The best way to put up fresh green beans is to blanch the green beans and then freeze them for eating or cooking with later.
Blanching the green beans before you freeze them, helps the green beans to retain their color, texture and flavor by stopping the enzyme activity and by slightly cooking the green beans.
When blanched the green beans can last frozen for a year or longer although they are best eaten within 6 months or less of freezing.
To freeze the fresh green beans, start by washing the green beans and trimming the ends of the green beans.
Then blanch the green beans by boiling some water and adding a tablespoon of salt and then blank the green beans by dunking them in the boiling water for 2 to 4 minutes or until they are crisp and tender.
Then immediately remove the green beans from the boiling water and transfer the green beans into an ice bath which stops the cooking process.
After the ice bath you then dry the green beans and pat the green beans dry with a clean towel.
Next flash freeze the green beans by spreading the green beans that were blanched onto a baking sheet in a single layer and place them into the freezer until frozen.
After the green beans are frozen, you then transfer the frozen green beans from the baking sheet into freezer safe bags or containers and squeeze out any excess air to prevent freezer burn.
Then label and date the bags or containers of green beans to know how old they are in the freezer.
Green beans are also good for weight loss, as green beans are low in fat and low in calories and also high in fiber and provides the body with essential nutrients.
The green beans can keep you feeling fuller longer and aid in you managing your weight.
Green beans high fiber, helps you feel full and satisfied, which reduces overeating of other high calorie and high fat foods and the green beans are low in calorie density, which means the green beans don't add a lot of calories to your diet and offer a good volume and the green beans are a great source of vitamins K, vitamins C and vitamins A and minerals which ensures you get the necessary nutrients while you manage your weight.
You can eat green beans for weight loss in a variety of ways which include, boiled, steamed, roasted, as as side dish or even stir fried.
Green beans contain around 2 grams of protein per cup and green beans also contain around 7 grams of carbohydrates per cup.
Green beans are a good source of fiber, minerals, vitamins and are also low in fat and calories.
Green beans including bagged green beans and canned green beans are a good source of magnesium, copper, folate, vitamin C and vitamin K.
When boiling green beans, adding baking soda to the green beans helps the green beans maintain and keep their vibrant green color as well as speed up the softening process of the green beans.
The baking soda helps the green beans maintain their vibrant and green color by making the boiling water slightly alkaline which stabilizes the chlorophyll pigment and prevents it from breaking down into a dull olive color.
However if overused the baking soda can actually make the green beans have a mushy texture so you want to avoid using too much baking soda when boiling the green beans.
Things you can put in your green beans to give them flavor are onions, herbs, garlic, pepper, soy sauce, butter, bacon bits, bacon, fresh herbs, nuts, honey brown sugar, and salt.
Green beans can taste bland due to the type of green beans being used, your cooking method and as a result of the lack of addition of flavors.
When fresh green beans are not cooked properly, the fresh green beans can lose their natural sweetness.
And canned green beans will also often have a bland flavor as a result of the canning process and the preservatives.
Overcooking the green beans can also cause your green beans to lose their natural sweetness and develop a mushy texture.
Simply boiling the green beans without adding seasonings or flavor enhancers can also result in bland green beans.
Also different green bean varieties also have different flavors.
For example, pole beans are know for having a stronger and more earthy flavor than bush beans do.
If you want to enhance the flavor of the bland green beans you can add some seasoning such as salt, pepper, garlic, onions or other herbs which help make the green beans taste much better.
And opting for recipes that have limited flavor additions like green bean casserole can also result in a bland green bean dish.
If you're using dried green beans, soaking the dried green beans in salted water before you cook them can also help to make the green beans rehydrate faster and enhance their flavor.
Canned green beans are often cooked in a salty brine or even sweet syrup which can also alter their natural flavor and some canned beans can take on the metallic taste of the can itself.
Fresh green beans tend to have the best flavor and texture when compared to canned green beans.
Also avoid overcooking the green beans and add flavor enhancers like onions, herbs, garlic, pepper and salt and choose fresh and high quality green beans.