Putting Food By - Janet Greene [65]
They freeze well, especially the young ones whose seeds have barely begun to form bumps; freeze some of these, and can the more mature ones. Look up these beans in Chapter 21, “Drying”: old-timers called them Leather Britches.
BEFORE WE START—A WORD ABOUT MUSHINESS
People have written to PFB often about how to avoid having mushy canned green beans, and the answer first and always is never cut down on the Pressure-processing time. The warning holds true regardless of the part of North America the query comes from, and regardless of the varieties, growing conditions, and hardness or softness of the water for canning.
Variety is the least important factor in the result, actually. If you grow your own you might plant an old-fashioned pole bean. But do ask your County Agricultural Agent for varieties that do well for canning in your area; especially look at some of the tender new hybrids—these are likely to be more satisfactory when frozen.
The hardness or softness of the water in your area of course has a bearing on the texture of the finished product. Rainwater, or water chemically treated to be very soft, can make the beans slough or get soft very quickly when brought to a full, rolling boil for serving at the table. This is the reason why commercial canners sometimes give their beans a meticulously controlled low-temperature blanch for a few minutes before proceeding to Hot-pack and Pressure-process them (a pre-treatment that sets the calcium pectate in the beans’ outer tissues). You can achieve much the same result by Raw-packing your beans.
Perhaps the most sensible solution: simply choose beans for canning that are a little more mature than you’d use immediately for the table or for freezing. PFB was given this tip by several plant scientists, who added that signs of bumpiness indicate that the bean seeds are starting to develop and fill the pods, and the tissues therefore will be more likely to stay firm in canning.
GENERAL HANDLING
Pressure Canning only. Use Raw or preferred Hot pack (Hot makes them supple, permits a more solid pack; and the procedure described below as a blanch is a paraphrase of the commercial canners’ pre-treatment.) Use jars or plain cans.
Wash, trim ends, unzip strings as needed. Sort for size and maturity: some may be packed whole and upright like asparagus; others may be frenched or cut (slanted) in 1-inch pieces.
Blanch for Hot pack (optional for Raw pack). PFB prefers hot-water to steam blanching as more reliable at high altitudes. In a large kettle of water at 170–180 F/77–82 C, place a blanching steaming basket or loosely tied cheesecloth bag of prepared beans and slow-cook for 5 minutes after water returns to temperature; lift out, remove beans, and pack them. Repeat for rest of the batch. Save blanching water and bring to boil to use for canning liquid.
PREFERRED: HOT PACK
In jars. Fill with hot beans, whole beans upright—use a wide-mouth funnel for cut ones—leaving ½ inch of headroom. (Optional: add ½ teaspoon salt to pints, 1 teaspoon salt to quarts.) Add boiling blanching liquid, leaving ½ inch of headroom; remove trapped air with a slender plastic spatula. Adjust lids; process at 10 pounds (240 F/116 C)—pints for 20 minutes, quarts for 25. Remove jars; complete seals if using bailed jars.
• Adjustment for my altitude_________________.
In plain cans. Fill loosely with hot beans, leaving only ¼ inch of headroom. (Optional: add ½ teaspoon salt to No. 303 cans, 1 teaspoon to 401 cans.) Fill to top with boiling blanch water. Exhaust to 170 F/77 C (up to 10 minutes); seal. Process at 10 pounds (240 F/116 C)—No. 303 cans for 25 minutes, No. 401 for 30 minutes. Remove cans; cool quickly.
RAW PACK
The hot-water blanch is recommended. If not blanched, beans must be packed deliberately tight.
In jars. Leave ½ inch of headroom. (Add optional salt, as for Hot pack above.) Add boiling liquid, leaving ½ inch of headroom; adjust lids, and process