help needed on freezing yardlong beans

[bayouchica]

Looks like I've got a bumper crop of asparagus yardlong beans. Our first time growing them,not sure how to go about it. I was talking to my MIL, she mentioned blanching them in hot water,let them cool & freeze them. Would that work?
Thanks,Miriam

 

[bills]

The blanching method seems to work best if you can dump the hot beans into a big bowl of ice cold water. You can even add ice to it. You want to cool them down as quick as possible, running cold water into the bowl if it feels like the water is warming up.

If you can, use the "foodsaver", or vacuum method for bagging them, as it will prevent freezer burn.

I have done green, wax, and scarlet runners this way, and they turn out very flavorful. I'm not familiar with yardlong beans, but I would imagine you don't want them to get overripe before processing them, or they may be tough skinned, and very fibrous.

 

[bayouchica]

thanks Bills,
I don't know if we could afford a vacuum sealer now,just have to use ziploc bags.
Here's some info about yardlongs, if you'd like to see... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yardlong_bean

 

[patandchickens]

I have never tried to freeze yardlong beans but have cooked with them plenty, and am really quite convinced that anything that works for regular ole green beans would be fine for the yardlongs. I'd chop them into shorter lengths.

As Bill says, the key is to blanch small enough quantities at a time that you can get them cooled back down nearly instantly (like 30-60 sec, in an icewater bath). If you do a lot of them, or have too little icewater in relation to the am't of beans, they will continue to cook for too long and will get real mushy.

If you don't have a vacuum pack thingie, just press-and-suck as much air as possible out of the ziploc baggie you're freezing them in; you will still get a little freezerburn here and there but not too bad. Freeze in portion-size baggies.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[bayouchica]

Thanks, Pat