In what form and how to properly freeze asparagus beans at home

With the onset of cold weather, everyone wants to diversify their diet. But after bright summer dishes, the winter table does not seem so attractive. To solve this problem will help a unique method of preserving food - freezing.

Having prepared in this way asparagus, or pod, beans, you will provide yourself with tasty, healthy and colorful dishes for the entire winter. However, without understanding the methods and nuances of freezing asparagus beans, you can waste time and money. Our advice will help you not to spoil the product, freeze it correctly and prepare it.

How to prepare asparagus beans for freezing

Asparagus beans are a type of green beans. It has this name only because of its resemblance to asparagus shoots.

To prepare your beans for freezing, start by choosing the right pods. Beans should be selected young, the so-called milk, which has not yet had time to outgrow. Go through all the legume pods so that the spoiled ones do not get into the workpiece. This will allow you to get a quality frozen product.

Beans are frozen in two ways: whole or cut, depending on how you plan to use it. Chopped is convenient to store (it takes up less space) and use in cooking dishesas there is no need to defrost and cut it.

Be sure to wash the legumes to be frozen several times under running water. The process of washing the pods should not be skipped, even if the product is grown in the home garden and not purchased from the market. A lot of microbes collect on the surface of the beans, which do not die when frozen at home. It is possible to destroy them only with the help of "shock freezing" in special equipment.

After thorough washing, the pods should be dried and the tails trimmed on both sides. Uncut ponytails will give the freeze an unpleasant aftertaste. This completes the process of preparing the product for freezing. Next, you should decide on the freezing method.

Reference. When frozen, asparagus beans retain up to 90% of vitamins and minerals.

Freezing methods

Consider several options for how to properly freeze asparagus beans for the winter at home. The simplest and fastest method is to freeze the beans raw.

Raw

First you need to decide on the container in which you will freeze the workpiece.

Regular small-size packaging bags, ziplock freezer bags, or plastic containers will work.

To freeze raw legumes, you need to:

1. Cut the prepared product into 3-4 cm pieces.
2. Divide into small portions.
3. Put in a container for freezing and send the workpiece to the freezer.

The workpiece is ready for storage and further use.

Boiled

Freezing boiled beans is another convenient way. With this method, the frozen product is ready to eat without pre-processing.

Preparation:

1. Cut the prepared pods into 3-4 cm slices.
2. Dip in boiling water and cook for 5-6 minutes.
3. Drain the water and leave the boiled product to cool.
4. Spread the slightly cooled pods on a paper or cotton kitchen towel and dry.
5. Put the finished product in the prepared container or bags and put it in the freezer.

It is not necessary to defrost such a blank when preparing dishes: it can be put in a hot salad or added to a soup at the very end.

Blanched

This method is very similar to freezing cooked beans, but when blanched, they retain more of the beneficial vitamins and minerals. The color of the product remains the same as fresh.

Preparation:

1. Dip the prepared pods into boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes.
2. Drain the contents of the pot into a colander and pour into a pot of cold water.
3. To preserve color and vitamins, add ice to cold water.
4. After a minute, remove the workpiece from the ice and dry it on a cotton towel.
5. Arrange dried pods in a container for freezing and send to the freezer.

Attention! Freeze asparagus beans at -18-20 ° C.

Storage conditions and periods

The frozen workpiece should be stored in the freezer. In this form, it is stored until the next season, that is, 10-12 months, without losing its useful qualities.

To preserve the vitamins and minerals contained in frozen legumes, do not re-freeze them. To prevent this, freeze the pods in small portions, sufficient for cooking 2-3 dishes, no more.

How to defrost properly

You should not defrost green beans: they will lose their attractive appearance and partly taste. If you have frozen cooked food, add it to soup, sauté, or other dish just before the end of cooking.

For raw freezing, add the beans to the dish with the rest of the raw vegetables. For frozen salads prepared in this way, the pods must first be boiled.

How to properly cook frozen asparagus beans

So, the preparation for the winter from asparagus beans was a success, what can be done from it?

The easiest and fastest way to prepare frozen pods is by boiling. In this form, the dish can be served as a side dish.

How and how much to cook

Cook the frozen workpiece without preliminary defrosting. Boil water, add salt and pour the required amount of beans into boiling water. If it is the main dish, cook for 5-6 minutes, then drain and serve.

If you plan to cook another dish from the pods, for example, fried beans in oil, you need to cook less, about 3-4 minutes.

In a frying pan

The dish will have a more piquant taste if the frozen asparagus beans are fried al dente. To do this, send crushed garlic. When it gives its taste and aroma to the oil, remove it from the pan and put the boiled freeze into it. Fry until tender and serve as a stand-alone dish or as an addition to salad, grilled vegetables or grilled meats and fish.

Tips & Tricks

When buying or harvesting asparagus beans from the garden, be sure to check the pods for freshness. Use only young pods for eating and preparing food for freezing. It is easy to check the degree of ripeness of asparagus beans: press on the pod with your fingernail - a juicy and bright dent should remain on it.

Freezing for the winter from asparagus beans, add other vegetables to it for variety. For example, if you freeze carrots with legume pods, Bell pepper, corn and green pea, you get a ready-made mix for salads and stews.

When preparing asparagus beans for freezing, be sure to ensure that the water-treated pods dry well. If you take underdried pods, they will freeze in one piece, which will be difficult to separate for use in dishes.

Conclusion

Using the described methods of freezing green beans, you can save them until next season. Remember that this type of legume cannot be stored for a long time. The cut beans remain fresh and healthy for several hours, after which they begin to wilt and lose their properties. You can keep the product in the refrigerator for a whole day. Therefore, freezing is the fastest and most convenient method of preserving asparagus beans at home.