47. Of all the vegetables commonly used for food, BEANS afford the
greatest variety. However, there are two principal classes into which
all varieties of this vegetable can be placed, namely, _string beans_
and _shell beans_. String beans include both the pods and the seeds, and
are used when the beans are very young. Shell beans consist of the
seeds, which are allowed to mature either partly or entirely and are
taken from the shells before cooking. Those which are partly developed
are cooked when they are fresh, but the ones that are allowed to mature
completely are dried and then stored for use at any time during the
year. In some cases, the same variety of beans may be used in the three
ways mentioned, while in others certain kinds are raised expressly for
one of these purposes.
48. The food value of beans increases as they mature, as will be
observed upon reference to Table I. The very young beans, that is, the
string beans, which include the pods and all, are comparatively low in
food value, being only a little higher than asparagus. To increase the
food value of these, fat meat, butter, or other fat is supplied in their
cooking, or milk or a cream sauce is added before they are served. Fresh
shell beans have much more nutriment than string beans, whereas dried
beans are very high in food value. It is this characteristic of dried
shell beans that makes them a very good meat substitute.