How To: Can Green Beans

Green beans is one of the best things to learn to can, especially if you grow them in a garden. Last year we had a garden but didn't have a pressure canner until the end of the season, so we were only able to can a couple jars of beans. The other ones we ended up blanching and freezing. Sure, that preserves them okay, but they don't taste NEARLY as good as home-canned green beans.

The method I use is the same one I used to use growing up. It comes from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. I will simply list the steps involved below. Keep in mind that because of the acidity level, these DO require a pressure cooker to preserve appropriately. Make sure you are familiar with how your canner works so that you can prevent any issues associated with inappropriately preserved foods! ie: Botulism!!! 

Canned Green Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 lbs grean beans PER QUART
• Salt
• Sugar (we always added sugar WITH the salt in our home-canned green beans. It adds more flavor. I recommend it)
• Water

Instructions:

1. Wash beans; drain. Remove string, trim ends and break or cut freshly gathered beans into 2-inch pieces. Pack beans tightly into clean, hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. sugar to each pint jar, or 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sugar to each quart jar. Ladle boiling water over beans, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles.
2. Let new lids soak in simmering water for a few minutes. Make sure to clean off the mouth of the jars prior to placing lids and caps. Adjust the two-piece caps. 
3. Process pints for 20 minutes, quarts for 25 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure AT SEA LEVEL (with a weighted gauge) in a steam-pressure canner. Please refer to bullet points below for quick charts on allotted pressures for different elevations. (Again, refer to the canner's specific instructions on how much water to fill, how long to allow it to steam prior to pressurizing, and how to properly and SAFELY utilize your pressure canner to preserve foods). Allow the canner to come to the proper pressure and STAY at that pressure the entire processing time. This will allow proper seal and preservation for the vegetables.
4. When finished, turn off the heat and allow the pressure gauge to lower completely to zero before removing the lid and taking the jars out to cool on wire rack or dish cloth. 

The following is a chart of how to adjust pressure depending on the elevation:

For a dial gauge canner, which we have:

• 1 - 1000 ft: pressure of 11
• 1001-2000 ft: pressure of 11
• 2001-4000 ft: pressure of 12
• 4001-6000 ft: pressure of 13
• 6001-8000 ft: pressure of 14
• 8001-10000 ft: pressure of 15

For a weighted gauge canner:

• 0-1000 ft: pressure of 10
• 1001-10000 ft: pressure of 15

Allow the pressure cooker to reach that pressure and STAY at that pressure the entire processing time.