Green beans time! From preserves to the freezer, the best ways to stock up and have them available all year round
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Green beans time! From preserves to the freezer, the best ways to stock up and have them available all year round
I green beans they can be preserved in brine, frozen and dehydrated to have them always available, whenever you want. Here are our favorite recipes and techniques for storing green beans. (Read also: How to grow green beans)
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Index
Blanch and freeze the green beans
Blanch and freeze the green beans it is one of the best ways to keep them; in fact, frozen green beans have more nutrients than canned ones.
Quickly blanching them in hot water, before freezing them, ensures that they will retain an exceptional texture and color. To prevent them from sticking, we advise you to arrange them on a well-spaced baking tray and place them in the freezer for 1 or 2 hours; after that, transfer them to a container or bag to freeze food and place back in the freezer.
that's how prepare the green beans:
- Put a pot of water on the stove and start bringing it to a boil. You will need about a liter of water for every pound of green beans.
- Prepare a large bowl of ice water to place your vegetables for the ice bath.
- Wash the green beans well in cold water and drain them.
- Snap or cut the ends of the stem. If the green beans are stringy, remove the strings by breaking the end of the stem and pulling it down.
- Depending on the length, you can choose to leave them whole or cut them in half.
- After you've made the green beans, add them to the pot of boiling water a little at a time.
- Let them cook for three minutes and then drain them in a colander. Alternatively, you can steam them for three minutes instead of boiling them.
- Once cooked, immediately transfer them to the bowl of ice water. This prevents residual heat from continuing to cook them and preserves their green color.
- Leave the green beans in the ice water for three minutes.
- Transfer them back to the colander and let them drain well for a few minutes.
After you have cooked the green beans, you can proceed with the freezing, that's how:
- Spread the blanched, cooled and drained green beans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Don't let the beans overlap or touch each other.
- Freeze for an hour or two.
- Transfer the frozen green beans to freezer bags or containers and label them with the date.
Frozen green beans do keep for one year; they are safe to eat afterwards, but their quality decreases over time.
(Read also: Green beans: the 10 best recipes to enhance their benefits)
How to use frozen green beans
It is not necessary defrost the frozen green beans before cooking them. Add them as they are to stir-fries, soups, and other dishes. When using them in a recipe, the advice is to subtract the three minutes in which the green beans have been blanched from the total cooking time.
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Green beans in brine
@ Jnelson / 123rf
I pickled green beans they are fantastic to eat straight from the jar, they are also great chopped and added to other ingredients, such as tomatoes for a rich and tasty salad.
ingredients:
- 1 kg of green beans
- 5 cups of water
- 5 cups of vinegar
- 4 teaspoons of mustard seeds
- 4 teaspoons of dill seeds
- 8 cloves of garlic
- salt to taste
- chili pepper to taste
Procedure:
- Sterilize the jars and keep them in hot water until ready to fill them.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
- In the meantime, clean and wash the green beans thoroughly. Cut the vegetables into pieces to fill the jars.
- Place the green beans in the sterilized, hot jars.
- Add the chilli, mustard seeds, dill seeds, and garlic cloves to each jar.
- In a large saucepan, bring the vinegar, water and salt to a boil.
- Pour the boiling liquid over the beans, leaving 1/2 inch of space.
- Clean the edges with a clean, damp cloth or paper towel.
- Close with the lids without over tightening.
- Place the jars in the canning rack and immerse them in boiling water.
- If the water doesn't get at least 1 inch above the jars, add more warm water.
- When the water comes back to a boil, cover the pot and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Remove the jars from the container and arrange them on a wire rack or cloth and let them cool. Do not tilt, squeeze or turn them upside down. After 24 hours, check the jars to make sure they are sealed, clean them and insert the date label. Keep it all in one cool and dark place.
Dried green beans
I dried green beans in the air are a very ancient way of preserving them. This is a technique worth trying, because once dried they keep for a long time and the taste of rehydrated and cooked beans is quite good. (Read also: Asparagus time! How to store them to have them available all year round)
This easy recipe requires a quick blanching process and some sewing skills, as you need to pierce the green beans one at a time to hang them by a thread. Though blanch the green beans before drying it is not essential, it helps to better preserve the color; if they are not blanched, however, they tend to darken as they dry.
Here's how to do it and everything you need.
ingredients:
- 1 kg of green beans
- Bowl of ice water
- Large embroidery needle
- Unwaxed, unflavored kitchen twine or floss
Procedure:
- Wash the green beans.
- Detach the ends of the stem.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Add the green beans and leave them in the boiling water for 3 minutes.
- Drain in a colander and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to prevent them from overcooking.
- Leave them in cold water for 3 minutes, then drain them again.
- Thread a large needle with unwaxed, unflavored kitchen twine or dental floss into each green bean, piercing it with the needle about an inch from either end.
- To secure the first bean, pass the string, leaving one end and tie a knot with it.
- Continue to thread the green beans, leaving a small gap between them so that the air can reach all surfaces.
- As you approach the end of the thread, remove the needle and tie a knot around the last string bean.
Hang the green beans tucked into a dry place with good air circulation. When completely dry, they will have shrunk considerably in volume and will have a texture somewhere between leathery and brittle. It will take about 1 week, but some prefer to let them dry for 3-4 weeks as well. (Read also: How to clean green beans)
Transfer i dried green beans in dry jars or food containers and store them in a cool, dark cabinet.
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