Thursday, May 31, 2012

Dehydrating Green Beans

I've tried dehydrating green beans once before using frozen green beans.  They were ok but I wasn't super crazy about the way they re-hydrated. They are fine in soups or stews but not really to my liking for use as a side dish.  OK, having said that I thought that I'd try once more and see if my results from fresh green beans would come out any better.

I "snapped" the green beans and washed them well.  Then I blanched them in smallish portions for 5 or 6 minutes and drained out the water.  Then I put them onto my drying trays, careful not to crowd them in the trays.  I set the temperature to my "veggie" setting and let them dry.  About 5 hours later I checked the beans and rotated my trays.  At this point they were drying well but still needed more time in the dryer.  I let them go another 4 hours and they were done.  I let them cool on the trays and then put them in a jar.  I let them set for 24 hours and checked them again to make sure they were completely dry. I took out a small portion for my experiment and then I vacuum sealed the rest in a quart jar.

I boiled a small pan of water and tossed the handful of green beans in it to let it rehydrate.  I was really hoping that this time my results would be different than the frozen beans.  Unfortunately they weren't.  They seem to be kind of  tough.  Maybe it's something I'm doing wrong but I've got a feeling that's just the way they are when re-hydrated.  So now I have a nice batch of dried green beans to use in soups or stews but I don't think I'll be drying many more of them this year. 

I've really got to get to work on an outdoor canning area.  It's already getting way to hot to do in the house and the canning season is just now heading into full gear.  I have a feeling I'm getting ready to have fresh beans coming out of my ears.   The bush green beans have already yielded 14 quarts and the pole beans are getting ready to start producing too.  Not to mention the "magic" beans, Dragon beans and the Cherokee Trail of Tears.  

19 comments:

  1. Sci - i have to admit that i don't like dehydrated beans either. i blanch and freeze mine. the dehydrated ones, of course, are much better for long-term food storage, and if bleep hits the fan or an EMP happens or whatnot and we, heaven forbid, lose electricity forever, then i guess i will lose a lot of my food stores. what i recommend is to freeze the majority of your beans but also keep some dehydrated for long term. not the best solution but i just don't know what else to do with them. we need to set up our outdoor canning/kitchen soon too. well, not too soon...i finally have some radishes ready to eat - woohoo!

    your friend,
    kymber

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    1. Congrats on the RADISHES!!!! I'm so happy you guys are starting to see stuff on the table (or at least being munched on TOO the table! lol )

      As for freezing the beans, I honestly don't have the room to do frozen veggies in ours. We have one of those small chest freezers and it's mainly got our meats and some fruits in it. Oh and of course I have to have room to freeze the pop bottles/milk jugs for the rabbits in the summer. So canned beans it is! And I'm good with that... just sure was wishing the drying would have turned out better.

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  2. I agree the dehydrated ones are only good for soups, stews and casseroles. But they do have their place. We can a lot of green beans because we like them so much. I hope you get your outside kitchen set up soon!

    It amazes me that you are starting your canning season when we are still waiting to plant most things. *sigh* (I'm living in the wrong place for sure.) It would be wonderful to have a long garden season, but I imagine it is a ton of work. Even our short season takes all I've got, to plant harvest and preserve. :-)

    Enjoy your harvest!

    Blessings,
    Red

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    1. We love green beans here too. I would have to say they are one of our favorite vegetables. Good thing too ....we sure did plant a bunch!
      It still amazes me that some folks are just now getting things in the ground. I don't know why but for some reason I can't wrap my mind around it. Must be living all my life down in the south! You are so right though, there's a ton of work to it as well. The blog's kind of had to take a back seat this past month and it's just now cranking up out there!

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  3. I gotta say that I like canned green beans. I do dehydrate some because it's convenient and I can still use them. Many go into making my Dilly Beans.

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    1. We love them too. I'd rather have canned green beans than most any other vegetable. I'm sure I'll be drying a few more because they are good for long term food storage and the soups and such. I've never tried Dilly Beans but there sure are alot of folks who make them. I might just have to try them this year.... Goodness knows I've got plenty of green beans! (Got a recipe you want to share?)

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  4. I have had a little bit b etter luck with French cut. But not much !

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    1. Thanks Kris! I don't think I've got the patience to do French cut beans. (yet) I'm going to listen to your wisdom on this one for sure. Canning it is!!!

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  5. Sci,
    Glad to hear the storms didn't hit you. I agree with Kymber, but since your limited on the freezer space, best bet is to can them. Unless you like to eat green beans daily, lol.... I could do that for a while but then I would get bored fast. I would also save some for seeds in the future.

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  6. A thought, can you roast the green beans and add salt? Make it like a snack type bean.

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  7. When I saw your post I got all excited. I was really hoping dehydrated green beans would work out :) I have yet to try out a pressure canner so for now I guess it is freezer food. Sounds like your garden is about to go wild with stuff to harvest!

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  8. Maybe that's why some folks called them "leather-britches beans."

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  9. Have you considered pickling green beans? I've had some pickled beans that were quite good as a small side or in antipasti.

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  10. I have read (can't remember where) that you get better flavor with green beans if you rehydrate them in cool water, and when they have finished rehydrating to your likeing, then bring them to a boil.
    That being said, pickled beans are awesome. When the asparagus gets going, I pickle them as well. Then I hide them so they last for more than a few weeks :)

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  11. I bought a six pound can of green beans. Can they be dehydrated? Too big a can for my storage area so I thought of doing that.

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    1. Sure they can! Just know that the nutritional value takes a serious hit when you are drying canned foods.

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  12. I'll have to try your trick and see if it makes them any better

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  13. Hi. I was wondering if I could dehydrate roasted green beans. I like to toss them in olive oil and use seasoning salt. I was hoping I could dry them after that, but I've had no luck finding out on the internet.

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  14. My thought is that you don't want to dry things with oil. It tends to go rancid easily. I hope that helps.

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