Here are the beans I had left to put into the freezer. I eat a LOT of beans while working out in the garden. I really like them raw and prefer to eat them this way while I can. The next best thing is the fresh, I mean REALLY fresh, frozen beans in the winter. I like to pick them and freeze them within a few hours.
The first thing I do is get a large pot lightlysalted water boiling. While the water is heating up, I also get a nice large pan of ice water ready. You need the ice water bath to stop the boiling process so the beans do not overcook. They will stay much firmer when frozen. This is a very important step!
Clean the beans and place in a colander and then plunge into the rapidly boiling water.
I cook them for only about 30-45 seconds and then IMMEDIATELY plunge into the ice water bath.
The beans will stay this beautifully green and fresh while frozen if you blanch them this way. I have kept beans frozen for over a year and had them look and taste this great.
The Foodsaver has been one of the bestinvestments I have ever made! I have had this one for 6-7 years and use it often. I have kept meat and vegetables for over a year in the freezer and have had no loss in color or flavor. I highlyrecommend them for putting up fruit, vegetables and meat for the freezer.
Today's harvest all ready to pop into the freezer.Just in case you are curious, I use the Square Foot Method of growing my vegetables. The area I have for beans is 2'x8'. In the last 2 weeks, I have had plenty of beans to eat and share and still managed to put 13 bags into the freezer.
Happy Harvest! Kim
2 comments:
I just harvested some. Nice to know that the ones I picked look exactly as yours.. I wasn't sure when to pick them! :)
This is a great set of step by step directions. I froze some of my beans but then I got a pressure canner. We live in the boonies and last year we were without electricity for a week. I really like your blog and I'll sign up to follow it. Thanks.
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