shadesofmauve: (Default)
Is there a difference between French-cut green beans and Italian-cut green beans? Is this something I should have learned before the age of 24? Is there a deepseated, bitter greenbean cutting rivalry that until now I've been blissfully unaware of? If I had bought both at the store today, would I have needed only comparison to become a rabid greenbean-cut partisan for life? Mon dieu/Mio dio! If I had only known you partook of greenbeans cut in that barbaric fashion, I would have known you for a varlot and no gentleman of breeding, and never consented to bear your child! This is a marriage under false pretenses - begone, cretin, I cast thee off!

This post brought to you by PMS in the produce section.

Date: 2007-04-20 02:02 am (UTC)From: [identity profile] meliz113.livejournal.com
I did not know the answer to this, but with the help of my friends at Google and eVitamins.com, I think I might have found an answer.

The "French-cut" appears to mean that the beans are cut lengthwise, along the seam of the bean, thus making them svelte and thin, or something. One source says something about ribbon-thin strips, so I added the svelte for effect. Another source I found says that if the beans are too long, they should be cut at an angle in smaller pieces.

I found recipes that use "Italian-cut" green beans, but no description, so I'm assuming that those are the beans cut crosswise into smaller, fatter pieces.

If I had to guess why the names, I'd say that a French chef (or someone who studied culinary arts in France, or says he did) cooked some dish with fancy looking, super-skinny bean strips. It's also possible that green beans are an ingredient in an Italian soup recipe (and the thicker pieces would make sense in soup) that came up with that reference. It's all guesswork, and rather silly, but I didn't want to leave you answerless and upset with yoru produce, so there you have it.

Date: 2007-04-21 09:58 pm (UTC)From: (Anonymous)
I did get the books, and I meant to send you a thank you note... but I got sucked into projects in the computer lab and forgot. Sorry.

This isn't a good replacement, but THANKS a million for the books! I'm breathing a lot better about the project knowing that I have a resource that's not dependent on the whims of the Internet.

Date: 2007-04-21 09:14 am (UTC)From: [identity profile] lalouve.livejournal.com
I am shocked to hear that there are people unaware of this crucial divide in culinary matters. What is the world coming to?

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