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Green beans have been in abundance lately. The garden where I work has been turned into a CSA for the employees. Each week the Sanctuary Caretaker sends us out an email with what is available and make our selection. Green beans have been on the list for many weeks and they are delivered in a garbage bag and all of us fill up our bags. Most of us have canned them, eaten them and now are freezing them – we cannot see them go to waste they are so beautiful and so delicious!
You will need to blanch the beans before freezing them. All fruit and veggies contain enzymes and bacteria that overtime with breakdown and destroy the nutrients. Blanching stops the enzymes and kills the bacteria.
Freezing Green Beans
Items Needed
Green beans
Soup pot
Ice
Freezer bags or vacuum sealer bags
Straw
1. Fill your soup pot with water and set to boil.
2. Wash, trim and snap the beans into smaller pieces.
3. Fill your sink or a large pot/bowl with cold water. Do not add the ice until right before putting the first batch of beans in the water.
4. Once your soup pot is boiling fill with beans. You will need to blanch for about 3 minutes – start timing from when the first beans are added to the water.
5. Pour your ice into your cold water. Use a slotted spoon to remove the beans from the hot water and place into the cold water.
6. Take the cold beans out of the water and place on a dish towel. You want the beans to be as dry as possible before bagging and freezing.
7. Once the beans are dry it is time to bag them. I have a vacuum sealer and highly recommend them, but if you do not have one freezer bags and a straw will do the trick. Fill your bags and seal them. If using the freezer bags – fill the bags, zip them closed leaving enough space to insert a straw. Using the straw suck the air out and seal the bag.
8. Date your bags and place in the freezer.
This is a great way to preserve your green bean harvest and be able to enjoy them in soups, casseroles and as a side dish come later fall or into the winter.
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Love the photos here. And, how wonderful that the Sanctuary is giving employees vegetables!! And you get to choose what you want. : )
we were eating green beans every day before we left for our trip….no time for freezing but definitely next year!