Frozen green beans "peeling" and mushy?

11 years ago

I planted bush Blue Lakes last year, pole version this year. Last year the frozen beans were great, just like fresh. Blanched for 3 minutes, ice bath, froze on cookie sheet before packing into FS bag and sealing. When we wanted to eat, I'd MW for 3 minutes.

Now the beans are coming out mushy and skins peeling off, though still cold. Same blanching/freezing process, and I can't believe there's a difference between the bush and pole beans of the Blue Lake. So the only thing I can think of is that I was processing larger batches, and packing full quart bags instead of 12oz by weight? So when we nuke for 3 minutes some of the beans are still cold, we have to squish the bag around and add 30secs at a time until they're warm (but even at 5 minutes they're not hot). Is this causing the peeling? Was 3 min blanch (counting from when water started to boil again) too much for larger batches, b/c of the time it took to get back to boil? Other possible causes - b/c of the increased volume, not cooled as quickly, or not dried as thoroughly (I put on paper towels and blot before spreading on a cookie sheet to freeze, maybe the larger batches were still a little wet?)?

We're eating from the top of the freezer (so later, bigger batches) - I did do smaller bags earlier in the season so will have to see how those are. But I'm disappointed b/c I wanted to use a full quart bag for Thanksgiving dinner with my parents, and now I don't know how to reheat them so they're as good as last year's.

This post was edited by ajsmama on Mon, Nov 10, 14 at 9:34

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Comments (3)

digdirt2
11 years ago
Sounds like an age of beans when picked issue - too old/mature.

But working with small batches at a time when blanching and cooling always works better for most any food. And with green beans I find that steam blanching is preferred.

Dave
2ajsmama
Original Author
11 years ago
I figured Dave would have an answer! Thanks.

Yeah, a quart at a time may have been pushing it for blanching even in 6qt Dutch oven? I don't recall the beans being old (on the vine), they aren't big and lumpy (those got pickled). But they could have been in the fridge a few days - would that make them do this?

I'll have to dig the smaller packages out of the bottom of the freezer and just cook 2 for Thanksgiving, and I'll take more care picking and processing the beans next year. September was so dry they didn't produce much, and then they started up again when it started raining (every weekend) in Oct, these are from that 2nd flush.
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2ajsmama
Original Author
10 years ago
Ugh, same thing with this year's beans, though I was trying to do in small batches. We've been eating the more recently frozen beans (some I didn't even put in FS bags just ziploc since we weren't getting too many at a time, I'd blanch shock and freeze on a cookie sheet then throw in a ziplock until I had enough for a quart FS bag. Last night took some out of the last ziploc, nuked for 2 minutes and they were still cold but mushy! I ended up putting them in the compost. I don't know if these sat in the fridge for a while before blanching (I was so behind on everything this year!).

But same as last year, it was very dry at the end of the season - actually it was dry all of July and August, they seemed to produce well in July and tasted good fresh but really slowed down in August, I let them go to seed so didn't pick many. I noticed last night the handful I had picked this weekend weren't lumpy, but as I was snapping them I found little to no flesh to the pods, and fairly well-developed seeds.

So would the beans that I picked during dry spells be considered "too old" even if not bulging? I didn't notice starving pods and well-developed seeds when I was snapping any to blanch and freeze, and they tasted pretty good right out of the ice water. I just hope I don't have a whole freezer full of mushy beans!