On Sat, 28 Jul 2012 07:46:13 -0700 (PDT), ImStillMags
> wrote:

>A friend of mine gave me some fresh green beans from her garden
>yesterday. These are mature green beans, meaning they have gotten to
>the stage where the bean has formed in the pod and the pod is no
>longer pencil thin and smooth....it's fat and lumpy with the bean.
>
>We all know these will be less tender and less sweet. I haven't had
>any mature green beans for years, don't have a garden and when I buy
>them at the market I always buy the young and tender ones.
>
>so.......I'm going to cook them the old granny Southern way we used to
>cook mature green beans when I was growing up. Long and slow.
>These will be the type of green beans that a lot of people think about
>who believe that Southerners overcook their vegetables. Of course
>that's not true. We cook young green beans quickly and serve them
>still tender crisp. But these older beans are going to be tender and
>silky with a flavor that is out of this world.
>
>I'll take off the 'strings', snap them into about 2" long pieces.
>
>In my heavy pot I'll fry thin slices of 'fatback' or salt pork till
>rendered and crispy. Then I'll add some good chicken stock, the green
>beans and some chopped onion and let that
>simmer for about an hour. Then I'll add some very small new red
>potatoes, whole, to the pot and let it simmer till the potatoes are
>completely tender. Salt and black pepper to taste. No, the beans
>won't cook till mush. They will be silky tender and have a flavor
>unlike you've ever had from green beans. And there will be this
>fabulous 'pot liquor' as a bonus. I like to put the 'pot liquor'
>over cornbread.
>
>If you have never tried mature green beans this way, well, you've
>missed out. If you get your hands on some mature green beans try
>this. You will not be disappointed.
>
>
>I'll post pictures later.

Some years I get so many green beans I tire of picking so I'll miss a
couple three days so some over mature, often I'll pick five to ten
pounds a day for a month. I give most away, at least try to. But
when sorting those I keep there are always some that are too mature.
I'll string them, cut them into one inch lengths, and freeze them. I
like to add those to the beef stews and vegetable soups I cook in
winter. The young ones I like to stirfry and add raw to tossed
salad... those skinny 2" long ones are great pickled, I can eat a
quart jar full at a sitting, and then use the pickling liquid for the
next batch. I love pickled veggies, I don't like cooked pickles, I
prefer the fermented method. This year I planted some Chinese long
beans.