Asparagus, or green beans, are popular all over the world. Nowadays it is found in almost every grocery store, where it is often sold frozen. When growing this crop in your area, you need to preserve the harvest in some way in an apartment. The best option is to freeze the asparagus beans. This procedure is simple, but it has its own nuances that you should familiarize yourself with.
Preparatory stage
Unripe, or "dairy" pods are most suitable for freezing. The preparatory stage for freezing the product is as follows:
- Young and sturdy pods are chosen that do not have any defects.
- Cut the ends with scissors. You can trim on both sides or just the top. If necessary, remove the central vein, which runs along the upper edge. You just need to pick it up with something and pull it out.
- The pods are cut into pieces of equal length. This is usually about 4 cm.
- Then rinsed several times under the tap in a colander. Alternatively, you can soak the beans for 1 hour in a mild citric acid solution or salted water.
- After that, it must be dried on a cotton or paper towel.
For freezing, it is very convenient to use special plastic bags with zip-locks or clips. Plastic containers are also well suited for this.
Freezing product options
There are different ways to properly freeze asparagus beans. The easiest is to send it raw to the freezer.
Raw
Freezing preparation:
- Cut the clean pods into 3-4 cm pieces.
- Divide everything into approximately equal portions.
- Arrange in freezer containers and place in the freezer.
Such a blank will be stored for quite a long time.
Boiled
Boiled beans are often frozen. This method allows you to use the product immediately after defrosting, without resorting to additional processing.
Preparatory process
- Place the chopped vegetables in boiling salted water and cook for no more than 5 minutes.
- Drain the contents of the pan in a colander and leave the beans to cool naturally.
- Spread the pods that have cooled down on a towel and dry.
- Pour into a prepared container and send to the freezer.
In this form, the semi-finished product is stored for up to 1 year, until a new crop matures. The workpiece does not need to be thawed before use. It can be added to soups, stews and casseroles, or placed in a hot salad.
Blanched
This method is very similar to freezing a boiled product, but during blanching, more useful components remain in it. In addition, the color does not change, it is the same as that of fresh beans.
Preparatory stage:
- Pour the washed and chopped pods into boiling water and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
- Pour everything into a colander and immediately send it to a container with cold water (it is advisable to add ice to it). It is added in order to better preserve the nutrients and appearance of the product.
- After 1-2 minutes, the product is taken out and laid out on a towel to dry.
- After that, it is sent to the freezer.
How much to store and how to defrost
According to the regulations, frozen food should be stored for no more than six months. But in fact, asparagus beans last much longer. If the temperature in the freezer is from -18 degrees and below, then the product remains usable until the next harvest. The main thing is that the pods do not defrost during this time.
Re-freezing is undesirable. Otherwise, the product loses most of its vitamins and minerals. To prevent this, you should freeze the beans in small portions, which will be enough for 1-2 dishes.
There is nothing complicated in the defrosting process. The container or bag with the product must be removed from the freezer and left for half an hour without opening it. After 30 minutes, you can use the beans as directed.
Tips & Tricks
When purchasing or harvesting asparagus beans from the garden, you need to make sure that they are fresh. Only young pods should be used for cooking. It is quite easy to determine the stage of maturity: you need to try to push the skin of the pod with your fingernail. A bright and juicy dent should remain on it.
When freezing a vegetable in the winter, you can add other vegetables to the beans. For example, it goes well with corn, green peas, bell peppers, and carrots. So you can make a ready-made mix for making stews and salads.
During preparation for freezing, care must be taken to ensure that the pods dry well after washing. If they are underdried, they will freeze in one piece. It is difficult to separate it until it is completely defrosted.
Freezing asparagus beans at home is easy enough. If you use the described methods, you can preserve the taste and all the nutrients until next season.
The beans remain fresh for several hours after harvesting from the garden, then they begin to lose their qualities. It is important to have time to carry out all the procedures as soon as possible.
Read also: We grow carrots according to the rules of crop rotation
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