Are you wondering if you can- can your green beans without a pressure cooker? Well, you absolutely can. This guide is all about Canning Green Beans Without a Pressure Cooker.
Canning green beans at home without a pressure cooker is very simple. We are sure you will have all the ingredients or elements needed at your place. All you need are a few jars, salt, vinegar, and, of course, your green beans. You can do this process in two ways. One is the cold pack method, and the other is the hot pack method.
Now that you have an idea of how easy the task is keep reading because I have created a handy guide for you where everything is covered. I have put together all the information you need to learn this new skill. So, keep reading!
What’s the Way to Can Green Beans Without A Pressure Cooker?
First thing first, the absolute best way to can green beans is by using a pressure canner. And in fact, you should not use a pressure cooker to can green beans. However, a pressure cooker is a great way to kill the potential bacteria while canning green beans.
But if you don’t want to use or fancy pressure canner to store green beans or if you don’t have a pressure canner available at home then there are generally two methods that you can follow to can green beans without a pressure cooker or pressure canner.
So, those methods are – cold pack and hot pack methods. Below I have explained in detail, what’s the process of canning green beans using these two methods and without using any pressure cooker.
Steps to Can Green Beans Without a Pressure Cooker
Now, I have made a detailed step-by-step guide for you of the process. Follow it so that you can preserve your delicious green beans all year round.
1. Wash Your Green Beans
The first and most important step is to clean and wash your green beans thoroughly. It is better if you wash your green beans in cold water. This is because cold water will help you get rid of all the dirt present in the green beans.
Start by soaking your green beans in cold water for some time to loosen the dirt present or any residue. Then swirl them around in the water, and rinse them in clean cold water.
In the end, remember to drain your green beans well, leaving no extra water.
Important: Don’t forget to check your green beans closely to make sure there’s no dirt. In case you do not clean your green beans well, you will be storing your green beans along with bacteria in your canned jars.
2. Cut Them into Smaller Size Pieces
I like to cut the green beans into smaller pieces. Well, for me, it becomes easier to store my green beans and use them later on. I cut them about one inch in size. You can cut them in whatever size you like!
Oh, and don’t forget to snap both ends of the green beans.
3. Salt Your Jar
Now before you begin to salt your jar, take a little important advice from me, you need to make sure that your jar is cleaned, I suggest you use hot water along with soap to clean it properly so that there is no dirt or whatsoever in the jar.
If you don’t wash the jar properly then there will be the chances of developing bacteria and eventually, you will end up ruining your all green beans. So, take this advice seriously.
Now after you are sure that your jar is cleaned thoroughly, it is time to add salt to them. Now the question arises, how much salt do I need to add? well, it really depends on what size of jar you are using to store green beans.
For a pint jar, you can add half a teaspoon, and for a quart-sized jar, you can add one teaspoon.
Another important tip: If you are planning to store your green beans for a longer time then make sure to use sea salt as it can preserve the quality for a longer duration of time.
4. Storing Methods to Store Can Beans
It is time to store your beans now.
There are two methods of storing green beans. The methods are cold pack and hot pack methods.
Let us first begin with understanding what a cold pack method is. In a cold pack method, you will just have to store your green beans raw in the salted jar.
Now coming to the hot pack method. In this method, you have to boil your beans in a pot of hot water. Boil them for at least five minutes. After they are done boiling, drain them well, and then add them to your salted jar.
A tip for you: From my personal experience, I realized that boiling green beans for more than five minutes makes them less crunchy and firm. You would want to maintain their delicious crunchiness even after they’re canned. That is the reason boil your green beans only for five minutes.
5. Use Pickle Mix
I guess you guys already know about it but for those who don’t know let me tell you that green beans have a pH of 6.5 which makes them non-acidic, and to preserve them properly it is highly important that we add a little acidity to them.
Note: You can read this publication by nchfp.uga.edu to know more about home canning.
Now, you should be thinking about how to do that, right? well, you can do that by using a pickling mixture, and this step is very important, since we are not using a pressure canner, we need to cover them with a pickling mixture after adding green beans to the jar.
Also Read: Does Frozen Meat Weigh More Than Thawed Meat
Making a pickle mixture is very easy. All you need are equal quantities of water, vinegar, and any additional spices you like, such as chili or curry, for some extra flavor.
Mix them all together and add a pinch of salt to the mixture. This will help enhance the taste and preservation of your green beans.
After you have made the mixture, go ahead and pour the mixture over your green beans in the jar.
6. Seal Your Jar
Okay, this step is super important. From my personal experience, I did mess up this step once, and I did not get the result I wanted. So you must pay attention.
After you’ve added the pickling mixture, it’s time for you to close your jar properly and tightly. Now before you close it with a lid, use a spoon and slowly press down on the beans in the jar. This will release any trapped air in the jar, so give it a good press.
After you finish doing this, it’s time for you to seal the lid tightly and make sure it’s securely closed.
After that, wipe the outside of the jar just in case any liquid spilled while you were pressing the green beans down.
7. A Hot Bath
It’s time to give your sealed green bean jars a little hot bath.
Yes, you’ve read that right!
So, what you need to do is get a huge container(big enough to fit all your jars), now in that container add the water.
Now you need to wait and until the water is boiled, after the water is completely boiled, you can put all your canned green bean jars in the container.
Now you need to wait for at least 5 minutes, however, it really depends on how many jars you have put to the container and also the size of the jars you have used in storing green beans, if the size is really big then you might have to wait for around 10 minutes.
You need to start doing this by boiling water in a huge container. Ensure that the container is huge enough so that you can fit all your jars in one container.
Once the water is boiling and hot, put all your green bean jars in the same container. Let it sit in the hot water for five minutes.
You must know that the time duration will change if you are using big jars for your green beans. For big jars, the hot bath will be for about ten minutes.
The Last Step
We are finally in the last step. After the hot bath, let your jars cool down completely before storing them.
Find a cool, dark place with a consistent room temperature so that you can properly preserve your green beans.
When you open a jar and use the green beans, remember to store it in your fridge. You can use the beans for up to four days as they will remain fresh, but you can not re-can them.
FAQs
Can green beans be canned without a pressure canner?
Well, the recommended way of canning green beans is always using a pressure canner but yes there are some methods like the hot pack method to store your green beans.
Do you boil green beans before canning?
Yes, while canning green beans using the hot pack method, the beans are boiled fast for around 5 minutes and after that, you need to drain all the water and then store it in the jar.
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Lastly
That’s it! Didn’t I tell you it is a simple process? This is how you can your green beans without a pressure canner. I have done this many times and it works well. So, it’s time for you to try it. If you have any doubts or questions related to this article or any article in general then do contact Nomiparknpt and we will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
