wax bean
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A variety of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cultivated for its edible, yellow, stringless pods. The name refers to the pod's waxy, yellow color, distinguishing it from green-podded varieties.
Usage
- Noun:
- For dinner, we had steamed wax beans with a little butter and salt.
- The recipe calls for one pound of fresh wax beans, trimmed.
Advanced Usage
- The term wax bean can be used to refer to the plant itself, the immature pod harvested for eating, or the specific seed variety.
- I'm planting a row of wax beans next to the green beans this year. (Referring to the plants/seeds)
- The market had beautiful, slender wax beans today. (Referring to the harvested pods)
Variants and Related Words
- Yellow bean: A common synonym for wax bean.
- Butter bean: In some regions, this term is used interchangeably with wax bean, though it can also refer to lima beans, causing potential confusion.
- Green bean: The closely related variety with green pods, from which the wax bean is a color mutation.
- String bean: A general term for edible-podded beans, which can include both green and wax varieties, especially older cultivars with a fibrous "string."
Synonyms
- Yellow bean
- Butter bean (regional, context-dependent)
Related Terms and Contexts
- Haricot vert: A French term for a slender, delicate green bean; wax beans are a different color variant but belong to the same species.
- Snap bean: A broader category encompassing all common beans eaten for their tender, edible pods, including both green and wax beans. The pods "snap" crisply when broken.
- Shelling bean: A bean grown for its mature seeds inside the pod (e.g., kidney beans), not for the pod itself. This contrasts with wax beans, which are a pod bean.
Noun
- snap beans with yellow pods
- a common bean plant grown for its edible golden pod