How To Freeze Green Beans
Whenever you come across slender green beans that are sweet and piled high at the farmer’s market, it is impossible to resist buying as much as you can. How will you handle the surplus? Knowing how to freeze green beans is a good idea.
Pickling, dehydrating, or canning might be the style of choice for summer storage, but there are other ways to preserve green beans for the long haul as well. The green bean is, in fact, the unsung hero of the summer freezer. This is how you can freeze green beans and eat them later. Also see How To Freeze Avocados, How To Freeze Broccoli.
How To Use Green Beans
Native to North, Central, and South America, green beans are grown all over the world. There are many ways to prepare green beans, you can steam, roast, stir fry your green beans and serve them as a side dish. You can also add them to soups, stews, or curries. Green beans are very nutritious, they are low in calories, high in fiber, and they contain Vitamin A, C, and K. Green Beans are great for diabetics.
Vegan Green Bean Recipes
How Do You Know When Green Beans Are Bad?
Choose green beans that are fresh with vibrant green color. When your green beans are limp and dry, they are going bad, so they won’t taste good. There are other obvious signs of aging such as the bean becoming large and woody if left on the plant for too long. You should pick green beans when they are just round enough to fit into a pencil.
- Ensure that the beans are of the highest quality. Putting beans in the freezer will not make them better – it will only keep them in their current state.
Green Beans: The Best Way to Freeze Them
Green beans can be easily frozen in three steps, whether you have a few handfuls or a few pounds: Prepare, blanch, and freeze.
How To Prepare Green Beans
- Green beans should be rinsed under cool running water in a colander.
- Trim the tops off the green beans using a sharp knife with a single slice when lining a few beans up. I don’t usually remove the tail/tips of my green beans unless they look limp but you can if you choose to.
- Cut green beans in halves, thirds, or leave whole.
How To Blanch Green Beans
- Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil.
- Add the green beans to it. For a bright green and barely tender bean, boil them for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, put ice in a bowl for a water bath.
- Remove green beans, and then plunge them in the ice bath. Drain the beans and pat them dry with a kitchen towel or paper towels once cooled completely.
- On a parchment-lined baking sheet, place the green beans in a single layer.
- After the beans have been frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for up to three months.
The Benefits of Blanching Beans
In blanching, food is quickly cooked in boiling water, then immediately shocked in ice water to stop the cooking process. What’s the right amount of time to boil the beans before dunking them in cold water?
The ideal amount of time to cook beans is three minutes: it brightens, tenderizes, and shuts off the production of enzymes that lead to deterioration.
Tips For Preparing Green Beans For Freezing
- Blanching in salted water is not recommended. Salted water not only seasons vegetables but also softens the cell walls. To prevent mushy green beans, season them before serving.
- A single layer should be frozen. The advantage of freezing green beans as a single layer is that they won’t have to be thawed in a block form if you need them later. As soon as the beans are solidly frozen, transfer them to a zip-top bag to store for a long period.
Canning Vs. Freezing Green Beans: Advantages and Disadvantages
Whether you are canning or freezing your beans, they will remain fresh for years to come. Pressure canners are needed for canning since regular canners can’t reach high enough temperatures to kill bacteria that cause botulism.
This process is rather tedious and time-consuming, plus the beans are less nutritious after they are pressure canned. What do you know about frozen vegetables and fruit having almost as much nutritional value as fresh ones?
My preferred method of preserving green beans is to freeze them. It’s because it’s so easy to do that. I think you will understand why it’s so popular!
How To Freeze Green Beans Without Blanching?
To freeze green beans, it’s always recommended that they be blanched before freezing. To those unfamiliar with blanching, it is a method for preserving food that involves boiling the food a short time before plunging it into ice water.
However, sometimes I don’t feel like adding the extra step of blanching my green beans, and guess what? You don’t need to! When you have many green beans to freeze, you have to blanch in small batches, which takes a while.
I did not blanch my green beans before freezing. I know it’s scandalous…However, did you know? My frozen green beans have been in the freezer for almost a year, and they still taste good. Neither the flavor nor the color seems to have been affected.
Starting with good green beans is the most important part of this process, in my opinion. It’s just impossible to freeze older, tougher beans. These are those snaps that feel a little woody and hollow when you pick them up. Only grab the freshest, most tender ones for the freezer.
Wash And Drain Thoroughly.
Green beans should be placed on a single layer and flash-frozen on a baking sheet until firm. Once they have been removed from the tray, label the freezer baggie and return them to the freezer.
If you’re eating them, cook them until they’re tender, season, and you’re done—a garden-fresh taste to warm you up on a chilly day (or whenever you want to).
More How To Freeze:
- How To Freeze an Avocado?
- Freeze Strawberries?
- How To Freeze Cauliflower?
- Freeze Kale?
- How To Freeze Garlic?
- ] Freeze Onions?
- How To Freeze Apples?
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How To Freeze Green Beans
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans
- freezer bag
Instructions
- Rinsed green beans under cool running water in a colander.
- Trim the tops off the green beans using a sharp knife with a single slice when lining a few beans up green beans. Cut green beans in halves, thirds, or leave whole.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans to it. For a bright green and barely tender bean, boil them for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, put ice in a bowl for a water bath.
- Remove green beans, and then plunge them in the ice bath. Drain the beans and pat them dry with a kitchen towel or paper towels once cooled completely.
- On a parchment-lined baking sheet, place the green beans in a single layer.
- After the beans have been frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for up to three months.
I planted green beans this year, I’m definitely going to freeze some.
Thank you, I hope you enjoy!
Thank you for teaching how to prepare green beans
You are welcone.