Canning season is almost here, be sure to learn how to blanch vegetables the right way! Make sure you prepare all your vegetables properly so their fresh color and all the nutrients are locked in! Find more HOW-TO’s HereHow to Blanche Vegetables - homemadehome.com  Learn how to blanche and prep all your fresh garden vegetables for summer canning and more!

Ben and I live for our summer garden. It’s not much, mostly herbs several containers, but it helps keep us living the country dream. And I go to extremes for these plants, like rescuing them from rain storms nearly naked at 3 am. It’s never been my finest hour.

Every year we plant our garden and hope for the best. Since our gardening space is on the north side of the apartment on our balcony, the light isn’t always ideal – so we supplement our herbs with fresh, seasonal veggies from our local farmer’s markets and local store. Last time I stopped by the market, I bought a few extra um, bunches of of green beans and I have been OD’ing on three bean salad ever since. Instead of using canned green beans in my salad I blanched my own green beans which helps cook them quickly and lock in their fresh green color and all their nutrients!

And this technique comes in handy for canning, so if you’re interested in canning your own goods this year, keep this technique in your back pocket.

How to Blanche Vegetables - homemadehome.com  Learn how to blanche and prep all your fresh garden vegetables for summer canning and more!

First, prepare a very large bowl filled with ice and some water. The key to this is that once your veggies are done cooking they must be chilled immediately to stop the cooking processes to lock in their crispness. When you think you have enough ice, add more. It’s just easier that way.

How to Blanche Vegetables - homemadehome.com  Learn how to blanche and prep all your fresh garden vegetables for summer canning and more!

Next, wash and trim your veggies. I used green beans for this, but you can blanche all veggies! So trim away the ends, and remove any lose strings that might be on the beans.

How to Blanche Vegetables - homemadehome.com  Learn how to blanche and prep all your fresh garden vegetables for summer canning and more!

Then, trim the beans to a desired length. These were chopped into 1 inch lengths.

While you’re trimming and chopping the beans, begin boiling the water. Salt water in a very large deep pan and bring it to a simmer.

How to Blanche Vegetables - homemadehome.com  Learn how to blanche and prep all your fresh garden vegetables for summer canning and more!

Once the water is simmering, gently add in the beans and simmer until fork tender – about five minutes.

How to Blanche Vegetables - homemadehome.com  Learn how to blanche and prep all your fresh garden vegetables for summer canning and more!

Once the beans are fork tender, gently remove them from the water by draining into a colander or using a mesh strainer to remove the beans. Once they are out of the hot water, immediately place them in the ice water.

How to Blanche Vegetables - homemadehome.com  Learn how to blanche and prep all your fresh garden vegetables for summer canning and more!

Once the beans are cooled, remove or drain from the ice water, and place in the fridge until ready to use.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for my favorite, and all out addictive Three Bean Salad. I’ve been eating this for two weeks straight – someone might want to stop me, but I just can’t! And you won’t be able to either!

Three Bean Salad

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How to Bake the Perfect Potato

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How to Caramelize Onion with step by step photos

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How To Roast Peppers - homemadehome.com

How to Blanch Fresh Vegetables for Canning and Eating! - homemadehome.com Lock in those fresh flavors, crispness and color of your fresh vegetables this summer

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How To Blanche Vegetables

  • Author: Megan
  • Prep Time: 20 MInutes
  • Cook Time: 5 Minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Vegetable
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • Green Beans, or other vegetable *times vary for various vegetables
  • 1 Tbsp Salt
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Cutting Board
  • 1 pan Boiling Water
  • 1 Large Bowl
  • Ice, lots of Ice
  • Cold Water

Instructions

Prepare large deep pan with steady simmering water. Add in salt. Prepare green beans, by cutting off each end and cutting to desired length. Gently slip the beans into the simmering water and simmer until fork tender, about five minutes. Remove from the simmering water with a mesh strainer or pour into a collander. Immediately pour the drained beans into the large bowl filled with ice and cold water. Gently stir the green beans cold water to stop the cooking processes. Let the beans stay in the ice water until cold. Drain from the cold water and use as desired.

If canning, use proper canning techniques for safe procedures to avoid spoilage and contamination. Check various sources including Ball Canning for additional how-to’s


Keywords: Vegetable, Blanche, preserving