shell bean

1. Any of various beans cultivated for their edible seeds rather than their pods.

2. A seed from one of these plants.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

shell bean

(Plants) US any of various bean plants that are cultivated for their edible seeds rather than for their pods

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

shell′ bean`

any bean grown chiefly for its edible seeds rather than its pods.

[1865–70, Amer.]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	shell bean - a bean plant grown primarily for its edible seed rather than its pod shell bean plant shell bean - unripe beans removed from the pod before cooking bean plant, bean - any of various leguminous plants grown for their edible seeds and pods lima bean plant, Phaseolus limensis, lima bean - bush or tall-growing bean plant having large flat edible seeds butter bean, butter-bean plant, lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus, sieva bean - bush bean plant cultivated especially in southern United States having small flat edible seeds Phaseolus acutifolius latifolius, tepary bean - twining plant of southwestern United States and Mexico having roundish white or yellow or brown or black beans broad-bean, broad-bean plant, English bean, European bean, field bean, Vicia faba, broad bean - Old World upright plant grown especially for its large flat edible seeds but also as fodder
	2.	shell bean - unripe beans removed from the pod before cooking fresh bean - beans eaten before they are ripe as opposed to dried lima bean - broad flat beans simmered gently; never eaten raw butterbean, civet bean, sieva bean, butter bean - small flat green bean similar to lima beans fava bean, broad bean - shell beans cooked as lima beans green soybean - seeds shelled and cooked as lima beans shell bean, shell bean plant - a bean plant grown primarily for its edible seed rather than its pod

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References in periodicals archive

A shell bean can be any variety, even one grown for ornament, such as 'Scarlet Runner' with its gorgeous red flowers.

Two sisters: corn & beans: a pair grown and enjoyed together for generations, corn and shell beans serve up classic summer flavors that you can savor fresh right in the garden or combine in summertime recipes

Featuring thoroughly kitchen cook friendly recipes that range from a Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette; Olive-Oil Poached Albacore with Summer Beans and Pickled Peppers; and Grilled Lobster Mushrooms with Oregon Walnut Puree; to Fresh shell Bean Minestrone with Parmesan Brodo; Honey-Glazed Figs with Lemon ricotta and Almond Cookies; and a Chocolate-Pear Bread Pudding, "Portland Farmers Market Cookbook" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, family, and community library collections.

Portland Farmers Market Cookbook

If you wait too long and you can feel the seeds in the pod, wait a few days more until the shell bean stage, when the shells will toughen but the seeds will swell to full-sized yet are still soft enough that you can dent them easily with your fingernail.

Summer's riches: green beans, tomatoes and basil: these jewels of the peak-season garden pair nicely for simple yet unforgettable meals

Some of the varieties were much older and traced their lineage to the 1880s and 1890s, including the old line Great Northern--a white running shell bean that my great-grandfather released in the late 1800s.

Family ties, heirloom seeds

We raise the Canterbury bean, one of the most commonly cited shell bean varieties in 18th-century Virginia, and the Refugee bean, probably the same as the Valentine bean from 18th-century Philadelphia.

A case for the common bean: wealth of varieties helps keep this nutritional wonder on everyone's table

They can produce nutritious greens, snap beans, shell beans, and even dry beans, which can be ground into flour for a gluten-free grain substitute.

BEYOND THE BLACK-EYED PEA: Give cowpeas a spot in your garden, and you'll be rewarded with a multipurpose legume that has a lot to offer

Italian borlotti beans are similar, grown as shell beans and, when ripe, for winter soups and stews.

Beans, often overlooked, are ripe with U.S. history

Highlights: minestrone with shell beans; green salad with delicata squash.

Season's bounty

Scrambled eggs from my 10 hens with sauteed garlic, kale, Swiss chard, sweet shell beans and carrots, plus some really ripe tomatoes and a little aged sheep cheese.

Meet foodie Michel Nischan

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes Yield: 4 to 6 main-course servings Ingredients For the pesto: 2 ounces fresh basil leaves, a large fistful 1 ounce Italian parsley leaves and tender stems, a small handful 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped S alt and pepper 1/2 cup olive oil For the minestrone: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, diced, about 2 cups 1/2 cup diced celery 1/2 cup diced carrot S alt and pepper Pinch red pepper flakes Pinch saffron 8 garlic cloves, minced 1 bay leaf S mall bundle fresh thyme sprigs 1 cup chopped tomato 1 cup cooked cannellini beans or fresh shell beans 24 littleneck clams, well rinsed 7 cups hot fish stock or chicken broth 1 pound squid, cut crosswise in 1/2-inch rings, plus tentacles 1 cup small green peas 1 cup blanched and peeled fava beans, optional Method 1.

SHELLFISH MINESTRONE WITH BASIL PESTO

Green beans and other shell beans, or "common beans," are traced to a common ancestor in Peru.

Summer's health bounty: green beans

5 pounds young lava beans still in the pods (approximately 10 caps, shelled) 1/4 pound vegan bacon 1 Tablespoon nonhydrogenated vegan margarine 1/2 teaspoon flesh savory or pinch finely crumbled dried savory Water to cover the cooking beans 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup vegan creamer, such as Silk soy coffee creamer 1/4 cap vegan sour cream 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 Tablespoon lemon juice 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley Shell beans and remove skins.

Cooking with Fava beans