Flageolet beans are a small, tender legume with a creamy texture and are often used in French cuisine. They are difficult to find fresh and can be expensive when dried, but are worth the price for those who love them. Blue beans can be used as a substitute.
Flageolet beans are a little-known legume that is more common in French cuisine. They are small and grow on bushes in green pods about three inches long (about seven and a half centimeters). The pod that the bean grows in is inedible. The beans themselves are kidney-shaped and range in color from white to pale green when fresh.
These types of beans are very tender and have been referred to as “bean caviar”. They have a creamy texture and hold their texture and flavor well even when cooked. Just like the best caviar, they are not easy to find, especially for people who live in a region where beans are not grown. In addition to being grown in France, where the beans come from, they are also grown in parts of California.
Although the flavor of flageolet beans is not identical to the flavor of blue beans, blue beans are often used as a substitute when flageolet beans are not available. Beans are called for in a number of recipes where the beans themselves are a featured ingredient. They are also sometimes used as a complement to proteins such as lamb, chicken and fish. Finding fresh flageolet beans to cook with is a real treat, but they can also be quite delicious if they’re rehydrated from a dry state. In fact, these beans usually require less soaking than other varieties before they’re ready to cook and eat.
Many people who love legumes, French cuisine, or both are devotees of this type of bean. While they are quite difficult to purchase outside of France, there are a number of gourmet shops and mail order companies that sell the beans in their dried form. It’s quite rare to find them in fresh, canned, or even dried form in grocery stores. For this reason, those who love flageolet beans often have to order them.
Unlike other types of dried beans, which are often very inexpensive, dried flageolet beans can be a bit pricey. A bag of these beans weighing 12 ounces (340 grams) can cost more than $10 US Dollars (USD). By comparison, the same amount of dried blue beans can cost less than $1 USD. For true foodies and lovers of this type of bean, however, being able to enjoy their favorite recipes calling for flageolet beans is well worth the price.
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