Don’t immediately need those fresh green beans you picked up from the farmer’s market? Here are a few storage methods for when it’s time to start preserving those crisp beans for the winter.
How to Freeze and Store Fresh Green Beans
There are a few different ways on how you can freeze and store fresh green beans from the farmer’s market. We’re breaking it down below on how to freeze and store green beans to keep them fresh and ready to use throughout the year.
How to Freeze Green Beans
Here are the simple yet beneficial steps on how to freeze and store your green beans correctly.
Step 1. Trim fresh green beans:
Grabbing a small bunch of green beans at a time — align the stem ends side by side and slice the tips off using a sharp knife. Whether you are freezing fresh green beans or storing them, you’ll want to cut the tail ends. If you notice, some green beans have a fiber that runs throughout. Make sure you remove these fibers. For many green bean recipes, you are asked to additionally cut the green beans into one- to two-inch pieces before freezing.
Step 2. Blanch green beans before eating:
Blanching green beans helps to preserve their freshness for longer before freezing or storing in the fridge. To do so: Boil one gallon of water per pound of green beans. At the same time, fill a bowl with ice water. Add your fresh green beans to the boiling water. Smaller green beans usually need around two minutes, while larger green beans could use three to four. Once they’ve boiled, plunge the green beans into the ice bath to cool completely, and then drain.
Step 3. Prepare:
Pack all of your blanched green beans into a Glad® Freezer Zipper Quart Bag. Depending on size, you can use a quart or gallon plastic zip bag. Make sure to shape each bag to compact the green beans and press out as much air as you can before storing the green beans in the fridge. Freezing green beans is easiest done by using freezer zip plastic bags to securely seal and help keep your green beans fresh.
Step 4. Freezing green beans:
To best freeze and store green beans, label each bag with dates and amounts. Lay the bags with green beans flat in your freezer, but leave some space between the bags so air circulates evenly. When frozen solid, you can take the bags with green beans and place them closer together in the freezer.
How to Store Green Beans
There are a few places to store or freeze your green beans for safe keeping. Besides freezing, you can store unwashed fresh green bean pods in the refrigerator. We recommend to put your beans into a GladWare® Container. It’s best to store your fresh green beans in the fridge, otherwise store green beans in the freezer if you want them to last longer. You can also store unwashed and unblanched green beans in the refrigerator for up to about seven days before you need to store your green beans in the freezer.
Fresh green beans are in season May to October and you can find them at your local farmers market. Whether you are eating green beans in season or having them for Thanksgiving dinner, how you store green beans can impact how good they taste. Store your fresh green beans in the fridge to consume freshly picked green beans quickly. Otherwise, use these tips to blanch and freeze fresh green beans to preserve them longer in the freezer.
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