Freezing garden green beans....

[banslug]

.....do I really need to blanch them before freezing? I am hoping someone has just frozen them as-is without blanching them first, and had success. Anybody???

Gayle

 

[sparrow13]

I usually blanch...if it's not necessary I'm happy to hear about it too. My beans are coming in fast and furious!!

I also did a quick pickle on some of them for the first time and they were fantastic!

Here's the recipe for anyone interested.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/fast-homemade-pickles?autonomy_kw=quick pickles&rsc=header_1

 

[TeTe]

.....do I really need to blanch them before freezing? I am hoping someone has just frozen them as-is without blanching them first, and had success. Anybody???

Gayle

I'd blanche them. I don't know why, but it's what both my grandmothers and all my aunts do, and they're country women who did or have been doing it every summer of their long lives.

 

[NY25]

Blanch. I believe it kills bacteria and also preserves the texture of the beans when you cook them later. Blanch, shock, drain, dry, bag and freeze. Sounds like a lot, but it goes pretty quickly.

 

[banslug]

Thanks! Off to blanch about 5# of green beans. YUMMY!

Gayle

 

[netsnotes16]

I never blanche mine, green beans. I also freeze onions, green peppers, celery (to put in soups), tomatoes (cut up), and other veggies. I usually saute green beans with olive oil, black pepper, just a tad bit of salt and sesame seeds.

 

[ElleJay]

I blanche (or fully cook by steaming) before freezing beans. Never tried canning beans because I don't have a pressure canner (and freezing is easier even with blanching thrown in ). If I shred my zucchini, I don't blanche, and I also don't blanche peppers before freezing UNLESS I am thinking of stuffed peppers and want them whole and pretty in the middle of winter.

 

[kathryn]

It's my understanding that blanching kills most enzymes, thereby making the veggies last longer (because with the enzymes intact, they would--very slowly in the freezer--still be actively going through a lifecyle, onwards towards breaking down).

 

[looking good]

My Dad use too have a garden that fed the neighborhood....and we had more green beans than we new what to do with and froze a ton of them...never blanch a one and always came out fine.

Hope that helps
Therese