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SubscribeThis past weekend I harvested about 2 lbs. of green beans from the garden. There were quite a few more that needed another week or two before harvesting, so I’ll pick those next week. I decided that instead of eating them right away, I’d freeze them. I froze some “whole” to use as a side dish, and froze the rest in shorter pieces to use later in soup.
Fresh green beans must be blanched before frozen. Blanching process shown below…
The first harvest
Rinse and remove stem tips
To blanch: Boil green beans for 2-3 minutes. Then…
Immediately transfer the green beans to a bowl filled with water and ice cubes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
Freeze in freezer baggies or plastic container.
We can have these garden fresh green beans soon and in the fall in a yummy soup!
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- How to Freeze Raspberries
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for showing this! We planted our first garden this year and have beans in there.
I have no idea what I’m doing. It’s sure fun to see “how our garden grows”. It’s simply amazing!
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Thanks for the refresher on beans. I’ve finally planted some this year and I hope to get enough for roasting and for freezing.
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Wow- I had no idea it was that simple! What are some other veggies that can be blanched and frozen? Thanks!
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I did this a few years ago after ending up with way more veggies than we could eat from a local farm’s FSA box, but what I found later upon thawing was that no matter how well I’d patted dry before freezing, my beans came back really soggy and limp (much more so than frozen greenbeans I buy in the store then cook). I could use them in soups and stews, but not in any way where they needed to be fresh/crisp like a stir fry. It was a little disappointing, although it’s quite possibly I blanched them too long or didn’t dry them enough. Have you experienced this problem? I’d love to give it another shot if we end up with too much again this summer.
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I hope I get that many green beans from our plants. This is our first year planting them. Did you do bush beans or pole beans?
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I just blanched some yesterday and this is what I do. So far so good.
After I blanche and let sit in ice water, I put them on a cookie sheet on a sheet of saran and freeze them (separated) so when I put them in the bag they are loose and don’t stick to each other. Like you, dating the bag is a must. Have done the same with squash and broccoli (when I get a big bag at Costco and we get tired of it before the bag is used up). Give it a try.
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I too was disapointed with the green beans I froze last year. They were also limp and I question if I should give it another try this year. If they’re not crisp I really don’t care to bother doing it again. Did I do something wrong?
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I’m so glad to learn about this! I would love to keep my green beans longer. Thanks for the tip!
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U had responded to a question I had about freezing fruits/veggies and I can’t find it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m getting TONS of fruit/vegs for practically nothing and want to stock as much as i can in the freezer. Can u please email me that link??? Thanks a bunch!
Laura
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