French beans.

French beans are the slim, round green beans that come in bundles, each one about the length of a hand. They're shorter and a little thicker than yardlong beans, and a fresh one snaps with a clean crack. The taste is sweet and green, and they hold their crunch well if you don't cook them too long. Most of the time all you need to do is pull off the stem end.

Ways to use it

• Stir fry with garlic and oyster sauce, or with minced pork and a little chilli.
• Cut into short lengths and add to red or green curry for the last few minutes.
• Blanch for a minute or two, cool them in cold water, and serve them with nam prik.
• Toss blanched beans with a lime and fish sauce dressing, shallots and toasted sesame.
• Fry them with egg and a splash of soy sauce for a quick side dish.

Storing it

Don't wash them first. Put the beans in a container lined with paper towels and keep them in the fridge drawer, then use them within a few days. Rinse them under running water and trim the ends just before cooking. Limp, bendy beans have lost water, so use those ones first.

Where it comes from

Grown to certified organic standards. The certificate for each lot is shown when you trace your pack.

Every pack will carry a lot code. Enter it on the Trace your pack page and you will see the farms in that lot, the harvest date and the certificate.