common in Europe and around the Mediterranean sea. These are all of the "broad" type beans, fava beans, and related species.

I have eaten lots of raw string beans during my lifetime. I ate some this morning (Kentucky Wonder pole beans) while "grazing" in my garden.

I did the same thing when I was a little child.

If they were poisonous, I would be posting from beyond the grave!

Edited June 28, 2010 by andiesenji (log)

[nakji]

Raw beans (I usually have either French or snake beans) were a taste I had to acquire. The first time I tried them in a som tam, I wasn't really enthused, but the more I ate that particular dish, the more I came to appreciate the bitterness and crunch. I'll always associate them with Thai salads, though.