Green beans are a staple grown worldwide and they are also available all year round. 

These beans come in pods, and are cooked and eaten together with their pods  

The green bean pods are used in different ways in recipes; they are sometimes left whole, but they can also be cut to soak up more flavors, or to cook faster and more evenly  

The pods can be sliced lengthwise, cut transversely or diagonally into small sized bits that are a few inches in length. 

Green beans can also be bought precut, and they may have French cut or cut green bean indicated on the labels. 

So, what’s the difference between French style cut and regular cut green beans  

Continue reading to learn more about these two green bean cuts.   

Difference between French style and regular cut green beans

These are two styles of cutting whole green bean pods.

French cut green beans means that the bean pods are sliced lengthwise while the regular cut green beans are cut horizontally into segments of about an inch or even shorter 

Each of these cuts are better suited for particular recipes, French cut green beans may be preferred for salads while the regular cut green beans are good for stir fry.

French style green beans

French style green beans simply make use of a lengthwise cut to divide the pods into thin strips. 

These green beans are thinly sliced. The French cut has a nice look to it, and it also can make the green beans to cook faster too. 

The ends of the green beans are first trimmed off. This is followed by a lengthwise cut 

This can be done using a knife to make longitudinal cuts to slice the green beans into thin strips 

It can be quite difficult to slice the green bean pods this way. More difficult to slice especially for the green beans that are curved or bent 

The pods used for French style green beans have to be fresh and firm.

Slicing each of the green bean pods lengthwise can be time consuming, however, there are alternatives. 

A green bean cutter could be used to make the French style cuts. 

Another faster process to French cut the green beans involves making use of a food processor  

At the mouth of the food processor, you can place a bunch of the green beans in such a way that they are parallel to make French style green beans.

French style green beans are great for dishes like salads. 

Regular cut green beans

Regular cut green beans may also be known as crosscut green beans  

Crosscut green beans typically means that the green bean pods have been sliced transversely into bite sized sections. Crosscut green beans can be good for stir frying 

The green beans that are crosscut are usually of medium thickness.

The green beans pods can also be cut into bite sized section that are about 2 inches in length or smaller if you desire 

For the regular cut green beans, you can gather a bunch of green beans and cut them at once 

The ends of the green bean’s pods are often trimmed off with a straight cut. This is followed by other horizontal cuts to divide the pods into smaller pieces. 

Conclusion

Green beans pods often come in cans pre-sliced, they can also be found in the frozen section of the grocery stores.

The can may be labelled as French style green beans or cut green beans 

French green beans are actually different from French style green beans  

The French style green beans are simply a type of cut green beans while French green beans are simply a thinner variety of whole green bean pods.