Cooking Tips & Techniques
Food
& Cooking Tips from the Greenbeansnmore Kitchen
These are a few cooking tips that we've discovered as we've prepared our different green bean recipes. Some you may know, and a few you may not know. We've also added a guideline for your spices. They don't last indefinitely and stale herbs and spices can ruin a dish. Find out the shelf life of your herbs and spices. We hope these tips are helpful to you.
Green
Bean Serving Sizes.
We often get asked "how many servings is in a pound of green beans?"
One pound of fresh green beans trimmed yields approximately 3 cups raw.
One pound of fresh green beans trimmed and cooked yields about 2 cups.
Garlic
There is nothing as bitter as burned garlic.
It can literally ruin a dish. When a recipe calls for cooking garlic in
olive oil do so over a very low heat and carefully watch the dish. If
you do burn the garlic you'll want to start over.
Lemons
The skin of the lemon holds
a lot of taste, and smell. When a dish calls for lemon juice add a bit
less juice and add some lemon zest. When you zest the skin only use the
top layer. Don't use the white pith, which is very bitter.
Mushrooms
The secret to having mushrooms brown is not adding salt while cooking
them. When you add salt the mushrooms give off water and won't brown.
Don't add salt until you have cooked the mushrooms as desired.
Cooking
Colored Green Beans
Colored green beans are best used raw. Once heat is applied to them they
will loose their color (it bleeds out). The best way to cook purple green
beans and have them retain their beautiful color is to "butter baste"
them. If you want to blanch them cookbook author Harold McGee book suggests
you add a pinch of baking soda to the cooking water to help retain their
color.
Soy sauce vs. Tamari
Soy sauce is best for everyday cooking such as stir frying or seasoning
vegetables, as it harmonizes and enhances without overpowering. Tamari,
with its stronger flavor, is traditionally used to season longer cooking
food such as soups, stews, and baked dishes.
Fresh Spices are Important!
Before you start cooking your favorite green bean recipe you'll want to
make sure your spices are fresh and flavorful. Here is a guideline for
you to use-
* Whole spices (including peppercorns)
-- 4 to 5 years
* Whole leafy herbs -- 3 to 4 years
* Ground spices -- 8 months to 2 years
* Dried or dehydrated vegetables (onions, garlic) -- 1 year
* Hot pepper flakes -- 6 months to 2 years
Green Beans Almondine
Four takes on the classic Green Beans Almondine. There is certainly no shortage of recipes for Green Beans Almondine. It's a classic dish that's easy and elegant. We've given you four different versions here. Our first version is the classic recipe. The second recipe calls for the addition of a bit of lemon for a French twist, the third add's tamari or soy for an Asian flavor.
How to freeze fresh green beans
If you've been spoiled like me eating fresh green beans and dread the end of the season and going back to factory frozen or canned green beans, you should know that freezing green beans is the easiest way to have them year round. Many people prefer to freeze green beans as opposed to canning them. Freezing is much less time consuming and requires fewer tools. Canning requires jars, lids, and a pressure cooker.
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