- Everything you need to get started with waterbath canning (fruits,pickles, jams, jellies, salsa, sauces and tomatoes)
- 21-1/2 qt. enamel water bath canner
- Funnel, jar lifter, lid lifter, bubble freer spatula
- Ball Blue Book
If you like frozen green beans in the winter, just imagine how good it would taste if you had picked a bag yourself and then quickly froze it at home! It is also one of the simplest ways to put up a vegetable for the winter. Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and completely illustrated. The green beans will taste MUCH better than anything you've ever had from a store.
Start
with fresh green beans - as fresh as you can get. If there is a
delay between harvesting and freezing, put it in the refrigerator or put
ice on it. And don't use beans that are old, overripe or dried out (see
below):
I'm sure you can figure out how to rinse the green beans
in plain cold or lukewarm water.
Just
take a sharp knife and cut of both ends (about 1/4 of an inch, or half
the width of an average woman's little finger). Then cut them into
pieces of the size you prefer, usually
about
1 inch long.
Of course, if your prefer French cut green beans, you can cut the beans lengthwise instead, or you can use a "bean Frencher". The "Frencher" enables you to prepare a huge quantity of beans quickly!
See the bottom of this page for makes, models, prices and ordering info for bean frenchers.
Get
the pot of boiling water ready (about 2/3 filled) and a LARGE bowl with
ice and cold water.
All
fruits and vegetables contain enzymes and bacteria
that, over time, break down the destroy nutrients and change the color,
flavor, and texture of food during frozen storage. green beans requires a
brief heat treatment, called blanching, in boiling water or steam,
to destroy the enzymes before freezing. Blanching times for beans is 3
minutes (the duration should be just long enough to stop the action of the
enzymes and kill the bacteria).
Begin counting the blanching time as soon as you place the green beans in the boiling water. Cover the kettle and boil at a high temperature for the required length of time. You may use the same blanching water several times (up to 5). Be sure to add more hot water from the tap from time to time to keep the water level at the required height.
Cool
green beans immediately in ice water. Drain the green beans thoroughly
(this shouldn't take more than a minute).
After vegetables are blanched, cool them quickly to prevent overcooking. Plunge the green beans into a large quantity of ice-cold water (I keep adding more ice to it). A good rule of thumb: Cool for the same amount of time as the blanch step. For instance, if you blanch sweet green beans for 7 minutes, then cool in ice water for 7 minutes.
Drain thoroughly.
I
love the FoodSavers (see
this page for more information) with their vacuum sealing! I am
not paid by them, but these things really work. If you don't have
one, Ziploc bags work, too, but it is hard to get as much air out of the
bags. Remove the air to prevent drying and freezer burn. TIP:
If you don't own a vacuum food sealer to freeze foods, place food in a
Ziploc bags, zip the top shut but leave enough space to insert the tip of
a soda straw. When straw is in place, remove air by sucking the air out.
To remove straw, press straw closed where inserted and finish pressing the
bag closed as you remove straw. It works fairly well, but I'll stick to
the Foodsaver, since the bags are microwaveable and much thicker than a
Ziploc bag (even the Ziploc "freezer bags")
Pop
them into the freezer, on the quick freeze shelf, if you have one!
 
When you take your green beans out of the freezer, how long do they
take to cook?
Just the same as store-bought frozen green beans: 3 to 5 minutes; just until
hot and tender.
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Home Canning KitsFeatures:
This is the same type of standard canner that my grandmother used to
make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and
spaghetti sauce. This complete kit includes everything you need and lasts
for years: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a
plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer, and the bible of canning, the Ball
Blue Book. It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. You'll
never need anything else except jars & lids (and the jars are reusable)!
There is also a simple kit with just the canner and rack, and a pressure canner, if you want to do vegetables (other than tomatoes). To see
more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here! |
In the UK, use this link:
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Bean "Frenchers"
For photos and features of the bean frenchers, click here!
|
Lids, Rings, Jars, mixes, pectin, etc.Need lids, rings and replacement jars? Or pectin to make jam, spaghetti sauce or salsa mix or pickle mixes? Get them all here, and usually at lower prices than your local store!
Get them all here at the best prices on the internet! |
[General picking tips and a guide to each fruit and vegetable] [How much do I need to pick? (Yields - how much raw makes how much cooked or frozen)] [Selecting the right varieties to pick] [All about apple varieties - which to pic
k and why!] [Picking tips for Vegetables]
[ Strawberry picking tips]
[ Blueberries picking tips]
[ All About Home Canning, Freezing and Making Jams, Pickles, Sauces, etc. ] [FAQs - Answers to common questions and problems] [Recommended books about home canning, jam making, drying and preserving!] [Free canning publications to download and print]