Green and Yellow beans are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. Most bean plants are very prolific and you can expect to get a great harvest. Beans can be preserved by freezing or canning. A pressure canner is a must for canning beans. Green beans are considered a low-acid food so pressure canning helps limit the risk of botulism.

Preserving food has become a lost art. I grew up in a Mennonite setting with Old Order Mennonite grandparents, who preserved their own food and process their own meat. I had aunts with large families who would process hundreds of quarts of fruits and vegetables. Since I enjoy working with food…I love to can, freeze, and even dry fruits and veggies. It is so rewarding in the winter when the snow is flying to go into the basement for food for a meal.

I do freeze quite a number of green beans but I also like to have some canned for quick meals. A tip I have found with canning beans, is to add 1 tablet of Zinc (50mg) to each jar. This will keep your beans bright green. And, no, you will not taste it.

You will need approximately 2 pounds of beans for to fill one quart jar. I will at times can a mix of veggies as pictured below. I will put 1 1/2 cups each of green and yellow beans in a quart jar. Then fill the jar with cut carrots.

These jars are being filled with beans and carrots while I have 7 jars in the canner processing. These quart jars have been used many times already. They last for years.

Pressure Canning Green Beans

• For 1 quart green beans or beans/carrot mixture:
• 2 pounds beans/carrots, washed and cut into pieces
• 1 (50 mg) Zinc Tablet
• 1 teaspoons mineral salt or canning salt
• boiling water
• quart jars, rings, and lids
• Pressure Canner
• Filling Jars: Wash the jars, rings and lids with hot soapy water. Rinse well. In each quart jar layer your choice of beans/carrots to just above the first ring of the jar. Add a Zinc tablet, salt, and fill to within 1/2 inch to the top of the jar with boiling water. Wipe the top of the jar with a damp paper towel. Turn on lids and rings. ( I shake the jar a bit to get the zinc through the entire jar).
• Pressure Canning: Fill the pressure canner with 3 quarts water. Add the filled jars of beans. Turn on canner lid. Follow manufacturers directions for operating your pressure canner. The Presto canner I have … I turn the burner on high. When the steam starts coming from the vent, I time it for 5 minutes. I had a weight. When the dial pressure is at 11 psi, I set the timer for 25 minutes. You do need to adjust the heat lower to keep the pressure at 11psi. When the time is up, turn off the heat and allow the canner to cool. DO NOT OPEN the canner until the dial is down to zero and the pressure vent is down. Green beans and carrots need to be canned for–quarts 24 minutes and pints 20 minutes at 11 PSI.
• Storage: After jars have been removed from the pressure canner, allow them to cool for 2 hours. Remove rings, check for seals, and wash jars. Store is a cool dry place. These will keep for a year or longer.

These jars have boiling water add to them. The rings and lid are turned on and these jars are waiting to be put into the canner.

My canner holds 7 quart jars. The water only comes 3/4 of the way up the sides of the jars. Since a pressure canner cooks by steam and pressure you do not need to have you jars covered with water like a water bath canner.

My canner is full of jars and is heating. You can see the dial pressure is going up. There is more jars waiting to be canned on the counter.

These jars are cooling. In the morning I will check the seals, take off the rings, wash the jars, and store in my basement on my canning shelves.

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Preserving Green Beans by Pressure Canning

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Author Glenda Groff

Ingredients

• For 1 quart green beans or beans/carrot mixture:
• 2 pounds beans/carrots
• 1 50 mg Zinc Tablet
• 1 teaspoon mineral salt or canning salt
• boiling water
• quart jars rings, and lids

Instructions

1. Filling Jars: Wash the jars, rings and lids with hot soapy water. Rinse well. In each quart jar layer your choice of beans/carrots to just above the first ring of the jar. Add a Zinc tablet, salt and fill to with in 1/2 inch to the top of the jar with boiling water. Wipe the top of the jar with a damp paper towel. Turn on lids and rings. ( shake the jar a bit to get the zinc through the entire jar)
2. Pressure Canning: Fill the pressure canner with 3 quarts water. Add the filled jars of beans. Turn on canner lid. Follow manufacturers directions for operating your pressure canner. The Presto canner I have … I turn the burner on high. When the steam starts coming from the vent, I time it for 5 minutes. I had a weight. When the dial pressure is at 11 psi, I set the timer for 25 minutes. You do need to adjust the heat lower to keep the pressure at 11psi. When the time is up, turn off the heat and allow the canner to cool. DO NOT OPEN the canner until the dial is down to zero and the pressure vent is down. Green beans and carrots need to be canned for–quarts 24 minutes and pints 20 minutes at 11 PSI.
3. Storage: After jars have been removed from the pressure canner, allow them to cool for 2 hours. Remove rings, check for seals, and wash jars. Store is a cool dry place. These will keep for a year or longer.

You will find many more preserving recipes in the spiral bound 600+ page Around the Family Table Cookbook. All recipes are sugar-free and label with the correct fuel. Books can be purchased using this link.  We have now added additional items to our store… Sourdough Starter Kits and more. Buy It Now