Nope - I think they all lose the color when cooked. If you just blanch them quick they will keep most of it.

Ditto. Common beans with purple pods will turn green when cooked.

However, yardlong beans with purple or "red" pods (such as "Chinese Red Noodle") will retain most of their color after cooking. They will turn grayish, but a splash of vinegar will restore much of their burgundy color. I like them as a colorful side dish, but the flavor is different from regular snap beans.

Life is full of excitement and revelations for a newbie! I learned today from observation that purple-podded beans are green when they first develop, and THEN go purple later. At least, my Amethyst dwarf beans do. Whatever's next ??!!

Ashita

I've been feeding SomeOne beans from my garden (including purple ones) for a few years now. Yesterday I brought him in a few young beans and handed them off to him while I shelled myself a big bowl of peas.

'Why are they black?' he asks.

'they are purple' I respond, 'and they'll turn green when they're cooked, unfortunately.' (As I also think it would be interesting to have some that stay purple.)

'That's amazing!' he exclaims. 'It's like alchemy!' and he proceeds to watch these beans steam with an eagle eye, providing commentary all the while.

sigh

~emmers

Now I am wondering if I have left mine unpicked too long, as they seem to be turning greenish on the vine :- (

I grew some purple pole beans awhile back (can't remember the name).......but I was totally bummed when they turned green when I cooked them. What a rip off! hahaha

Martha Stewart stated in this mornings show,that a breeder would make a fortune if he could breed one that stayed purple after blanching
She was creating some type of bean salad with a french name

I wonder if dehydrating would set the color? An experiment to try this year... and whether the dehydrated beans would be palatable when re-hydrated.

My question is...

Is ANYTHING palatable after being dehydrated and then re-hydrated?

Yes! Mushrooms are fabulous! Tomatoes, onions... And I hope to answer this better next winter!

I actually like the taste and texture of regular green beans more; the only advantage of the purple podded ones is that they are more visible when picking.

Talking about purple podded beans , I have sowed some . Today I noticed they are poking out. AND they are starting as purple !! Amazing. Will the bushes/leaves/stems will be purple also ?

My favorite bush bean is Provider -- we like the flavor, it bears over a long season, and bugs don't much seem to bother it. My only (minor) complaint is that the green pods are hard to spot against the green plants. Can anyone recommend a purple-podded bush bean that's at all comparable to Provider?