Like you we just snap off the stem ends. We used to remove both ends but eventually realized that it was 2x the work for no real reason unless it was either chewed on or dried out..

Stem end only
😉

I grow pole beans with strings and snapping the ends is how you get the strings off. I don't see the point if they're stringless, but I don't want to eat that tough stem either.

I've had Fortex and they are wonderful, but wouldn't grow for me. I love Romano beans too 😊

I've never removed more than the stem end, and that only if necessary. I don't choose long beans if I have a choice. I like the little, tender guys that are almost like French beans.

I first 'snapped beans' on a hot summer day when I was about five. My paternal GM showed me how to snap *across* the seams. We were helping our hostess prepare a gigantic noon dinner for a crew of harvesters on a big ranch in Colorado. My GF knew the rancher from his days at mining school. We'd stopped at the ranch on our way from Tucson to Denver, GF trying out his new Cadillac, among the first produced after WWII.

We buy green beans, we don't grow them. When you pick up a handful to prepare them, stems and tails are not aligned in one direction, maybe half are in one direction and half in the other. There will always be some tails that were broken off or otherwise mangled, such that even with fresh ones, there will be some non-stem ends that are dried out and tough that need to be cut off. Rather than get them all going in the same direction or go hunting through tail ends to look for those needing trimming, it's just as fast to cut both ends. We use a chef's knife on a cutting board. Pick up a handful first and tap on the counter to get the ends aligned. Doing this for even a few pounds of beans doesn't take but a few minutes.

I cut both ends off.

Both, I don't like to get poked by the pointy end. If one gets missed they are left behind on plates so no one I know, wants to eat them.

I do both ends. The tail portion depending on the type can be dry and a little woody. I suspect it may have to do with growing conditions. Here where temperatures normally reach the 90s the little end seems to lose moisture quickly enough that sometimes fibers of the blossom are still attached and it can become fibrous. It in the end is a personal preference thing.

I just do the stems; I think they are more visually attractive on the plate with the tail on. If they are fresh (I get mine at the farmer's market) the tail is just as tender as the rest of the bean. Alisande, your beans are beautiful!

I snap off both ends. That's just the way it was done in my family, and I learned from my Mom. If an end gets in the pan, no big deal. Actually I don't see anything wrong with leaving the ends on.

When I had a garden, I grew the Italian purple bean "Violetta". Great beans, they climbed way up and off the trellis into the hedge one year. When you cook them, the beans turn green.

Thanks, Olychick! My DH and I used to grow every vegetable we could--in quantity--but these days my bean arch is the sole extent of my vegetable gardening. I still find the pole bean plants exciting to grow.

Schoolhouse, friends of mine grow Violetta every year. I should try them. I've planted a couple of other purple beans, but without much success. They're all pretty plants, with their purple blossoms.

I do both ends by grabbing a small bundle of them and lining them up a bit and snip them with scissors. We only grow wax beans,

I remove both ends. Like Elmer, I cut them on a cutting board

Re the purple beans. I've probably told this story here before, but once I grew Violetta's and a yellow wax bean on the same trellis. I got some yellow beans spotted with purple! I was convinced the two had crossed, but someone pointed out that what I might have planted was Rattlesnake beans(?) instead of wax by mistake or the seeds were mis labeled.

My Mom always snapped off both ends and taught me to do the same. Still do.

If they are not stringy, I don't mind retaining both ends. Hilda/Helda is my all-time favorite. Delish! Moreover, they are great for preserving because they have such substance that they hold up well and flavorfully in the pressure canner. Sadly, we did not grow any this year.

Yeah, that's them! : )

Rattlesnakes are good--and like the purples, they're easy to see and therefore easier to pick than beans that are all green. I grew them for a couple of years, but they like it warmer than my Zone 3 climate.

I really should grow some, but I'm lazy and buy them at the farmer's market. A quick rinse, align the stem ends on a cutting board, and cut 5 or so at once. Leave the other end on. Oh, and test a bean first to see if there is a string that needs removing. If there is, I snap in two in the middle, pull to remove string, pinch off the stem end.

Neither of my dogs will eat a raw green bean, but both will eat them cooked.

Nickel, your dogs have the right idea. From Healthline:

While some recipes call for raw green beans, eating them uncooked may lead to nausea, diarrhea, bloating, and vomiting due to their lectin content. As such, it's best to avoid raw green beans.

I used to snap off both ends and in the middle to make a shorter bean. But this year I think I'm lazier or my hands don't work as well so I only snapped the stem end. It worked. I cook them in my instant pot.

I only cut off the stem end. And rattlesnake beans are our favorite too.

Alisande, I never knew that! I enjoy the taste of uncooked green beans, eating one or two while fixing the rest. Guess I better not over-indulge!

Wondering if lectin content is related to how developed the beans inside the pods are?

Carol, that's a good question. I did some further reading on lectin but so far don't know the answer.

Nickel, I used to do the same thing. I hope we're never told not to eat raw peas.

I snap off both ends. The pointy end is usually tough and inedible anyway. When I see pointy ends on cooked beans I think someone was either lazy or careless.

Rattlesnake beans are delicious, but Romas are my favorite.

Woodrose, from what I've read in this thread, freshness is probably a key factor. I've grown many varieties of beans, both pole and bush, and none of the pointy blossom ends were tough and inedible after cooking. Quite the contrary.

Both ends, for no other reason than my grandma did and so did my mom. I did not however inherit the gene that lets you peel an apple and the peel is all one string. OMgosh, my grandma would be horrified that I leave the peel on for apple pie, and peach pie. LOL

Ladypat, I'd probably love your pies! I cook apples with the peel on to make applesauce. I strain about 3/4 of it before putting into containers for freezing, but freeze the rest as is for myself, peel and all. I like it that way. It reminds me of eating baked apples.

Depends on how big they are, if young I may only do the stem end. If older both.

Can't wait to see how my garden fared while I was gone. Friend and her husband watered twice for me even though I didn't ask them too. They have a lot to take care of themselves. The first bunch of beans should be all dried up. Second and third. I just hope survived.

I grow my own green beans, mostly Blue Lake and Kentucky Wonder. Always snap off both ends because sometimes there are strings and always break them in the middle too. We like a meaty bean. They are very nice this year, the ones in my garden.

Sue

Just the stem end!

I neither grow nor often buy green beans - not my favorite (although I don't mind them in mixes or stir fried). I grew up snapping both ends, but now only only the stem end.

I was just wondering - does anyone grow, or even remember, Greazy /Greasy beans? It was my grandmother and mother's preferred bean, they sought out the farm stands that had them.

Wierd, what happened to my gardenweb name?

Raee, I've never tried Greasy beans, but I remember seeing them mentioned on GardenWeb's Beans, Peas & Legumes forum, and also in catalogs that carry heirloom seeds.

Kathsgrdn, you are still Kathsgrdn on my screen.

I was thinking of you while I surveyed the big pumpkin or squash volunteer vines that are blossoming but haven't set fruit - wondering how you prepared the blossoms to eat (I remember you mentioning that.) They are the only things that have thrived this very dry summer.

I bought green beans at the farmers’ market and steamed some for my dinner. I realized that I sometimes cook them without taking even the stem end off. I eat them plain, no butter or anything, so when I’m not serving guests, I don’t cook them too soft and eat them kind of like french fries and just leave the stem. Makes it even easier than cutting when raw.