From the Garden...Home Canned Green Beans

Clockwise, Bottom R:  Draining washed beans, 5 gallon buckets of beans,
Canners ready to go, Happy Results, !
One of our favorite home canned vegetables is green beans.  They are easy to grow, usually produce abundantly, and don’t require peeling.  We often sit on our back porch to trim and cut our beans.  Be sure to wash them well – I use a plastic dish pan that fits my sink. 
I encourage you to pick and can the same day.  The quality is the best this way.  Picking and canning every day or two during the heavy producing season is easier than big batches.
 Don and Bonnie let us pick beans from their big country garden for these beans that we will enjoy all winter.  This is a simple recipe from Practical Produce; it is basically the same as the one in the Blue Book.  
I prefer to raw pack beans, although you get more in a jar if you hot pack.  Remember that low acid vegetables like beans must be pressure canned.  Review your equipment and refresh your methods by clicking HERE.
Green Beans
Raw Pack:  Wash and trim.  Cut into 1 or 2” pieces.  Pack tightly.  Add ½ tsp. salt to pints and 1 tsp. for quarts.  If desired, salt may be eliminated.  Cover with boiling water, leaving 1 inch head space.  Remove air bubbles.  Adjust lids.
Hot Pack:  Wash, trim and cut as above.  Cover with boiling water, boil 5 minutes.  Pack hot beans into jar with slotted spoon.  Add salt as above.  Cover with boiling cooking liquid, leaving 1” head space.  Remove air bubbles.  Adjust lids.
Process in a pressure canner; pints 20 minutes and quarts 25 minutes.
Process at 10# pressure for elevations up to 1000 feet above sea level, 15# pressure for elevations above 1000 feet above sea level.  
I use about 4 ½ to 5 pounds of beans for 8 pint jars or about 8# beans for 7 quart jars.
I use about 3 ½ quarts of  boiling water for 8 pints and 6 ½ quarts of boiling water to fill 7 quart jars.

11 comments:

  1. Hi!
    I am looking for small cake recipes I can bake for two people. Maybe 8x8 size or 9x9 instead of 9x13. Do you have any ideas or recipes to recommend?
    Thanks!
    Jan

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    1. Hi Softie, If you go to the search our files and enter cake it will bring up cake recipes many of which are for 8x8 or 9x9 size pans.
      Also many recipes can be cut in half especially if they call for an even amount of eggs. The chiffon cake recipe is very good and easy.
      A favorite of both Sue and I.

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    2. I usually divide a whole cake recipe between 3-4 loaf pans and freeze them. They stay so moist when I do this. Good luck!
      Rita

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    3. I like to do that also. I usually don't frost them till I thaw them out, is that what you do?

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    4. That's a great idea but how do you know how long to bake them?

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    5. I bake them for the same amount of time, just check with a toothpick about five minutes before the time is up.
      If they look like they are starting to pull away from the sides of the pan check sooner.

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  2. I will search for those recipes. I did not know that trick about halving the recipe based on the eggs. Thank you Myrna!

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    Replies
    1. Softie, Hope you find the recipes and have good luck with them.

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    2. Thank you Myrna. I'm sure I will try one this weekend. I will let you know how it goes. đŸ™‚

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    3. Do let us know how it goes and which recipe you decide to try. The classic yellow cake recipe makes enough for two layers or a 9x13 and you could make both layers and freeze one which I often do. Or make it into cupcakes and frost half and eat them and freeze the other half and frost when you are ready to use the, cake freezes quite well.

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  3. They're beautiful. I have about 30 quarts left from last summer and will probably can about six canners this year if the weather is good as last year.

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