How to Blanch Green Beans (2024)

FAQs

How to Blanch Green Beans? ›

In a large saucepan or stock pot, bring 4 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to boil. Meanwhile, set out a large bowl of ice water. To the pot of boiling water, add the green beans and boil until tender-crisp but still bright green, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the ice bath to stop the cooking.

The process of blanching green beans—scalding them quickly, followed immediately by submerging them in ice water to halt the cooking—inactivates enzymes that deteriorate produce.

To blanch green beans, fill a large pot of water, set over high heat, and bring it to a boil. Salt the water (per quart of water, estimate a tablespoon of kosher salt), which will bring the green beans to life and enhance their flavor.

If you freeze green beans without blanching them first, the texture, color, and taste won't be quite as fresh when you defrost and eat them after long-term storage. They'll be good for a couple of months in the freezer, but quickly go downhill thereafter.

Steaming green beans gives them the same crisp-tender texture as blanching or boiling. Yet I think it preserves their lovely green color and allows the home cook more control over their texture than with those other two methods. Steaming is easy, too—and ease is what this recipe is all about.

Drain the beans in a colander (or if you want to reuse the boiling water, use a spider, slotted spoon, or tongs to transfer them to a bath of ice water). Fully submerge the beans in the ice water to shock them. Drain again, then pat dry with paper towels.

Under-blanching stimulates enzyme activity and thus is worse than no blanching. Over-blanching leads to partial cooking and causes loss of flavor, color, vitamins and minerals. For home freezing, the most satisfactory way to blanch all vegetables is in boiling water.

Blanch vegetables by adding them to boiling water or by exposing them to steam for a very short period of time, and then cooling quickly.

Think of the blanch water as a brine. You want about 1½ cups of kosher salt per gallon of water. Okay, I know what you're thinking…but trust me on this one. The high salt-to-water ratio actually prevents the vegetables' natural sugars and salts from leaching into the blanching water.

If greens are not blanched properly, they will lose their fresh flavor quickly in frozen storage. Steam blanching of greens is not recommended as the leaves mat together and do not blanch properly. Collard greens blanch for three minutes. Other greens for blanch two minutes.

What is an alternative to blanching? ›

An alternative way of blanching small amounts of vegetables is to use a microwave oven.

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.

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.

Using a high concentration of salt in the blanching water (2 tablespoons per quart of water) allows the green beans to tenderize rapidly, so their bright green color is preserved. The large amount of salt in the blanching water penetrates the beans' sturdy skins to season them more fully than smaller amounts would.

General nutrient loss from blanching averages 10-20%. Freezing, contrary to popular beliefs, does not decrease their nutritional value, but simply helps to preserve it for a long time.

Instead of the extra step of blanching the green beans before sautéing, you're cooking these all in 1 pan. Simply add a touch of water and cover to simmer a few minutes.

After they've been blanched, green vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, and green beans that contain the pigment chlorophyll start to turn bright green, because the cell walls fall apart and increase the visibility of chlorophyll.