How to Cut French Style Green Beans (Food Hack)

How to make and cut French style green beans. This is a food hack for julienne, or sliced, green beans.

Green beans are widely available year-round, but their growing season is May to October, with the peak season being the hotter summer months. French cut beans are basically Julienne or thinly sliced beans. 

This cut is a pain in the butt, but I have a hack that might just work for you. 

What are Green Beans

Green beans are commonly grown all over the world and are quite possibly the most popular podded beans worldwide. They not only come in different colors but also have a few different names. Sometimes they are referred to as string beans. Even less common, they are called snap beans. They are all the same bean. 

Compared to other varieties of beans, green beans are harvested and consumed along with their enclosing pods before the seeds inside mature. This is similar to unripe peas like snow peas or sugar snap peas. 

How to Buy & Store Green Beans

Choose green beans that are vibrant, free from brown spots or bruises, and should have a firm texture. One easy way to test them for freshness is to snap one in half. Holding the bean at both ends, bend it in half. Fresh green beans will snap cleanly. 

Do not wash green beans before storing them. Store them in a bag with a towel to absorb excess moisture. They are sensitive to ethylene gas so keep them away from high producers like apples, avocados, or melons. 

Stored properly, they can stay fresh for 10 days or up to 2 weeks. If they brown or turn slimy, they’ve gone bad. 

French Cut Beans Food Hack

Part of the popularity of green beans is that they require little prep. Just a few simple steps, and you are off to cooking. Not so much with French cut beans unless you use this hack. But first, here is how to prepare loose or bagged beans. 

Loose Green Beans

1. Add green beans to a large bowl of water. 
2. Add ¼ cup baking soda. 
3. Soak for 15 minutes. 
4. Rinse and dry green beans. 
5. Collect a handful of beans and line up one end. 
6. Cut off the string-like stems on each side. 

Bagged Green Bean Hack

For green beans that are aligned and in a sealed bag, try this trick for easily preparing them. 

1. Shake green beans to one end of the bag. 
2. Cut through the bag and green beans at the same time. 
3. Rotate the bag to the other side. 
4. Shake the beans again, so they align. 
5. Cut through the bag and the beans. 
6. You may have to wash them as above. 

French Cut Green Bean Hack

The issue with preparing French-cut green beans is that the beans are not always the same size or even the same shape. Some are straight, and some are hella bent. You can purchase a bean cutter, but you still have to do each bean individually. But what if you didn’t?

1. Set up your food processor using the slicer blade. 
2. Cut beans, so they fit the mouth of the feed tube horizontally. 
3. Gently press them through the food processor. 

This cut cooks faster, soaks up more flavor from any sauce or seasoning, and just has an elegant presentation to it.