Pickling and Freezing Grean Beans

This week I am participating in an awesome new food themed blog series. Away to Garden and Martha Stewart's Dinner Tonight blogs have come together to create Thursday Food Fests, a weekly posting on the wonderful things we do with the bounty from our gardens. This week is green beans...

I just harvested 4 lbs of purple green beans and dragon's tongue beans (check out the story at Gardener to Farmer).

Aren't they gorgeous?

Still, there's only so many beans a woman (and her family) can eat...what to do with the rest?

I am a big proponent of the vacuum sealer. I have one and use it all of the time. We also have a chest freezer that keeps everything in a steady, frozen state. Here's what to do to get the best result:

Wash and trim both ends of the green beans. Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes or so, then dunk in ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and pat dry. Pop them in the bag and vacuum seal, if you have one, if not, splurge on the locking freezer bags.

Pretty darn easy, I'd say...but if you are feeling a little more adventurous...how about canning them?

Follow standard sterilizing and canning methods (find them here).

Ingredients:
2 lbs or so of beans
4 cups of white vinegar
1/2 cup canning salt
4 cups of water

In this recipe, there is no pre-cooking (also called raw packing), just clean and trim green beans and put them in the canning jar with a couple of cloves of garlic. Heat up water, vinegar and salt. Pour solution in each jar.

My recipe is adapted from one of my favorite canning resources, PickYourOwn.org .

I would suggest playing with different flavorings and veggie combinations. Try adding pepper flakes or whole hot peppers to the beans. I also love Bay leaves, fennel seeds, dry mustard, caraway seeds...

Pickled green beans are a great addition to salads, used as upscale hors d oeuvres, drained and added at the end of the cooking cycle of a pot roast. Yummy, yummy, yummy!!!

I would love to know if you pickle your green beans...how do they taste?

Comments

[Innisfree McKinnon]

How did pickling the dragon's tongue beans work out? I read somewhere that they don't freeze well because they are so tender. I have a ton of them right now and have to do something with them!

[GroceryGarden]

Well, I think I've decided that I am not a big fan of heat-canned beans. They just don't hold their shape well. If I were going to do it again, I would use a cold pickle in the fridge. As for freezing, I didn't try that. But, if you are worried about texture, I would try blanching them for 1 minute, followed by an ice bath. Then, completely let them dry. I would then cut them into smaller pieces before freezing. When I am concerned about texture, I try to use smaller pieces to reduce the overall effect. See if that helps...