sometime in the recent past Isabella Woodhouse posted this:
In article ,
"Jimmy" wrote:

I want to freeze a lot of green beans and have them crunchy when thawed out.
Any way to do this? If I blanch them then freeze them will they be soft?

So far this season, I've frozen nearly 25# of green beans; it's been an
unusually great year. This is my system:

Wash the beans very well by immersing them & changing the water until it
is clear. Cut off the stem ends and any bad spots. I cut mine in 2-3"
lengths because it's easier to get more on a tray.

Blanch them, in maximum 1 - 1.25# portions, in rapidly boiling water for
no more than 3 minutes. Start timing as soon as the beans hit the
water. Use a minimum 8 qt pot with a deep pasta insert so you can just
lift the whole shebang out of the water (carefully).

Remove them to a small colander sitting in a large bowl filled with ice
water (use lots of ice) for no more than 3 minutes (you don't want to
make them soggy). Swoosh them around in the ice water a few times to
ensure that they get cooled rapidly.

Drain them in a colander and shake out excess water. Spread them out on
the middle section of a decent size terry cloth kitchen towel and roll
them up for at least five minutes. Spread them out on a large sheet or
jellyroll pan that has been oiled with the slightest amount of olive or
other oil. Put the pan flat in a 0 degree F freezer. The lower the
better. If your freezer is self-defrosting, be sure to get the beans
out as soon as they are frozen or they will be dried out. A non-self-
defrosting freezer is better for this kind of freezing. (I use a
similar method for freezing broccoli, whole roasted peppers and a few
other things) I can get four trays in my freezer so I usually do 5-6
pounds of beans at a time.

When the beans are hard frozen, vacuum-seal them in a bag with
Food-Saver or similar device. I use a narrow bench scraper to scrape
them out of the pan. You have to do only one pan at a time and move
quickly so they don't start to thaw. You don't want your vacuum sealer
(should you have one) sucking water into it's innards). I usually wipe
the edge of the bag after I fill it to ensure there are no little drops
of water.
All good. Just wanted to mention that I fold over the mouth of the FS bag
(sometimes twice) so that it isn't directly in the way while you fill them.
Only have to wipe the water from those that any water might suck out of
(although not a real problem with vegetables, but a concern with meat products.)

No frozen bean is ever as good as fresh but I find this process is
pretty darn good. The key is working fast with no interruptions. My
step mom used to freeze beans in boxes and they were always a solid
block of ice, soggy when thawed and horrible. Good luck.

Isabella


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Wilson N44º39" W67º12"