What if everything you thought you knew about green beans was wrong? These little side dishes that we readily associate with vegetables are, in reality, not vegetables at all. Foods that we consider vegetables in cooking, such as tomatoes, eggplants or peppers, are in fact… Fruits! Green beans are no exception to the rule.
Fruits or vegetables: where is the border?
Confusion between fruits and vegetables is common. In our culinary perception, a fruit is often sweet, intended for dessert, while a vegetable is salty and accompanies our main dishes. But this distinction does not hold in the scientific domain.
In botany, the definition is much stricter: a vegetable is an edible part of a plant (roots, leaves, stems). This includes carrots, broccoli, radishes or salads. In contrast, a fruit forms from the pistil of a flower and contains pips, stones, or seeds.
Green beans: dried fruits in the making
Although we eat them as green pods, beans belong to the dried fruit category. Here’s why:
- If a bean is allowed to mature, the pod surrounding it dries out and releases the seeds it contains. These seeds are intended to germinate and give rise to new plants.
- We pick the green beans before this maturity phase. This gives them that tender, crunchy texture, but it doesn’t change their true nature: they are fruits, like peas or lentils.
Should we ban them from our plates?
Absolutely not! Green beans remain an exceptional source of fiber and essential nutrients. They contribute to digestive health, provide vitamins and fit perfectly into a balanced diet.
So, even if they are not vegetables in the botanical sense, nothing prevents you from enjoying them as such in cooking. In butter, in salad or in bundles, they remain one of the French’s favorite accompaniments.