I bought a nice looking circa 1980's Spong Bean Slicer for a buck at a
thrift shop in excellent cosmetic condition. I think it was only a buck
though, because for some reason the cutting blades on the slicer drum
had become raised and would catch on the cast iron body of the slicer
when you tried to turn the handle. I fixed it by gently tapping the
blades down a bit with a hard hammer and now it works great, but I am
wondering about the uses of this slicer, and if perhaps, it is mainly a
European thing.

I know Spong is a UK company of many years and quality, however, though
we use their meat grinder (not for meat though, but tomatoes), I can't
quite figure out what to do with these cute little 1" wedge cut slices
the machine manages to produce, even with the most gnarly of our raw,
home grown green and yellow beans.

The slices look charming, sharp and even, but they're so tiny, short
and thin, I would think cooking them would cause them to shrivel up
into nothing. Is this type of slice what they call a French Cut Bean,
and if so, what would be the uses for North American cooking with this
utensil?

"weft2" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I bought a nice looking circa 1980's Spong Bean Slicer for a buck at a
> thrift shop in excellent cosmetic condition. I think it was only a buck
> though, because for some reason the cutting blades on the slicer drum
> had become raised and would catch on the cast iron body of the slicer
> when you tried to turn the handle. I fixed it by gently tapping the
> blades down a bit with a hard hammer and now it works great, but I am
> wondering about the uses of this slicer, and if perhaps, it is mainly a
> European thing.
>
> I know Spong is a UK company of many years and quality, however, though
> we use their meat grinder (not for meat though, but tomatoes), I can't
> quite figure out what to do with these cute little 1" wedge cut slices
> the machine manages to produce, even with the most gnarly of our raw,
> home grown green and yellow beans.
>
> The slices look charming, sharp and even, but they're so tiny, short
> and thin, I would think cooking them would cause them to shrivel up
> into nothing. Is this type of slice what they call a French Cut Bean,
> and if so, what would be the uses for North American cooking with this
> utensil?
>

What you are describing is used for cutting runner beans which I believe the
Americans call pole beans. Anyway they are long flattish green beans. They
usually need the side stings removed first.
Diane UK

I almost hate to ask this, but what's a "spong bean"?

Best regards,
Bob

On Wed 10 Aug 2005 09:38:02a, zxcvbob wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> I almost hate to ask this, but what's a "spong bean"?
>
> Best regards,
> Bob
>

I thought "Spong" was the name of the manufacturer of the cutter.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
...
>I almost hate to ask this, but what's a "spong bean"?
>
> Best regards,
> Bob
Spong is the brand name of the bean slicer.

"Wayne Boatwright" > wrote

> On Wed 10 Aug 2005 09:38:02a, zxcvbob wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> I almost hate to ask this, but what's a "spong bean"?

> I thought "Spong" was the name of the manufacturer of the cutter.

I was turned off by the subject line, I read it as 'sponge bean' and
that did not sound good to me at all.

nancy

On Wed 10 Aug 2005 01:22:27p, Nancy Young wrote in rec.food.cooking:

>
> "Wayne Boatwright" > wrote
>
>> On Wed 10 Aug 2005 09:38:02a, zxcvbob wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>>
>>> I almost hate to ask this, but what's a "spong bean"?
>
>> I thought "Spong" was the name of the manufacturer of the cutter.
>
> I was turned off by the subject line, I read it as 'sponge bean' and
> that did not sound good to me at all.
>
> nancy

LOL! I agree, that does not sound very good.



--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Nancy Young wrote on 10 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking

>
> "Wayne Boatwright" > wrote
>
> > On Wed 10 Aug 2005 09:38:02a, zxcvbob wrote in rec.food.cooking:
> >
> >> I almost hate to ask this, but what's a "spong bean"?
>
> > I thought "Spong" was the name of the manufacturer of the cutter.
>
> I was turned off by the subject line, I read it as 'sponge bean' and
> that did not sound good to me at all.
>
> nancy
>
>
>

french cut green beans are my all time favourite veggie. (Gawd, it sounds
like I lead a boring life!)

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

In Holland, the sliced beans would be cooked briefly and then mixed into
mashed potatoes. Serve with some gravy and some sort of salty meat: meat
balls or sausage. I'm sure meat loaf would work, too. You could also add
some fried bacon bits to the potatoes. A very rustic kind of food, as
you can see.

On Wed 10 Aug 2005 02:27:36p, Mr Libido Incognito wrote in
rec.food.cooking:

> Nancy Young wrote on 10 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking
>
>>
>> "Wayne Boatwright" > wrote
>>
>> > On Wed 10 Aug 2005 09:38:02a, zxcvbob wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>> >
>> >> I almost hate to ask this, but what's a "spong bean"?
>>
>> > I thought "Spong" was the name of the manufacturer of the cutter.
>>
>> I was turned off by the subject line, I read it as 'sponge bean' and
>> that did not sound good to me at all.
>>
>> nancy
>>
>>
>>
>
> french cut green beans are my all time favourite veggie. (Gawd, it sounds
> like I lead a boring life!)
>

Do you ever sauté or stir fry them? I love them that way.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Wayne Boatwright wrote on 10 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking

> On Wed 10 Aug 2005 02:27:36p, Mr Libido Incognito wrote in
> rec.food.cooking:
>
> > Nancy Young wrote on 10 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking
> >
> >>
> >> "Wayne Boatwright" > wrote
> >>
> >> > On Wed 10 Aug 2005 09:38:02a, zxcvbob wrote in
> >> > rec.food.cooking:
> >> >
> >> >> I almost hate to ask this, but what's a "spong bean"?
> >>
> >> > I thought "Spong" was the name of the manufacturer of the
> >> > cutter.
> >>
> >> I was turned off by the subject line, I read it as 'sponge bean'
> >> and that did not sound good to me at all.
> >>
> >> nancy
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> > french cut green beans are my all time favourite veggie. (Gawd, it
> > sounds like I lead a boring life!)
> >
>
> Do you ever sauté or stir fry them? I love them that way.
>

Yes I do saute whole green beans in bacon fat and sprinkle them with
toasted almonds slices.

But french cut is still my extreme favorite...the beans seem to be
sweeter served that way.

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.

"Mr Libido Incognito" > wrote in message
...
> Nancy Young wrote on 10 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking

>> I was turned off by the subject line, I read it as 'sponge bean' and
>> that did not sound good to me at all.

> french cut green beans are my all time favourite veggie. (Gawd, it sounds
> like I lead a boring life!)

Funny, I had a bad experience with french cut green beans (sounds
kinky, doesn't it?) and I haven't looked at them since. I do love
green beans, though.

nancy

Nancy Young wrote on 10 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking

>
> "Mr Libido Incognito" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Nancy Young wrote on 10 Aug 2005 in rec.food.cooking
>
> >> I was turned off by the subject line, I read it as 'sponge bean'
> >> and that did not sound good to me at all.
>
> > french cut green beans are my all time favourite veggie. (Gawd, it
> > sounds like I lead a boring life!)
>
> Funny, I had a bad experience with french cut green beans (sounds
> kinky, doesn't it?) and I haven't looked at them since. I do love
> green beans, though.
>
> nancy
>
>
>

Did they stick to the pastic on the ham?
A joke

--
The eyes are the mirrors....
But the ears...Ah the ears.
The ears keep the hat up.