Canning and Freezing Green Beans, Questions & Answers
From
time to time I get interesting questions from visitors about how to freeze and
can green beans. Some are people with experience who have something new happen
during the process, and some have never frozen or canned fresh green beans before.
Since some of you may have the same questions I decided that I'd post these questions and answers here. Hopefully it will help you.
I
am far from an expert when it comes to this subject, so when I am not certain
about the answer to a question I go to "experts" for the answers. Credit
is given to the source.
Q: ...I'm
a first timer,,,,,,when I freeze the beans, I do not blanch them. They go directly
from the garden to the freezer after I wash and trim them of course. What does
blanching do, and why is it necessary?
A:
Green beans can be frozen, dried or canned. Immature beans retain more color and
undergo less texture and flavor loss during freezing. All vegetables must be blanched
before freezing. Unblanched vegetables quickly become tough and suffer huge nutrient
and color loss. Vegetables naturally contain an active enzyme that causes deterioration
of plant cells, even during freezing. Blanching before freezing retards the enzyme
activity.
Freezing does
not improve the quality of any vegetable. Freezing actually can magnify undesirable
characteristics. For instance, woodiness in stalks become more noticeable upon
thawing. Select vegetables grown under favorable conditions and prepare for freezing
as soon after picking as possible. Vegetables at peak quality for eating will
produce best results in the freezer.
Source:
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/beans1.html
Q:
I canned my first batch the other day. I followed the Ball Blue Book instructions,
hot pack, used a spatula to remove any visible air bubbles, and left 1 inch head
space. After pressure canning when I had put the beans on a towel to cool I could
see all the beans letting out air bubbles from the inside of the beans. After
24 hours I checked all lids are sealed, there was no leakage. My only concern
is that now liquid level is lower inside the jars with some beans exposed. It
is as if the liquid displaced the air that was inside the cut beans and risen
to the top. Have you ever heard of this happening? Is this a normal thing?
A:
Loss of liquid does not cause food to spoil, though the food above the liquid
may darken. As long as the jars were processed in the canner for the specified
amount of time and they sealed, they should be fine. If, however, the loss is
excessive (for example, if at least half of the liquid is lost), refrigerate the
jar(s) and use within 2 to 3 days. Sometimes after processing, some of the liquid
in the jar is lost and doesn't cover the product. Lost water is most common when
pressure canning, especially with starchy foods. Typical causes and solutions
are: Packing the food too tightly or loosely in the jar.
Starchy foods,
such as corn, peas or lima beans, absorbed all the liquid. Use more liquid with
these starchy vegetables.
Air naturally entrained within the fruit or
vegetable that wasn't released (generally this happens more with raw pack than
hot pack)
All bubbles were not removed from the jar before capping.
The
jars filled too full (too much vegetable/fruit compared to the amount of liquid).
In pressure canning: Fluctuating pressure in the pressure canner. Let
pressure return to zero gradually, avoiding the sudden release of pressure through
the vent. Do not hasten the cooling with cold water.
In water bath canning:
The jars are not totally covered with boiling water during the boiling water bath
processing.
Source: http://www.pickyourown.org/canningqa.htm
Tasty & Easy Green Bean Recipes
Armenian
Green Beans with Ground Meat and Tomatoes
Blanched
Green Beans
Fried Green Beans
Ginger
Garlic Green Beans
Greek Green Beans
Greek Potatoes and Green Beans
Green
Beans a'la Waterman's
Green Beans Almondine
Green Beans Almondine (with a hint of lemon)
Green Beans Almondine (with an Asian flair)
Green Beans Almondine (with mushrooms)
Green
Bean Casserole (Campbell's)
Green Bean Casserole
(Cook's Illustrated)
Green Beans in Sour Cream
& Tomato Sauce
Green Bean
Salad, Dill, Parsley & Savory
Green
Bean Salad, Feta & Pecans
Green Bean Salad,
Provençal
Green
Bean Salad, Soy Glazed Almonds, Cilantro
Green
Beans with Coconut
Green Beans with Ginger
Butter
Green Beans with Onion Paste (Madhur
Jaffrey)
Green Beans with Shallots
Italian Green Beans (St. Anna Beans)
Oven
Roasted Green Beans
Pears with Green Beans
& Bacon
Persian Green Beans
& Rice
Sautéed
Green Beans with Hazelnut Crumbs
Sesame &
Portobello Green Beans
Sicilian Green Bean & Fennel Salad (Cooking Light)
Stir-Fried Green Beans with Pork & Chilies
Sweet & Sour Green Beans
Thanksgiving Dinner
Last Thanksgiving was the first Thanksgiving meal I've ever cooked, at the tender age of 48. I'd always had a parent's house to go to, or a friends house, or had gone to a restaurant/buffet for Thanksgiving with friends. I am now married and between my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and myself we decided that I'd be responsible for Thanksgiving dinner. Luckily there are only eight of us.
Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes, Turkey Help
I took the turkey out of the freezer and put it into the refrigerator two days before Thanksgiving so that it would thaw thoroughly. I also kept an eye on it to make sure it was thawing. The day before Thanksgiving I got the turkey out, removed the giblets and rinsed it. I put the turkey back in the refrigerator.
Sesame and portobello green bean recipe
One of the wonderful things about fresh green beans is that you can add just one or two ingredients and have a fantastic dish. When you're choosing green bean recipes it's important to consider the type of green beans that you have. More mature green beans are best suited for recipes where they'll be boiled or simmered for long periods of time. .
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