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Tips
String Beans or Old Beans?
Most commercially available green beans are stringless,
but it's easy to tell if they're not. When you break
off the ends, the string will stay attached to both
the bean and the broken tip. Just zip it right off the
length of the bean.
Stringy beans might also be stringless beans that are
past their prime. This can happen if they're stored
too long, or if they're simply picked too late (as a
gardener, I know firsthand the agony of picking the
beans too late--blech).
It's a good idea to test
them at the supermarket before you buy. Snap
off the end and bite into it. The pod of a raw green
bean, stringed or stringless, should be yummy, tender,
and sweet, and the beans inside should be tender as
well. Old green beans pods are fibrous, flavorless,
and generally inedible, and the inside beans are hard
and grainy. Yuck.
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This
green bean classic is straight from the pages of The
Best Recipe Cookbook by the editors of Cook's Illustrated.
Green beans are popular with almost everyone and this
old-fashioned recipe is a surefire hit. 
Fry
bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp,
about 5 minutes. Remove bacon from pan with slotted
spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 2
tablespoons bacon drippings. Add onion and sauté
until softened, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile,
bring 2 1/2 quarts of water to boil in a large saucepan.
Add beans and a little salt and cook until tender about
5 minutes. Drain and add to skillet with onion. Toss
to heat through, 1 or 2 minutes. Add bacon and season
with salt (sparingly) and pepper to taster. Serve immediately.
