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Drying green beans for storage is one of my favorite things a lot. I use it in many recipes, especially soup, and for this, I will share with you the methods that I use to dry green beans for storage.
In general, there are two ways I use them to dry the beans, first using an electric dehydrator or using an air drying (Leather Britches).
How to choose Green Beans for storage?
When choosing green beans for storage, they must be fully ripe without any mold or spoilage. There is a rule that I keep in mind when buying green beans.
“If the green beans don’t snap when you bend them, don’t eat it”
How to Dry Green Beans for Storage?
As a general rule, green beans can be dried for storage using an electric dehydrator for a period ranging from 8 to 10 hours at a temperature of 135 F or using air drying for a period ranging from two to three weeks.
Air drying Green Beans (Leather Britches)
Air drying green beans is one of the oldest methods that people used to dry green beans, and this method was popularly used in the eighteenth century and began in Germany, Japan, and the United States.
The goal of air drying is to use air to dry out the internal fluids of green beans and kill harmful bacteria.
Processing method:
- Wash green beans well with water
- Cut the first and last part of the beans
- Using a needle and thread, insert the thread into the green beans, then tie the knot
- After making a knot, insert the green beans into the thread using the needle
Now the green beans are ready for air drying and all that’s left for you now is to hang the green beans in a dry and well-ventilated place
How long it will take to get the air-dried green beans ready for storage?
As a general rule, dried green beans are ready for storage within two to three weeks.
How Long are air-dried green beans?
Air-dried green beans can last up to two years.
Advantages & Disadvantages of air drying green beans
Advantages
One of the advantages of this method is that it is not expensive at all
On the other hand, the taste of air-dried green beans is much more delicious, because the beans are not exposed to any high heat that can lose the taste.
Disadvantages:
In my opinion, the long drying period is the only disadvantage of this method.
Dehydrating Green beans for Storage.
Dehydrating green beans using an electric dehydrator is one of the most popular methods recently because it is the fastest and also saves a lot of space in your kitchen.
Read Also “Top Tips For Successful Food Dehydration For Beginners“
Preparing green beans for dehydrating.
- Cut the top and bottom of the green beans
- Cut the beans into equal parts, each part about 1 inch long
- In order to prepare green beans, we must do a blanching by placing green beans in hot water for three to five minutes and then placing them in cold water for one minute.
- Take out the beans and place them on a clean towel until they are completely dry.
Tips for dehydrating Green beans.
1. Use the mesh sheets
Use the mesh sheets that come with the electric dehydrator, and if you do not have one, you can use cooking paper and place it on the shelves of the dehydrator, because the green beans after the dehydration become small and may fall between the racks, and therefore the degree of drying will not be the same for each quantity of green beans.
2. Rotate the Dehydrator Trays
Rotate the trays of the electric dehydrator every 4 hours so that you take the last tray and put it in the first and then the next tray from the end to be the second tray, and so on, to ensure that the degree of drying is equal in all the quantity.
3. Make sure the green beans are not touching.
When placing green beans on the Tri-dehydrator, make sure that they are not touching each other or touching the sides of the Tri-dehydrator, because, with heat, they will stick and will not give you a good result.
4. Keep an eye on the temperature
Green beans usually take about 8 to 10 hours inside the dehydrator at a temperature of 135 F, but it is preferable to check the green beans every two hours or during rotating the trays because the temperature may be high in relation to the size of the green beans and therefore the final product will be Too crispy or dark so it’s best to check the temperature.
5. Give Green beans time to equalize.
After you have finished dehydrating green beans, do not put them directly in the jar or in final storage bags and leave them for two or three hours until they cool completely.
How to store dehydrated green beans?
As a general rule, dehydrated green beans can be stored in an airtight jar or in a vacuum sealing bag.
How long dehydrated green beans last?
dehydrated green beans can last up to three years as long as it kept in a dry place.
Conclusion:
Green beans are dried for storage by dehydrator or air drying.
Air drying is the best method in terms of taste, but it is the slowest drying method
Drying with a dehydrator is the easiest and most space-saving method because the dehydrator reduces the size of the beans a lot, but it is considered rather expensive if we take into account the price of the dehydrator.
External resources.