Frugal Friday: Kitchen Tip/Tutorial - Freezing Fresh Green Beans

I can't believe that summer is almost over! The garden is producing like crazy and in case you missed it, last week I shared a tour of my lovely garden sanctuary. People often ask me what we do with all of the food from our garden because it's a lot more than a family of four can eat when it comes on in full force. I spend a lot of my time this time of year preserving the garden harvest so that we can eat it all year round. Since I'm not a huge fan of canned green beans (and I don't think they are very nutritious), I usually preserve the green beans by freezing them. And they are wonderful. Home frozen green beans are so much better than those you buy from the store because you can pick and freeze them at the peak of their ripeness so they will be tender and yummy when you use them later in the year. Green beans are definitely one of the prized harvests from the garden and today I'm going to share a step by step tutorial on how to freeze them so you can do it easily yourself.

How To Freeze Green Beans
Printable Tutorial

Step 1: Pick or buy fresh young and tender green beans. Do not use tough or overripe beans for freezing or you will be disappointed in the results. Fill up a large steamer pot with water and heat to boiling. While water is heating, wash and trim ends of beans. Cut beans into lengths 2 inches or more or leave original size (longer cuts are the best quality).

Step 2: Once the water has started boiling, place beans in steamer basket (being careful not to over
crowd) and cook for 3 minutes. Start the timer immediately after placing beans in boiling water. This is called blanching. Blanching is important in freezing most vegetables because it's stops the enzyme action, which can cause a loss of flavor, color, and texture.

Step 3: When 3 minutes is up, remove the beans from the boiling water and immediately place in cold ice water to stop them from cooking anymore.

Step 4: When beans have cooled completely (about 5 to 10 minutes), drain water. 

Step 5: Pack beans in freezer bags, label, date and place in the freezer. Frozen green beans should last at least a year in the freezer.

Growing your own food and then preserving it is a wonderful way to save money and be frugal with your resources. What about you? Did you grow a garden this year? What's your favorite thing growing right now?