how to store peas and green beans..

[greg1186]

question... how can I store peas and green beans? is it possible to pick them off the plant and right away throw them in a bag and freeze them without shelling the peas?? and if I do this will they maintain there sugar content?? whats the best way to store peas and green beans?

[hit or miss]

I would imagine they need to be blanched before freezing. I don't raise peas but when I get a mess of green beans I can them in the pressure canner.

[jal_ut]

[url=https://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html]Click Here[/url]

[gixxerific]

Good info Jal but I assume the OP does not have a canner. I just froze a bunch of peas but I plan on eating them soon. Maybe I should have blanched them.

I am watching this thread I have enough going that I won't be able to eat it all fresh like I normally do. So this preservation thing is new to me as well.

[Hispoptart]

I blanch my beans and well the peas we eat them faster then I can store them but I have in the past shelled then blanched them for freezing.

[orgoveg]

I have good luck blanching and freezing them. I generally cut them into lengths of 2-3 inches. Once water is boiling, put them in for 3 minutes. They immediately go into ice water to stop the cooking process. Dry on paper towels. Squeeze all the air out of ziplock bags before sealing.

Cook for just a couple of minutes when you're ready to eat them to keep a little crispness and avoid boiling away too many nutrients. They don't taste as good as the fresh ones, but they're still better than canned. If you skip the blanching process, you can't keep them very long and I would recommend cooking them longer after freezing.

[jal_ut]

The link I posted covers freezing and drying too.

[garden5]

You could leave the beans on the plant until the pods mature and then you just have to shell them. Dry beans store a lot easier than green ones, just keep them dry and air-tight.

The downside to all of this is the bean plant will stop producing when you stop picking the pots, so you may only want to do this on a few plants.

[jal_ut]

Maybe I should have blanched them.

Blanching is recommended for most veggies heading for the freezer.
Peppers are one exception.

[applestar]

For the ones that you're eating relatively soon, I think it's OK to skip blanching It's certainly easier to rinse, drain, string and put in a freezer bag. And they will taste fresher later in the week or next week than if you refrigerated them. With the sweet garden peas, my kids like to eat them frozen right out of the freezer, and my kitties don't complain when I give them frozen string beans.

For the ones that you're going to be digging out of the freezer after gardening season is done, it's definitely better to blanch first (I didn't know about peppers though). Freezing doesn't stop the enzyme activity which is stopped by the heat in blanching, so unblanched peas and beans lose their fresh color and flavor, and they seem more prone to random freezer burn.

[jal_ut]

We don't freeze a lot of peppers, but most food storage guides say they don't need to be blanched. We like to saute them with bacon then freeze them. They are very good for recipes that way.

I don't like frozen green beans. Prefer them pressure cooked. This is a matter of persoal taste. Lots of folks like the frozen green beans.

Frozen peas and corn, on the other hand, taste great!

Freezer burn is best prevented by getting as much air out of the package as possible. This is where one of those vacuum sealers shines.

[LindsayArthurRTR]

Pressure canning is a less expensive, greener, and more environmentally friendly way to preservation. Pressure canners are not really expensive, and they are easy to use. Also if you lose power in the winter ( 2 years in a row, we've lost power for 4 and 5 days due to ice storms) you don't have to worry about losing your whole summer crop. Some foods just don't can well, edible pod peas are one of those, but shelled peas and green beans can very well

[sjohnson9206]

Pressure canning is a less expensive, greener, and more environmentally friendly way to preservation. Pressure canners are not really expensive, and they are easy to use. Also if you lose power in the winter ( 2 years in a row, we've lost power for 4 and 5 days due to ice storms) you don't have to worry about losing your whole summer crop. Some foods just don't can well, edible pod peas are one of those, but shelled peas and green beans can very well

Just a thought, next time when the power goes out in an ice storm, put the frozen stuff outside... it's cold out there.

All kidding aside, I know what you mean, we lose power more in the summer than winter and more than a day or so and the freezer stuff is toast. Thank God the electric company has done something to stabilize the grid, and now we rarely go out, and if anything have brown outs more than total power outage.

[LindsayArthurRTR]

Goes back up into non- freezing temps before the power company gets to us