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Article: Green Beans, Done to Death
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 25, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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All you adherents of boiling and "shocking" green vegetables need
to take the following quiz.
Green beans are done cooking:
a) After five minutes;
b) After 15 minutes;
c) After three hours;
d) When they start singing "La Marseillaise."
Those of us who cut our teeth on French techniques would respond
that proper green beans must be boiled in heavily salted water for a
few minutes until barely tender, then immediately plunged into a
freezing bath of water and ice -- or shocked -- to stop the cooking
process and preserve the beans' bright green color.
Fine so far if you love chlorophyll. The real shocker is, if you
prefer true bean flavor, many cooks believe the correct answer is
probably ...