Green beans play a huge role in the food scene of Appalachia. Most folks who garden in the area have their favorite go to varieties which they plant year after year. Often families save their own seed.
When I was growing up the choice bean for Granny and Pap’s garden was white half-runners.
White half-runners are beans that have runners which grow from between three and ten feet, and sometimes they can grow to even great lengths. Giving white half-runners something to climb on is a must with the prolific growth of the bean. Some folks create elaborate trellis systems for the plant to climb. Others stretch a combination of wire and string along the row for the beans to climb on. Matt and I have been using cattle panels as a trellis for the last several years.
Matt loves greasy beans. All though not as prolific as white half runners they have a wonderful taste. The bean pod looks like a small amount of grease has been rubbed on it leaving behind a light sheen. They also need a trellis for growing.
White half runners and greasy beans both need to be strung before eating.
After stringing and breaking green beans we cook them in a pot of water and season with bacon or salt pork. A small amount of olive oil or vegetable oil can also be used. Some folks use ham to season. Beans are slow simmered until the desired tenderness is reached.
Green beans can also be steamed, sautéed, roasted, or pickled in a variety of ways with or without other vegetables.
We can the green beans we grow each summer. They make up a big part of our diet. Another way of preserving green beans is to dry them.
Leather britches is the term for dried green beans in Southern Appalachia. The method of drying varies from family to family.
Beans are strung with needle and thread and hung until the beans are dried completely. Some folks remove from the string and store in a bag or in the freezer. Others leave the green beans on the string until they are ready to be cooked.
Cooking leather britches is a bit more trouble than cooking fresh green beans. The dried beans must be washed and then soaked in water until they are reconstituted a bit. The water is discarded, and then the beans are cooked in seasoned water much like fresh green beans, although leather britches take more time to fully cook. The texture and taste of leather britches is quite different from fresh or canned green beans.
Bush varieties of green beans are also popular in our area of Appalachia. They take up less space, but don’t produce as much and are harder to pick unless you enjoy bending over 🙂 Some folks choose to pull up the entire plant for picking one large harvest.
A few years back we started growing Mother Stallard green beans. They have become my favorite. You can read more about them here.
Last night’s video: First Mess of Beans and New Potatoes, Fried Green Tomatoes, Sidemeat, & Cornbread.
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