Canning Help Please!

Hi, G. Bob. My mother always used hot pack canning, no pressure cooker, and we suffered no ill effects from it, but the current recommended method states that, unless the vegetable is acidic, pressure canning is best. I understand, and their reasoning is listed below. I also found this bit of instruction online from Mom's Cafe Home Cooking (URL to follow) that you might be able to adapt to your needs. [i]Canning beans either string or wax is rather straight forward. As produce goes, there isn't a lot of prep work for canning. Wash the beans and trim ends. Remove the string. Cut into about 1 - inch pieces. Beans can be either hot pack or raw pack. I prefer raw packing as I think the beans have a better texture. The processing times are the same for either method. Pay particular attention to the headspace requirement as anything less than 1 - inch will cause the lids to buckle and the jars to loose liquid. Salt is an option and can be omitted entirely if desired. To hot pack: Place the beans in a large stock pot. Cover with water. Boil the beans 5 minutes then fill hot, sterilized jars leaving 1 - inch headspace. Add salt if desired, 1 tsp per 1 L (quart) or 1/2 tsp per 500 ml jar (pint). Cover with the boiling cooking liquid leaving 1 - inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe the rim. Adjust the two piece lids. Process 500 ml (pints) for 20 minutes and 1 L (quarts) for 25 minutes at 10 lb pressure**. To raw pack: Boil water. Pack the raw beans tightly into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1 - inch headspace. Add salt if desired, 1 tsp per 1 L (quart) or 1/2 tsp per 500 ml jar (pint). Cover with the boiling water. Remove air bubbles. Wipe the rim. Adjust the two piece lids. Process 500 ml (pints) for 20 minutes and 1 L (quarts) for 25 minutes at 10 lb pressure**. **Processing time is for weighted gauge pressure canner at 0 - 1,000 feet above sea level. Be sure to adjust is you are above this altitude. Use 11 lb pressure if you have a dial gauge and adjust for altitude if necessary.[/i] http://momskitchencooking.blogspot.com/2007/12/canning-green-beans.html Got the following from another site: [i]Am I able to process green beans in a hot water bath? A lady at the farm market here told me she has always done it this way, boiling it for 3 hours. I just wanted to be sure this is a safe method before doing it. Nope. That lady is, well, nuts! It doesn't matter if you boil them until they turn to mush, because boiling water at sea level never gets any hotter than 212 F, and the Clostridium botulinum is not killed by 212 f; even for hours. It's just enjoying a nice bath. A water bath canner is fine for acidic fruits and vegetables, such as jams, jellies, applesauce, apple butter, and even tomatoes, but for almost all other vegetables, like carrots, squash, green beans, etc. you'll need a pressure canner.[/i] http://www.pickyourown.org/canningqa.htm#pressureorwater Happy canning!!! They'll be so great to have mid-winter!!!

When I have too many green beans I freeze them, they taste fresh picked when you do cook them. Pick your beans, clean them, then you blanch them. Here is how to blanch vegies. Get a pot of boiling water, place the beans in the boiling water for just a couple of minutes (1 to 3). Then take them out, right away stop the cooking of them by putting them in cold water. Let them drain, dry off and cool, then you simply put them in freezer bags. I like to put a straw in the bag and suck out the air, then seal it up and thats all there is to it. I like to double bag things when I freeze things. You can also cook the beans and then freeze them, that works good too. I wish I could tell you some tips on canning but I have never canned anything before.

I have a garden every year and love to can. I grew up helping my granny can for many years. Here is my recipe to can green beans by the quart. You can adapt the recipe as needed. I prefer the canned green beans better than the frozen ones in a bag. They have a longer shelf life. Canning Grean Beans 1 1/2 pounds fresh beans to 2 1/2 lbs per quart jar 1 teaspoon pickling salt per quart jar -- (optional) Wash, trim ends and unzip strings as needed. Sort for size and maturity; some may be packed whole and upright like asparagus; others may be cut slanted in 1-inch pieces. In large kettle of water at 170 degrees, place blanching basket or loosely tied cheesecloth bag of prepared beans and slow-cook for 5 minutes after water returns to temperature. Remove beans and pack into hot, clean jars leaving 1/2-inch headroom. Add salt if desired. While packing beans into jars, bring water you used to blanch beans to boil. Pour boiling liquid over beans in jars, leaving 1/2-inch headroom. Remove trapped air with slender plastic spatula. Adjust hot lids; process at 10 pounds pressure for 25 minutes, beginning timing when canner indicates it has achieved pressure. Remove from canner according to canner's manual. Place jars on dish towels on counter and let cool. Test for proper seals by pushing down on flat part of each lid; if lid pops back, seal isn't complete. Either place in refrigerator and eat soon, or reseal according to manual instructions. This recipe yields 1 quart.

My Grandmother always canned up her vegetables. Sorry that I can not help you. I never developed the ability to make them taste like here. Here is a website that might help. http://www.vegetarian-fun.com/can2.html

How about freezing them???? Years and years ago, I used to get fresh produce (veggies) then freeze them myself...You have to blanch them a bit..meaning boil up water in a large stock pot then lower a colander type thing into the water to let them "blanc" for only a minute or two...then take out and cool under cold water...once cold you can store them in freezer bags, and freeze. Somehow think a lot easier than canning...with that you have to get the mason type jars and if you don't "seal" it right could cause botulism...ewww..never canned but it's a lot more detailed process to do Here's a website though on canning http://www.homecanning.com/can/ALSiteMap.asp

Sorry I can't help you on the canning of green beans. My mother and my aunt used to blanch them and freeze them.

Hi Grandpa, I would not can green beans in jars. There is a danger of botulism. Botulism does not make the veggies look or smell bad but it is deadly. I know many people do the canning and suffer no ill effects but freezing is a safer way. You must blanch the beans and then cool them off in ice water. I use zip lock bags to freeze any veggies that people with gardens give me. I used to have a garden myself and froze a quantity of beans, zucchini and tomatoes each year.

First you need a canning pressure cooker for canning green beans. They don't have enough acid in them to be safely canned in a water bath. The same way the the tomatoes that are grown today.here's a web site that give all kinds of canning information. They have recipes, steps to canning and where to get the supplies. directions on how to use pressure & boiling water canners .http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/foodpres.shtml Good luck with canning the beans.

Hi there Grandpa Bob, I love "Buncis" = green bean. Unfortunately i don't have recipe for saving till winter. May by with chop them and put at a plastic air out bag could last longer at the fridge? Hope somebody at mylot might help you. Happy posting!! xoxo'dian

Hi Grandpa B, I have not tried canning really but that is a great idea especially if like you, you have plenty of vegetable there..I hope this video will help you in a way! http://www.expertvillage.com/video/381_canning-green-beans.htm

I only know how to pickle green beans I do not know how to can them. Good luck.

I never canned mine, I believe they're much better frozen. They taste just like fresh picked when you do them right. All you need to do is boil water and blanch them for a minute or two (you can look it up, it's not long, but it varies depending on the vegetable), and put in freezer bags. It's best if you have a seal-a-meal type sealer as that will get all of the air out and they will keep better. Much easier than canning in jars and to me, taste much better too. They're not cooked by blanching, and then you can use them in whatever recipes you want, just like you would fresh.

You might try this web site. http://farmgal.tripod.com/