Freezing allows you to save food throughout the winter, while they remain the maximum possible amount of valuable substances. Our material will tell you how to properly freeze green beans and what can be prepared from it.

Useful properties of green beans

Green beans, or asparagus beans, are the unripe fruit of ordinary beans. The rich chemical composition makes it a valuable product for the human body, having a large number of useful properties.

• In particular, this bean has the following actions:
• due to the content of a large amount of fiber, it has a positive effect on the digestive tract
• helps lower cholesterol and blood sugar;
• improves metabolism;
• cleanses the body of toxins and other harmful substances;
• helps strengthen bones;
• slows down the aging process;
• It has a general strengthening effect and saturates with vital vitamins (A, groups B, C, PP), minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium, phosphorus, zinc), amino acids, including Omega-3 and Omega-6;
• due to the content of zeaxanthin strengthens vision;
• positively affects the work of the reproductive and nervous systems;
• prevents the development of hypertension, atherosclerosis, anemia, arrhythmia.

This bean crop is low-calorie - 100 g contains about 47 kcal. The same amount of product contains 2.8 g of protein, 0.4 g of fat, 8.4 g of carbohydrates and 88 g of water. It is useful for people who are overweight, obese, and diabetes. It must be included in the diet of those who refused to eat meat, as well as pregnant, elderly, children. It is advisable to eat this vegetable in the winter season, especially during the period of SARS epidemics.

Important! Asparagus beans should not be introduced into the diet for those who are diagnosed with the following: gastritis with high acidity, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, colitis, cholecystitis, gout.

When to clean and how to prepare beans

The harvesting time of this bean crop will depend on the region and climatic conditions where it grows. It is important not to be late for the owner of the site, because if you miss a moment, hard fibers will appear in the vegetable, which will be difficult to chew and ruin the taste of the dishes. Usually the pods are removed when they reach a length of 20 cm, but everything will depend on the variety as well. The first crop is usually harvested 14 days after flowering.In the middle lane this time falls on July. Since the pods ripen gradually, the crop will need to be harvested for several weeks, going to the beds every 2 days. They plan cleaning in the morning - at this time the pods are well saturated with moisture. It is advisable not to tear them off, but to cut them off with scissors.

Before placing the pods in the freezer, they must be prepared:

1. Discard damaged and sluggish specimens. Only elastic pods with a thin skin that can be easily pierced with a fingernail will do.
2. Wash under running water.
3. Put in a colander and let the water drain well.
4. Dry on a paper towel.
5. Trim the ends.
6. Cut in half or into several pieces of 3-4 cm.

Did you know? The healing properties of beans have been known for a very long time. The first mention of the benefits of legumes, which have survived to this day, is contained in the books of Chinese healers, dated 1280 BC. e.

How to freeze green beans for the winter at home

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the three most popular ways to freeze a bean product. For this process, you need to take care in advance of acquiring plastic containers or vacuum bags. If this is not possible, then ordinary plastic bags will do.

Quick way

The fastest way to freeze is simply after washing and drying the pods, place them on baking trays or trays and put them in the freezer by setting the quick or super freeze function. Well-frozen food should be packaged in bags or containers and sent back to the freezer - to the storage compartment, where the temperature is –18 ° C.

Universal method

A universal method involves freezing pods after blanching. Beans are boiled for 3 minutes, after which they are lowered into ice water for 3-4 minutes. So the skin will remain elastic, and the product will retain the maximum amount of nutrients, taste and the ability to crunch. After blanching, the pods must be completely dried so that they do not stick together during freezing. After they become completely dry, they are packed in bags or containers and put in the freezer.

Boiled Bean Freeze

So that after removing from the freezer no longer cook the product, its heat treatment can be done before freezing. Fresh young beans are cooked for about 6-8 minutes. It is put into the pan after boiling water. Boiled pods are thrown into a colander, let the water drain, cool and dried on a paper towel. Then they are packed and put in the freezer.

Video: how to freeze boiled beans

How to store and how to defrost properly

After harvesting, it is advisable to freeze the product for 3 days. In the future, the amount of valuable substances will be reduced. Freshly picked pods should immediately be placed in a plastic container, covered with a film and refrigerated. In the fresh air, under the influence of sunlight, they can not be kept for a long time.

Did you know? The homeland of asparagus beans is Peru. After spreading throughout Central and South America in the 16th century, it was brought to Europe Spanish mariners. In the territory of Kievan Rus, the vegetable was called French bean for a long time.

The product should be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, in the freezer until the summer of next year. If the beans were not boiled before freezing, then you do not need to defrost it. The vegetable is immediately placed in boiling water or in the prepared dish. It will be ready after 5-7 minutes. The pre-boiled product will just need to be placed in boiling water for a maximum of a couple of minutes.

What can be prepared from frozen beans

This bean representative can be cooked, fried, stewed, baked and steamed. Frozen beans must be kept in boiling salted water for no longer than 7 minutes.

Important! Due to the high content of leptins and pheazin, raw beans cannot be eaten - they must be cooked.

The vegetable in question is used as a component of such dishes:

• side dishes in combination with other vegetables - carrots, tomatoes, corn, spices, onions;
• fried eggs or omelet;
• salads with tomatoes and tomatoes;
• first meal.

Beans can also be used as an independent dish, seasoned with sauces and dried herbs - it goes well with meat, fish and seafood.

Useful Tips

In order for asparagus beans to provide the body with only benefits, you need to listen to these tips:

1. Since the product, like all legumes, can provoke flatulence, the first water must be drained when cooking the broth.
2. For the same purpose, spices are added to dishes with beans, which reduce gas formation. These include, in particular, dill.
3. It is necessary to pack a product in such quantity which it is planned to use at a time - on 250-350 g.
4. Before you put the bags in the freezer, you should definitely let out air from them. It is convenient to do this with a straw.

To summarize the above, we note that asparagus beans are a healthy product that must be consumed throughout the year in order to saturate the body with vitamins and minerals. It is believed that it does not accumulate harmful substances from the environment. You can save more valuable items for a long time by freezing it.