How to Freeze Green Beans

The weather this year has been a lot better than in the previous year and the green beans are doing much better this year. I have recently planted a third row and hope to have plenty to put into the freezer. I preserve my green beans by freezing them. The process is very simple and relatively quick and I thought I would share it with my readers.

Fresh Green Beans

The first step is to wash the green beans in several changes of water to make sure all the dirt and grit is removed. I grow the blue lake bush variety of green beans. This variety grows in a compact form; no runners, and the beans do not have strings which makes the preparation very easy. All one has to do is to remove the two ends from the beans and if needed break them into smaller pieces.

Green Beans Ready For Blanching

The next step is blanching the beans to destroy the enzymes that will deteriorate the quality of the green beans as they sit in storage in the freezer. The blanching process is very easy, you will need a pot for boiling water and a wire mesh basket to immerse the beans into the boiling water as shown below.

Wire Mesh Basket And Pot For Blanching

Bring the pot of water to a boil. Place your green beans into the wire basket and slowly immerse into the boiling water for three to three and half minutes. When the time is up. place the wire basket with the beans into a pot of ice water to cool the beans. Dump the cooled beans into a bowl and repeat the process for the rest of the beans.

I use polyethylene zip freezer bags; it is important to use bags labelled for freezer use as they will hold up better in the cold temperatures and help to prevent freezer burns. I carefully place the green beans in the bag, tapping the bag on the work surface at times to settle the beans. When the bag is about half full, I remove the extra air and zip the bag closed making sure the seal has properly made. I flatten the bags out and write the date on each bag so I know to use the older beans first.

Ready For The Freezer

As you can see, freezing green beans is a very easy process. I prefer this method of storing green beans to using a pressure bottler. When you are ready to eat the beans they will taste far better, almost as good as fresh green beans. Plus you can use these beans in more ways, even in a bean salad if you wish. Since the beans retain most of their firmness after the blanching process, you can thaw and julienne them as you would fresh green beans.

I have given some green beans to Sister #1 since she helped last year with fixing the fence and getting the fence charger. As long as the weather stays warm and we get plenty of rain, the green beans will continue to produce.