Recipe: Bean Snippler Machine Circa 1910 (with photos)

BEAN SNIPPLER MACHINE
Circa 1910

Snippled beans were a popular German recipe and a method for preserving green beans in the days before mechanical refrigeration.

The word snipple is derived from the German word "schnippelen" which means to shred, snip or cut up. The ends and strings of mature green beans were removed by hand and then the beans were cut into small pieces on the bias.

This cutting process was typically accomplished by a hand cranked machine called a bean snippler. The two photos following show a bean snippler machine my father made about 1910 for his mother. My father's grandparents emigrated from Germany in the 1840 to 50s and settled in St. Charles, Missouri. The machine is now prominently displayed in my home in California.


As the crank is turned, the four knives
on the spinning disc cut the beans. The cut
beans can be collected in a shallow container
placed between the two feet of the device.


The beans are inserted in the slots of the
chute on the front of the machine. The cover
of the chute is moveable so the beans
may be cut at three different angles.

The cut beans are then packed in layers in a crock alternating with sprinklings of rock salt and allowed to ferment in a process similar to that for making sauerkraut.

Various recipes are available for cooking and serving the snippled beans. After washing to remove some of the salt, they are usually cooked with a ham hock or sausage or mixed in with mashed potatoes.

As a side note, my father became an automobile mechanic in the early 1900s when that industry was in its infancy. The gears used for the machine can be recognized as being from the magnetos used in that era to create the ignition spark.

Compiled by Robert A. Hillskemper
Yorba Linda, California