Purple "Green" Beans

[Mikey]

Anybody ever had these before?

Bought some at the farmers market on Saturday and I'm gonna cook them up tonight. I've heard that they just turn green when cooked. Is this true?

Anyhoo...to go with them

Grilled King salmon on a bed of fresh arrugula salad
Portobello mushroom ravioli tossed with a dash of Italian white truffle olive oil.

[Mikey]

Bought some at the farmers market on Saturday and I'm gonna cook them up tonight. I've heard that they just turn green when cooked. Is this true?

What's the bloody point of that?

Don't know.

They looked interesting though, and I didn't hear about the color change until today. The guy behind the table said that they're sweeter than the regular blue lake beans. I tried one raw and it seemed good, but I didn't compare.

[Mikey]

"Purple" beans, ready for the pot:




One minute in boiling water:




After cooking for six minutes:




So much for "purple" beans.

[Dinsdale]

The purple would certainly lead me to believe they're higher in fructose... although that ain't carved in stone.

I'm also guessing that boiling them dissolves the extra sugars away.

[ppanther]

I wonder if they'd turn as green if they were roasted. Beware... once you roast green beans, it'll seem a waste to ever cook them any other way again.

[PSUFAN]

Roasting them probably retains a lot more vitamins and good stuff, no?

[Mikey]

Boiled about 6 minutes until just tender/crispy. Served at room temperature seasoned with some good EVOO, a little lemon juice and a dash of sea salt.

pp, I know that roasted green beans are good, but served this way they retain a lot of their freshness. My goddess of Italian cooking, Marcella Hazan, says that green beans fixed this way are one of the essences of Italian food. I chilled the left over ones and took them to work for lunch. Strangely, about 1/4 or so of the purple came back as they were chilled. Also the lemon juice/water mixture at the bottom of th container was a light purple color.

[Ken]

The purple would certainly lead me to believe they're higher in fructose... although that ain't carved in stone.

I'm also guessing that boiling them dissolves the extra sugars away.

… or it could simply be that, uhhhh… they’ve got more anthocyanin. Pretty safe bet as a matter of fact. If so, the anthocyanin does one of two:
1. Breaks down at high heat
2. Is soluble, but I don’t see any (or very little) purple water in the pot

Red cabbage will do the same if you cook it long enough.