Green Beans

Look at the pod, not the calendar. Green beans should snap, not bend. Bend one, and if it folds like wet rope instead of breaking clean, leave it in the shop. Colour tells you the rest: a bright, even green, no yellowing at the tips, no brown freckles.

You eat the whole pod here, not just what's inside it. Drop a handful into boiling water and watch them — a young bean turns a deeper green almost at once. That's your cue to start tasting, not to decide anything yet. Pull one out, bite it: it should give a little crunch, tender but not mushy, still bright on the plate.

Some people say green beans must be cooked until soft, the way their grandmother did. No! Cook by eye, not by the clock. Overcook a bean and it turns grey-green and limp, all its brightness gone, and the bite you were listening for at the market is nowhere on your plate. Don't wait until they sag.

Buy by ear, cook by eye. A little time in boiling water, then straight into cold water to stop them where they are. That's all a green bean asks of you.