Green Beans are in season!
Let’s preserve some for winter

By Nancy Noonan

With all the scares going around about fresh produce and its’ sources, it is more important than ever to know where your food comes from and how to safely preserve it for your family.

We have plenty of green beans in our garden, but if you don’t, the local farmer’s markets and farmstands are sure to have some at great prices.

They are great to eat fresh, but we try to put enough away for the winter.

FREEZING

Freezing fresh green beans is fast and easy.

Select young beans whenever possible. Wash in cold water, snip the ends and cut into 2-4 inch lengths.  Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. Cool promptly in a bowl of ice water. Drain and let dry a bit. Package them up, leaving ½ inch headspace. Seal and freeze.

CANNING

Canning is a bit more labor intensive, but you have a shelf stable product not taking up freezer space.

Select tender crisp beans. Remove and discard any diseased and rusty pods. Wash beans and trim ends. Break or cut into 1 inch pieces or leave whole.

HOT PACK

Cover beans with boiling water, boil 5 minutes. Pack hot beans into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add ½ tsp salt to pints, 1 tsp for quarts, if desired. Fill jar to 1 inch from top with boiling hot cooking liquid. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims, adjust lids and process.

RAW PACK

Pack beans tightly into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add ½ tsp salt to pints, 1 tsp to quarts. Fill jars to 1 inch from the top with boiling water. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rimes. Adjust lids and process.

As beans are a low acid food, they MUST be pressure canned when prepared this way. Process in a Dial Gauge Presser Canner at 11 pounds of pressure or in a Weighted Gauge Pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure. Pints – 20 minutes, Quarts – 25 minutes.

PICKLED GREEN BEANS, otherwise known as DILLY BEANS

Yield – 4 pint jars

• 2 pounds green beans
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 heads dill or 4 tsp dill seed
• 4 cloves garlic

BRINE

•  3 cups water
• 3 cups vinegar
• 1/3 cup salt

1. Wash, trim ends and cut beans into 4 inch pieces, so beans will stand upright in jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.

2. Pack beans, lengthwise into hot pint jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.

3. To each pint, add ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, 1 clove garlic, and 1 dill head OR 1 tsp dill seed.

4. Combine remaining ingredients (brine); bring to a boil.

5. Pour boiling brine over beans leaving ½ inch headspace.

6. Remove air bubbles. Adjust head space. Wipe jar rim. Place prepared lid on jar and tighten ring finger tip tight.

7. Process 10 minutes in a Boiling Water Bath Canner or Steam Canner.

8. Turn off heat. In Boiling Water Canner, remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes. In Steam Canner, wait 5 minutes, then remove lid.

PICKLED THREE BEAN SALAD

Yield – about 5-6  1/2pint jars

• 1 ½ cups cut and blanched green or yellow beans or a mixture
• 1 ½ cups canned, drained red kidney beans
• 1 cup canned, drained garbanzo beans½ cup peeled and thinly sliced onion
• ½ cup trimmed and thinly sliced celery
• ½ cup sliced green peppers
• ½ cup white vinegar
• ¼ cup bottled lemon juice
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 ¼ cups water
• ¼ cup vegetable oil, ½ tsp canning salt

1. Wash and remove ends of fresh beans. Cut or snap into 1 or 2 inch pieces. Blanch 3 minutes in boiling water and cool immediately.

2. Rinse kidney beans with tap water and drain again.

3. Combine vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add oil and salt. Mix well

4. Add beans, onions, celery and green peppers to the pickling solution and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, marinate 12 to 24 hours in refrigerator, the heat entire mixture to a boil.

5. Fill hot jars with solids to ½ inch from top. Add hot liquid, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims.

6. Process ½ pints or pints for 15 minutes in a Boiling Water Bath or Steam Canner.

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Nancy Noonan is a Cornell Cooperative Extension Herkimer County Master Gardener Volunteer. Visit CCE Herkimer County to learn more about the Master Gardener Volunteer and Master Food Preserver programs.

Homegrown in Herkimer County began as an idea during CCE Herkimer County Master Gardener Volunteer sessions to help get the word out about the local produce available, where to get it, how to grow it, and how to enjoy it on the table.