This is the first in what is planned to be a series of posts on preserving runner beans. In future posts we hope to cover salting and pickling, but today’s post is about freezing.
Freezing runner beans is the most modern, and arguably the most convenient, method of preserving runner beans. Our runner beans were a little late this year owing to the fact that we moved house in May. But once they got going we struggled to keep up. Preserving runner beans is a rewarding process that allows us to enjoy our crops over an extended season, and also prevents any beans from going to waste when they are at their most plentiful and supply significantly exceeds immediate demand.
The process is to prepare the runner beans as though you are about to cook them. We tend to slice ours to make them easier for little hands, but chop them if you prefer. Blanch them for two minutes. Remove them from the hot water and plunge them into cold water to stop them from cooking any further. Pat them dry, bag them and freeze them. When the time comes to cook them, remove them from the bag and boil from frozen.
It is important that the runner beans are blanched for as close to two minutes as you can get. The blanching process stops natural enzymes that would otherwise cause the beans to deteriorate, and also helps to preserve vitamins. If they are not blanched long enough, you won’t get these benefits. Remember the goal here is to blanch them, we’re not cooking them. They should soften slightly, but not be cooked.
Method: How To Freeze Runner Beans
1. Top and tail the beans, then slice or chop them according to preference.
Slice or chop the beans as you usually would.
2. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the first batch of beans. It’s best to blanch them a handful at a time. The more runner beans in the pan, the longer the water will take to return to the boil. Once the water is boiling again, start a timer for two minutes.
Place the runner beans in the water and bring back to a boil.
3. Once two minutes are up, remove the runner beans from the boiling water and plunge them into ice cold water. This prevents them from cooking any further.
Plunge the beans into cold water to stop them cooking any further (ice optional)
4. Once they are cool, pat them dry (if you freeze them dripping wet they will freeze in a block and will get frostbitten quicker), and pack them into a freezer bag.
Pat the runner beans dry before packing into a freezer bag
5. Once you have as many beans blanched and packed as you wish to pack in given bag, fold the bag to remove excess air, seal (or tie, depending on the type of bag) and freeze. Use within 12 months.
Blanched and cooled runner beans packed ready for freezing.
Related Posts
If you found this post useful you may also be interested in our other posts on the subject of preserving runner beans: