I'm an enthusiastic grower of green beans. My three bush
varieties are just about finished, and my pole beans are too small to pick yet,
so when I saw a sale on magnificent green beans at the supermarket today
(labeled "Locally Grown") I snatched them up.
They were green-bean perfection: Perfectly straight,
perfectly cylindrical, uniformly green. They looked like they'd never come
within 20 ft. of a Japanese Beetle. From the length of them, I assumed they
were pole beans, but they didn't look like anything I'd ever grown. I was
curious, and started thinking about how I could get in touch with the grower so
I could find out the name of the variety.
But when I snapped off the ends I realized these beans were
lacking something: tenderness. And after they were cooked I lost all interest
in identifying them, because the other thing they lacked was flavor.
I suspect they're one of those tough varieties that sellers
grow because they hold up well in transit. Or maybe they hold up well after
being commercially canned, because I detected a little of canned-bean flavor
even though they were relatively lightly cooked.
So I'm glad I didn't pay much for them. And I know my
Kentucky Wonder pole beans will be well worth waiting for.
And no, I'm not returning the remainder of the package to
the store. Because after all, flavor is just . . . a matter of taste. ;-)
