Freezing green beans?

Betty Hoenstine

23 years ago

How do I go about freezing Green Beans? I'd appreciate any help.

Thanks

Betty in Florida

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Comments (6)

RuthieG_mediaone_net
23 years ago
Hi Betty,

Green beans are pretty easy to do. Just select the best beans you can find, young and tender, you can slice them or leave them whole as you prefer, wash then and remove the ends.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and drop the beans in and
blanch for 3 minutes. Cool promptly in cold water
and drain well. Not necessary but I like to let mine dry a bit and then pack into containers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal, label and freeze. If you prefer, freezer bags work just as well and are much cheaper.
peebody83_hotmail_com
23 years ago
My frozen green beans always tasted kind of funny, even though I properly blanched them, etc. Two years ago, I started preparing them, blanching them, and then freezing them covered in water. Done this way, they taste fresh, like right out of the garden.
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1. Did you shock your beans in ice water to stop the cooking after blanching? 2. I'd ask if you have a self-defrosting freezer because that perpetual cooling-warming cycle is very hard on stored foods. 3. What about your packaging? Is it possible it wasn't airtight enough? Finally, I think the next time around you should try steam-blanching. I believe you'll like the results better. Carol
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There are no safety issues but they will be very mushy. It's a double whammy on the cell structure. Freezing expands the cell walls, weakens them. Then the pressurized hot processing smashes the already damaged cells so the end quality will be poor. Maybe ok to use in soups and stews where texture doesn't matter much but not so good for eating as normal beans. Dave
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RuthieG_mediaone_net
23 years ago
Candy...I can't wait to try this because I too dislike the freezer green bean taste. It's not bad just different. I usually can my green beans because of the taste so this year I will try the water.
betty_pig_net
23 years ago
Candy,
Yesterday I cooked a pot of green beans for supper. After they had come to a boil and I let them boil for 3-4 minutes, I scooped out about two cups and put them in ice water for 3 minutes drained them and put them in a plastic bag and added water to cover them and left about an inch of space above. Is this how you do it?
I wanted to try it. I may open them in a week just to see how they turns out.
The other beans we had for supper were delicious.
Betty in Florida
RuthieG_mediaone_net
23 years ago
That's what I'm going to do to Betty. I hope to get some beans planted and hope to have some for the freezer, so I'm going to do the experiment you describe before I have tons of beans to do.
kentanddawnmcglinch_woh_rr_com
22 years ago
When I freeze green beans I completly cook them as I would for dinner. I know they say not to overcook veggies. As far as I'm concerned green beans are the exception to the rule. The longer they are cooked the better. This is not a quick cook method.
Fry up some bacon, then add onions to the drippings & cook till the onion changes color. Add bacon and green beans and some water. Cook all day. Then put in freezer containers.
I could eat a couple of pounds of green beans a day!

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Freezing green beans?

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peebody83_hotmail_com

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