(this is a view inside my crock of the beans I did yesterday, the coloring is weird due to the flash)
Charlotte asked for more information on these so here is what I can tell you. This is the first time I have made these myself so I am definitely no expert.
Here in Germany this is a traditional method for preserving green beans. You can even buy packages of salted green beans in the grocery store as an alternative to canned (there really is no comparison, the salted beans are far superior). They taste fantastic and retain a great deal of their nutritional value. You have to soak them in water for about 30 minutes prior to cooking to remove the bulk of the salt or they are really inedible. I dump them in a sauce pan, rinse them several times with cold water and then leave them to soak in cold water for about 30 minutes. Then drain, rinse again and add enough water for cooking . I usually cook mine slowly for 30 minutes or so, it just depends on how tender they are, I check them frequently as they cook. I think that the salt causes them to cook a bit more slowly.
I found a paragraph dealing with salted green beans in John Seymour’s book on Self Sufficiency so that is what my first attempt is based on. You need a ceramic crock. For people in the US, you can find them here. I’m not sure where you would find these in the UK. You need preserving salt. Any salt will work but the course grained salt is nicer. John recommends 1lb salt for every 3lb green beans. This salt quantity is a lot higher than what I use for sauerkraut but I think that is because with such a large amount of salt, the beans are not being fermented, they are actually being preserved, just as they are going into the crock. The nice thing about this method is that you can add more beans every day, all through your harvest instead of having to save them and prepare them all at once.
So here is how you do it…Wash your crock with super hot water and soap, rinse well, set aside to dry. Wash your beans in cold water. Then string them, cut the ends off and any bad spots you find. Then they need to be sliced lengthwise. If your beans are very thick and tough, you might want the slice them even more than once. Just slice directly down the middle, lengthwise, cutting them in half. You can also cut them into 2″ lengths or leave them long, it’s up to you. Start your layering with an initial layer of salt on the bottom of the crock then comes your first layer of beans. I did my layers in increments of 1lb beans then 4 0z salt (500g beans 110g salt) After each layer, I lightly tamped mine down…*lightly*…. John did not say to tamp them, he said press them and pack them down tightly…I chose to tamp them a bit.
Just keep adding to the crock until you’re harvest is over, or until your crock is full (leave about 1″ space to the top of crock). Remember to keep water around the lid so no bad things (bactieria etc.) can get in. Store in a cool place and then just take some out as you need it. John did not specify a “resting” time for the beans so I assume you can use them just as soon as you’d like. I decided that I would let mine rest for at least a month before I start using them. That’s just a personal preference…one of those “it feels right” things.
I finished putting my beans up last night. Mine were store bought, but I just wanted to try the method once befor doing my own beans next year. I ended up putting up 4lbs. That didn’t even fill my crock to the half way mark, but it is enough to test. I’ll let you know how they taste in a month or two :))
So there you have it! Go forth and salt beans!
Sounds good – I would use this method if it wasn’t for the salt.
For now I blanche and freeze.
Freezing is good. I would do a lot more of it if I had a big freezer. Our place is too small for a freezer unfortunately and my husband would like to avoid using one anyway. He doesn’t want to be dependent on electricity. The salting method is great for not having to use electric to keep things. A good deal of the salt can be removed by the rinsing and soaking.
Teresa, I was just telling my mom about you mentioning salting green beans, then I come by here today and see you’ve posted the how-to 🙂 I never did much canning/freezing/drying. My mom made us help every summer, and by the time I was a grownup I was sick of it. (Plus, it doesn’t help that the green thumb seems to skip a generation in our family– and I’m not the green thumb generation) Anyway, I’m just now starting to appreciate it and wanting to learn. I made salsa last week at my mom and dad’s, came home and planted late season things like cabbage and spinach and carrots, and even canned five little half-pints of salsa here at home this week. Reading some of my mom’s gardening magazines reminded me of this farm blog, so I’ve been enjoying catching up on it this week!
Hi Angie, I think it is great that you can finally look back on that life with different eyes 🙂 I grew up in a similar environment on a tiny farm in New Hampshire. I didn’t spend all of my time there as a child though, so maybe that’s why I didn’t really tire of it. Of course I never really actively pursued it either until I was almost in my 40’s.
It would be neat to have another glass artist/farm chick type person out there to talk to 😀
Good luck with you autumn garden!
What a great idea! We made pickles last year in a similar way, and they came out really well. I’ll bet you can do this with a lot of vegetables. Isn’t this what’s called lacto-fermentation? Anyway, I’m going to look into this kind of thing more in the future.
This is a very interesting and useful post.
Just wanted to let you know that I have nominated you for a Nice Matters award.
Sara from farmingfriends
I grew up making something called “shnibbly beans” that’s a lot like this. We’d shave the green beans on the diagonal (the whole family, sitting around a table) and then mix them in a crock with salt until they glistened. Then put a plate & rock on top & let them work like sauerkraut, skimming the mold off periodically.
– Anne
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Brilliant. I have so many runner beans which don’t taste the same if they are frozen. I will definitely try salting. Let you know how they turn out. (I’m in England).
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very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce
yummy! im soo going to make those i love green beans!
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Hi I got all enthusiastic and began to salt up several jars of green beans but after a few days the beans turned brown and smelled rather bad. This surprised me as I thought the idea was that the salt prevented the bean from deteriorating. I think maybe the seal was not perfect and I am wondering if I should have blanched them first.
What went wrong? What did I not do? Please help!!
T.Turner, New Zealand
T Turner
I am also from NZ and am trying new ways of preserving this year including salting beans. I put whole green beans in a glass bowl in layers and sprinkled with salt. They have gone all wrinkly (as I suspect they are supposed to) and I will soak and cook when I am ready. I have covered with a cloth. But this method is not lacto fermentation which needs a salty liquid to ferment whatever you are preserving – like sauerkraut. I have done both methods with different vegetables. The only possible thing you did wrong was to not put in enough salt as bacteria can’t live easily in such an environment. I wonder if cutting the beans is necessary. Certainly you will destroy surface bacteria if you blanch them but you don’t want to destroy nutrients.
Preserving by freezing is all very well but it takes lots of energy (the freezer on sucking up electricity all the time).
The methods we are talking about have been done for centuries in countries where there was nothing in the winter and early spring before they got the garden going. And they use no energy at all.
Karen
I apologize for getting to this reply so late. Karen thank you for answering Tony’s question.
It could be that your seal wasn’t air tight enough and also as Karen mentioned, not enough salt. Without seeing your setup and the measurements that you used, it is hard to say. The beans should stay green and there shouldn’t be a bad smell. I would toss these beans out and try again.
The crock I use gives me an airtight seal and keeps bacteria from getting inside.
Hi lavendercreek – You mention your crock is airtight and I understand the need for that. Can you open the crock and use a portion and reseal the cock or must you use all once opened ?
Hi David, yes you can open the crock, take some out and then just set the lid back on. They are designed to be used in that way. These days many people go ahead and can their sauerkraut after it is ready and I guess you could do the same with the salted beans, but it wasn’t always done that way. People just kept their crocks in a cool place and when they wanted some beans, they just lifted the lid and took some. The important thing is to remember to keep the water around the lid full so it keeps air out.
Sometimes you will get a little bit of growth on the surface of the beans (or sauerkraut) but all you need to do is scoop the top layer off and throw it away. What is underneath is usually still fine if it has been kept well.
If there is not enough liquid in the crock to cover the beans you can add a bit of salty water just to cover.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO USE A PLASTIC BUCKET WITH A LID FOR THIS METHOD OF PRESERVING?
Hi John,
I’ve never done it this way but it probably would work. The most important thing is that the vegetable matter is kept completely under the liquid so that it does not come into contact with the air. You could try placing a large plate upside-down into the bucket and place a stone on top of it so that the plate holds the vegetable matter down but the gas bubbles can escape around the plate. I hope that makes sense.
I’ve just come across this discussion on salted beans and am fascinated that people are still doing this.
My mother salted every runner bean she could lay hands on – She used plastic sweet bottles (except they were always glass in her day!) and kept the filled bottles in the cupboard under the stairs! I always supposed this was because they needed to be kept dark but it could have been because that was the only space for 3 or 4 large jars. The salt used was sold in blocks which had to be chopped up. The juice from the beans melted the salt and by the time they reached the top of the sweet jar, there was enough liquid to keep the beans covered.
The only criteria she had was that she wouldn’t dream of touching the beans if she was off colour or if it was “her time of the month”. The only time our beans spoiled was when she ignored this point. She certainly never blanched the beans before salting – I only remember her washing any that were actually soiled.
This salted bean discussion has really made me want to go out and get some done. Christmas dinner with salted beans – yummy.
Hi Lavendercreek and all
My mum always did this, and her mum before her. When I asked her years later why she’d stopped doing it she said that the beans had started to come out slimey, – same for my aunty – and a cousin who lived in Wales. (we’re in GB)
I have the John Seymour book where he says 1lb of salt to 3lb of beans and if they go bad you’ve not used enough salt – but – these ladies had been doing it for years, I’m sure they knew how much salt to use, all they could think was that the salt had somehow changed.
I am going to try it though – I’ve been looking for a big crock for ages – going to have to use plastic bucket (home brew type) and kosher or rock salt that has no iodide or other additives added.
ps. not related to the thread but some of you might like this site http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com
Betty, thank you for taking the time to share the story of your mom and her salted beans! I especially found it interesting that she didn’t do her beans “if she was off color or it was her time of the month”. That springs from a time when people used nature to determine the right times to do things, or not to do things. I think most of that is forgotten these days. Like planting according to the phases of the moon or using the movements of animals, the blooming of certain trees, etc. to plant their crops. Wow, there is so much that people have forgotten or just left behind. Sharing stories like this will help us to remember. Best, Teresa
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How do you get rid of the salt? i cut them 2″ their is plenty of salt in but it takes 2 day in water which is changed 4 times a day to get rid of the salt? Should i slice them lengh ways instead HELP….Jane
I went to add a pound of beans to the three pounds I had all ready salted and found the originals were molding. I had tried using a crock without a water seal covered with a towel.. Should I have covered them with a brine?
Roger
My mother was of German descent. This sounds like what we call Snyderbone. We pack ours with salt in a mason jar, pack tightly, loosely tighten cap , let ferment for a while make sure beans stay covered with water, when beans stop bubbling we tighten the lids. We cook with pork roast or use like you would use sauerkrout.
I pick every bean when it is ready and not yet stringy. The odd one or two that are surplus I thickly slice and cover with salt in a jam jar. Each day there is a surplus just repeat. No need to blanch them and when it is time to eat them [Christmas dinner!!!]just rinse off the brine and then soak for 30 minutes. Cook in the normal way until ready
OK, so I am not sure, do you cover salted beans with water, and how do you seal crock? I seal my sauerkraut by using a plate held down with a bag filled with water and then seran wrapping. Will this work?