There’s a reason green beans are found on almost every holiday table — they’re high in essential nutrients, super versatile, and taste great inside a casserole or as a sautéed veggie dish alongside meat or fish. Yet they can spoil pretty quickly if they aren’t properly stored and cared for.
Luckily, as long as you take the right measures to keep green beans fresh, you’ll be able to savor their flavors and make the most of your purchase without spoilage. Here’s what to know about extending the shelf life of this year-round, popular green vegetable.
How to Store Green Beans In the Fridge
First off, don’t mess up at the grocery store and choose green beans that are close to rotting. “Purchase beans that have a smooth feel and a vibrant green color, and that are free from brown spots or bruises. They should have a firm texture and ‘snap’ when broken,” saysToby Amidor, MS, RD, nutrition expert and Wall Street Journal best-selling cookbook author.
Then, once you’ve brought them home, get them in the fridge. “Store unwashed fresh bean pods in a plastic bag kept in the refrigerator crisper. Whole beans stored this way should keep for about seven days,” she says.
If you plan to use them in an upcoming meal, wash them under running water. Remove both ends of the beans by either snapping them off or cutting them with a knife. If you end up having leftovers, you can put the green bean dish back in the fridge, but you’ll only be able to eat it for another 3-4 days, she says.
While you can keep green beans fresher through fridge storage, you can’t beat the life extension of a freezer. Storing them in the freezer can help get the most out of your green beans, especially if you couldn't help yourself and bought too many on your trip to the farmers market, she says.
“You can cook the green beans, such as blanch in boiling water for several minutes, and then allow them to cool. Then place in a resealable plastic freezer bag for up to 8 to 10 months,” she explains.
How to Tell When Green Beans Are Bad
Sometimes despite your best efforts, there’s nothing you can do to save those precious green beans. “Brown spots and bean seed shapes that are coming out of the shell means that they are starting to get old,” says Amidor. That means use them ASAP or be prepared to toss them in a day or so. And if the beans are already slimy and wet, they’re no longer safe to eat.
They are sensitive to ethylene gas so keep them away from high producers like apples, avocados, or melons. I suggest lining open bags of green beans with a towel to prevent moisture build-up. Stored properly, they can stay fresh for 10 days or up to 2 weeks. If they brown or turn slimy, they've gone bad.
Store beans in a veggie crisper or an air-tight plastic container. You can keep them in the plastic bag they came in from the store, but condensation may develop and speed up spoilage. To prevent this, place a paper towel in the bag or container to absorb extra moisture, and replace it as it gets damp.
By plunging them into ice water, you'll immediately stop the cooking process, which will preserve their texture and bright green color. From here, you can serve them as is or dress them with a pat of butter, fresh lemon zest, a sprinkle of salt and a few cracks of freshly ground black pepper for a simple side dish.
Your cooked beans last about 3 to 5 days in the fridge. To store them, let the beans cool down after cooking, then pop them in the refrigerator within an hour.
Like most stored foods, beans are best stored in the absence of oxygen and light. Oxygen can lead to rancidity of bean oils and light will quickly fade bean color. The packaging choices are #10 cans or Mylar-type bags. Canning jars are suitable for smaller quantities providing the jars are stored in a dark place.
If beans are stored in food grade packaging, sealed buckets, reduced oxygen packaging or heavier plastic (Mylar) bags then they can be kept for ten years or more. There are many other things that need to be considered when storing beans for long term.
Well, creating an alkaline (or basic) environment by adding a small amount (about 1 teaspoon per cup of dry beans) of baking soda to your soaking/cooking water can actually help your beans cook faster.
Ice bath method (a.k.a. blanch and shock): Drain the string beans into a colander in the sink and run cold water over them (to start to cool them down). Now transfer them to a large bowl of ice water. This will stop the cooking process and help preserve that bright green color they've achieved.
Green beans can be frozen in their raw state, but consider blanching and shocking them for the best results. Not only does cooking them this way lock in their vibrant green color, but Registered Dietitian and Chef Abbie Gellman says it also eliminates surface microorganisms and dirt, preventing deterioration.
Place green beans in the freezer for 30-40 minutes.Place dryer trays into the dehydrator and dry at 140°-145°F for 8-10 hours or until green beans are crisp and brittle. To store dried foods, place the dried food in plastic bags, press out air, seal or close, and then place in glass jars and tightly seal.
How Do You Prepare Them for Freezing? Before you freeze green beans, rinse and dry them well. Then, be sure to trim off the ends and cut them into the size you'd like them to be for cooking later.
Watering: Keep the soil moist but not soggy; allow the soil surface to dry up to a half-inch deep between waterings. On average beans will require about 1 inch of water per week. Be sure that beans are kept moist during and after bloom, to get the best yield and well-shaped pods.
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