Our normal last frost date here in zone 5A is around April 15. Most of my neighbors are just now planting green beans. But with the warmest spring on record ever for this area I just had a feeling that it would be a hot and dry summer. So we took a gamble and planted really early in hopes of getting a crop in to take advantage of that early spring rain before the dry weather set in. That has paid off. With the temperatures steadily climbing and no decent rain in sight I am relieved to be picking the first of our green beans. It seems that we have no sooner finished picking the last of the first planting of green peas that we look to the next crop in line. O Wise One and I got up before daylight and started picking 2 one hundred foot rows of Jade green beans. This is one of the few hybrid crops that we plant religiously because for our area I have never found an open pollinated heirloom that can compare with either the taste or performance of Jade. So we greeted the sun that morning from the middle of our bean patch picking beans. Serenaded by an indignant rooster that seemed put out that we had beat him up that morning.
Then I spent the next part of the day snapping beans while O Wise One finished working on repairing chicken tractors and other chores that he was in the middle of. Once snapped my beans were ready to wash and drain in preparation of canning. For those of you who would like to follow along with this process you can find the recipe on page 66 of the Ball Blue Book, 100th Anniversary edition. I am doing the raw pack method. Green beans are a great crop for beginning canners to start with.
Now is the time to put your clean jars in hot water to keep them warm, also heat a saucepan of water for 7 lids and rings which is how many quarts an average pressure canner will hold. You will need a large pot of boiling water to pour over your beans in jars. Also add water to your canner and heat on low.
Pack beans tightly into hot jars leaving 1 inch head space. Add 1 teaspoon of canning salt to each quart jar.
Pour boiling water over beans leaving 1 inch head space.
Remove air bubbles
Wipe rims to remove any salt or food particles from the rim that might prevent a good seal.
Place warm lids and rings on jars and finger tighten only.
Place sealed jars in warm water of pressure canner
Close canner.
Process quarts for 25 minutes at 10 pounds pressure. Then turn fire off under pot and let cool and return to zero. I like to let mine sit for an additional 5 minutes or so after they reach zero before I open that lid. Be careful of escaping steam.
Remove jars and allow to cool completely at which time the lid should pull in and make that familiar pinging sound. Once sealed I allow to sit overnight then remove rings and wash jars with warm soapy dish cloth. Dry and label with contents and date then your jars are ready to be stored until you are ready to use.
For our first green bean cooking of the year we canned 35 jars of beans, a great start to a full pantry for winter.
Blessings from The Holler
Thanks for sharing this! Your blog is a wealth of information to me. I am a first year gardener and plan to can quite a bit so I appreciate the tutorials.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! I'm hoping to get plenty of beans in but not nearly as many as you do.
ReplyDeleteHave been canning lots of beans here, too. I planted them about a month early and it's paid off. I'm also trying out freezing some this year--do you ever freeze them? If so, how do you like it? We have a family recipe for canning them so that is preferred but I'm curious if the frozen ones taste similar at all to freshly-picked?
ReplyDeleteCheree we tend to prefer our green beans canned. When frozen we had problems with them getting tough. So for the last 20 years or so we have stuck with just canning them. That was before our Foodsaver though so don't know if that would have made a difference.
DeleteHave you ever dehydrated them and then reused them with any luck? I don't want to freeze too much because we experience power outages here plus I've got a lot of frozen stock and meats. I'm amazed at how much you are able to produce.
DeleteYou know Kathy I have never tried to dehydrate them but I now it is possible. I remember my grandmother talking about leather britches which are nothing more than green beans strung and dehydrated. I may experiment with that just out of curiosity..If you dehydrate them please let me know what you think of the taste : )
DeleteWow. Congratulations on all the green beans, CQ! And thanks for the recommendation on variety, too.
ReplyDeleteI love homegrown green beans. My crop is nowhere near as large - just enough to enjoy for a few dinners. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI think you know what you're doing...great haul for the first pick.
ReplyDeleteOur garden is thin this year, due to health and other issues but we have lots from last year so we are blessed.
you make this seem so simple, thank you for sharing. I have a small backyard garden with only cucs, squash and tomatoes. However we do have a farmers market, next year I'd like to purchase a canner. what model do you have?
ReplyDeleteAre you getting beans already?
ReplyDeleteWe're still only dreaming about garden fresh green beans in WI:)))
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that you have beans already! I am pinning this so that I can can mine when they are ready. I had to plant mine twice this year because the first time I planted they didn't grow. :( Looking forward to late crop.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking this up at the Carnival of Home Preserving!
ReplyDelete35 jars - holy cow! Like you, we put ours in early because it was so warm. But our beans keep getting eaten before I'm able to can them!
ReplyDeleteWhat a timely post. My beans will be ready in a week or so and it will be my first attempt at canning with a pressure canner. I have bookmarked your post to come back to when the time comes. Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYour 35 jars is astounding. I am hoping for 5 jars from the first planting.
I'm new to canning and don't have a pressure canner. Is the boiling water canning method okay for this and how long would it take? Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteI would love to can my greenbeans, but haven't gotten the nerve to use a pressure canner. I have visions of an explosion & greenbeans sticking to my ceiling. I've planted Blue Lake greenbeans last year, blanched and froze them. I may try the Jade this year and compare the taste.
ReplyDeleteI'm brand new to canning and I know this may sound like a dumb question but I can't find the answer anywhere I've looked. How much water do you put in the pressure canner? I've seen some pictures where it looks halfway up the jars, some that look like it's filled to the neck of the jars but nothing definitive. Can you help?
ReplyDeleteKris if you have the book that came with your pressure canner it should have a recommendation from the manufacturer. If not I put about 3 inches of water in the bottom of mine BEFORE jars. Once you put your jars in the pot the water will rise and that is why the pictures look like more. You do not want the water over the jars like water bath canning. Hope this helps.
DeleteThank you so much. Yes that helps tremendously. I don't have the book. LOL I was given the pressure cooker by a friend that was to scared to try it after spending all that money on it. Unfortunately no box or instructions. But hey no complaints from me on that score. It's definitely all my gain and her loss.
Deleteare you able to can green beans using the water bath method?
ReplyDeleteTHIS IS THE SITE I HAVE SEEN FOR CANNING TIPS VERY WELL DONE.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Jade is not an heirloom variety it is also definitely not a hybrid.
ReplyDelete