Freezing Garden Fresh Green Beans
Don't shutter in dread - Home-frozen green beans cannot be compared to those frozen horrors that you buy in the grocery store. If you pick the beans fresh from the garden & use the proper storage bags; then these home-frozen green beans will be almost as good as fresh from the garden. Enjoy a bit of summer in the dead of winter!
I use the "FoodSaver" - click this title below to view the details of that post:
"Vacuum Packer"
Also, checkout these three unique bean varieties:
The Magic Purple Bean (click HERE to view)
Dragon Lingerie Bean (click HERE to view)
Italian Roma Beans (click HERE to view)
And - the pros & cons of Pole Beans vs Bush Beans (click HERE to view)
Prepare the beans by washing and snapping off the ends (click HERE to view how easy it is to snap beans). Then cut the beans in half to make packing the bags easier. Blanch the beans in
boiling water for 3 minutes and then remove or drain immediately
(Blanching stops the enzyme process and keeps the produce fresh and
crisp). Cool the beans to room temperature (I cool my blanched
vegetables by placing them in a small pyrex dish and then placing that small
dish in a larger pyrex dish that has been filled with ice & cold
water - kind of like a double boiler but with ice underneath instead of heat. You can cool the beans in cold water but that can wash
some of the flavor away).
Now fill your
baggies - I never put more than 3 cups of beans in 1 bag. I use a vacuum
packer but using ziploc baggies is also an option. If you are using a
"food saver" or vacuum packer then you must freeze the beans in
the bag before actually sealing with the vacuum packer (otherwise liquid will
be sucked into the machine and the bag won't seal properly). I
temporarily close the bag with a chip clip.
IMPORTANT: Freeze before vacuum packing! - If you seal before freezing
then you will have bean juice all over the counter and inside your vacuum
packing machine (and the bag will not seal properly). Place the
bag in the freezer for no less than 8 hours.
Then seal each bag
according to the manufacturer's instructions. Label and then it will
be ready for winter usage.
In the winter I use
my frozen green beans as a dinner side, in soups, in stews or in
green bean casserole- delicious! Fresh frozen makes a difference.
ENJOY!!
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We tried freezing green beans the first year we grew a garden. They were okay but I found that my family prefers canned green beans-- we like the softer texture.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing on A Humble Bumble Healthy Tuesday's Blog Hop!
Kerry from Country Living On A Hill