This is not going to be a how-to. Those things exist all over the internet already. I do not really have anything to bring to the table for instructions on freezing beans. I found the instructions I used at Better Homes and Gardens, and they were easy to follow.
The basic instructions are:
- Trim the ends
- Cut the beans into bite sized pieces
- Blanch the green beans
- Prepare the beans for freezing
- Freeze the beans
I am posting to say that this is such an easy process that anybody with extra green beans can preserve some for later in the year. Our bean plants were going crazy, so I had to do something with the extra beans. I was able to prepare and freeze enough beans to fill up a quart bag in about a half hour. This process was probably one of the easiest and fastest preservation techniques I have ever done. Now we have some beans ready for the winter when they do not grow well here.
The beans I am growing are not technically green beans, though the process was the same. I am growing Purple Teepee Bean and Red Swan Bush Bean. Both of them do cook green, so that explains the color change in the pictures.
If you have never tried to preserve green beans, I encourage you to give it a try.
-Joshua