Green beans are my favorite addition to soups, stews, and even casseroles. I love how versatile they are. Whether they’re added to soups, stews, or casseroles, they always seem to add the perfect touch of flavor and nutrition to any dish. However, if you’ve ever found yourself with an abundance of fresh green beans and don’t want them to go to waste, then canning might just be the solution you need. 

Canning is an excellent way of preserving green beans, enabling you to savor their flavor and reap the nutritional benefits throughout the year. If done properly, canning will help maintain the freshness and quality of your green beans so they still taste great even when it is not harvest season. Not only will this method enable you to store green beans for extended periods of time, but it also provides a convenient way of ensuring that nutritious greens are always on hand.

Nana’s Guide to Canning Green Beans

As for me, I love canning my green beans because my Nana would always supply me with freshly harvested green beans. I find comfort in this tradition, as it reminds me of her and the time we spent together working on our preservation project when I was a little kid. Here are some things I’ve learned from her throughout the years when canning green beans.

How to Pack Green Beans for Canning

If you are just beginning your canning journey, you should be aware of two primary methods of packing jars with green beans: hot packing and cold packing. Hot packing involves heating the green beans before filling the jars, while cold packing means putting the raw or blanched beans directly into the jar. Depending on what type of product you’re working with, one of these methods may be better than the other. But both can provide excellent results when done correctly.

I usually opt for cold packing as it is more straightforward to process the raw beans without having to go through the extra step of blanching. However, I recently discovered that hot packing is much more productive since it allows me to fit a greater quantity of beans into each jar compared to not cooking them beforehand. But either way, it will depend on your personal choice.

What Canning Methods to Use

Many of us have learned how to can from our grandparents or great-grandparents, and often, we are taught that the best way to preserve green beans is through the traditional water bath boiling method. However, with technological advancements and modern canning practices, it’s important to reconsider this old-fashioned approach. 

Like many of us, great grandma taught me to can green beans using the water bath boiling method. However, my Nana, who was an avid canner, quickly adapted to the modern tools and techniques for canning. She taught me that it’s important to use tested and approved canning methods, like pressure canning, for green beans to ensure that they are safe to eat and have a long shelf life.

Pressure canning is an effective way of preserving your favorite low-acid produce like green beans, which can be particularly prone to harboring harmful bacteria like botulism. This process utilizes high heat and pressure in order to destroy potentially dangerous bacteria and ensure the food is safe for consumption.

Tips for Picking Green Beans for Canning

Nana always reminds me that the key to preparing a delicious can of green beans is to use only the freshest and most wholesome ingredients. To ensure a flavorful result, it is essential to select healthy and ripe beans that have been freshly picked.

Since grandma has a vast garden in her backyard, I would help her to pick green beans when I visit during their season. She told me that the best time to pick the beans is when they are still immature. If you delay any longer and allow them to reach a greater size, then you will have no choice but to pick through and discard some of them. As green beans get bigger, their texture becomes increasingly stringy and hard.

Tips when Canning Green Beans

Once you know which packing methods to use, it’s time to process the green beans in the pressure canner. But before that, make sure you have the right equipment and tools for convenient canning. You will need to set the pressure canner with canning racks. Then, prepare tools like a jar lifter or tong to safely remove the jars in the canner.

Additionally, be sure to secure the lids of each jar and remove air bubbles with a utensil such as a plastic spoon or knife. If you are canning, it is likely that you will want to add some salt to your jars. Nana recommends putting 1/2 teaspoon for pint-sized jars and 1 teaspoon for quart-sized jars.

Although the addition of salt is not absolutely necessary, it really comes down to personal preference. So ultimately, the decision is yours. Salt really does make things taste better. But if you are trying to cut down on your sodium intake, you can leave it out.

How to Start Pressure Canning Green Beans

To start the canning process for green beans, place the filled jars in the pressure canner. Make sure they are not touching each other or the sides of the canner. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to properly set up the canner, including adding the recommended amount of water.

The amount of time needed to complete the canning process will vary depending on factors. You should consider the size of the jars and the altitude of your location. It’s important to follow a tested recipe and processing time to ensure the safety of your canned green beans. Typically, processing times can range from 20 to 40 minutes in a pressure canner.

After completing the process, you can then turn off the heat. Then, allow the canner to cool down naturally. Do not try to speed up the cooling process by running cold water over the canner, which can cause the jars to break. When the pressure canner has cooled down, you can remove the jars and place them on a clean, dry surface to cool and seal.

Nana’s Final Tips

Canning green beans can be a bit intimidating for first-time canners. But, if you take the time to carefully follow the recipe instructions and remember my Nana’s helpful pointers, it is actually not as difficult of a process as it may seem. With patience and attention to detail, you will soon be able to successfully preserve your own delicious green beans – perfect for enjoying all year round!