How to freeze runner beans

When you are growing runner beans you will know that you get an abundance. You will either have a lot of friends who you share all your produce to or you will be eating runner beans every single day. You will probably waste a great amount as you may not be able to keep up with how fast they are producing once they start. One way of saving runner beans until you need them is freezing them. Here we will explain the best way on how to freeze runner beans to keep there optimum taste and texture so they taste fresh when you eat them.

Like most other vegetables before you freeze runner beans you will need to blanch them first. This method will help them keep the delicious taste that the runner beans have and the lovely green colour.

To blanche runner beans you will need to chop the runner beans into chunks or slice them. Cut off the hard ends of the runner beans and the stalks. If they are stringy you will need to cut the ends off them. Blanche them in boiling water, then leave them to cool down. Once they have cooled down you can then put them in a freezer bag and freeze until you need them.

One way of making it easier cutting the runner beans you can purchase a runner bean slicer which will save lots of time. You can find one here

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Guide on how to freeze runner beans

Here is a step by step guide on how to freeze runner beans.

1. Weigh 200g Runner Beans
2. Cut the top and bottom off the runner beans. This is called top and tail.
3. Slice off the stringy bits on the sides.
4. Chop the beans into 3cm pieces – you don’t have to measure just guess – scissors are best for this.
5. Boil a pan of water up. Add the beans you have prepared and boil for 3 minutes.
6. Transfer the beans to ice cold water. Leave in the water until they have cooled completely
7. Once they have cooled you need to open freeze the runner beans. To do this get some baking paper on a baking tray and lay your runner beans out on them – make sure they are not touching. You can then freeze them. Make sure the freezer is on the coldest setting. This is so the beans do not freeze in one big clump.
8. Once they have frozen solid you can put them in a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 months. Defrost the runner beans when you require them.

To find out more tips and advice on growing runner beans you can check out this page here