5 Ways to Use Your Green, Snap, and Wax Bean Harvest
In Maine, July through September are the months when local green, snap, and wax beans are plentiful. If you grow your own bush or pole beans, you may find they are producing faster than you can keep up with, and they are readily available at your local farmers’ market and grocery stores. To help you enjoy fresh green, snap, and wax beans, here are my top five favorite ways to enjoy them this summer…and in the future.
1. Tangy and Sweet: Green Bean Vinaigrette
If you want to dress up your snap beans for summer, skip the butter and opt for a sweet mustard vinaigrette that complements the beans.
2. Beat the Heat: Green Bean Salad
Summer afternoons call for no-cook or low-cook meals. Leftover steamed green beans and new potatoes make the perfect base for this chilled summer salad. The secret to the green bean salad is letting the beans marinate in the dressing in the fridge for a few hours so they absorb all the flavors.
3. Bring on the Garlic: Green Beans and Garlic
Another quick green bean recipe featuring fresh, steamed green beans tossed in a flavorful dressing made with oil, vinegar, minced garlic, and pepper. This Green Beans and Garlic recipe is a quick, delicious way to enjoy fresh green beans with minimal prep
4. Preserve the Taste of Summer: Blanch and Freeze
Use UMaine Extension’s Bulletin #4384, Freezing Vegetables, so you can use your beans later in the year in multiple recipes. The How to Freeze Vegetables publication gives you important information about why you need to blanch most vegetables before freezing and the types of freezer-grade containers to use. Freezing your harvest is a great first step in learning about food preservation. If you are a visual learner, UMaine Extension has a great YouTube video you can watch about how to freeze green beans.
5. Pickle those Beans: Dilly Beans
Pickling vegetables is a great way to start canning. Green beans are a low-acid food, so if you were to preserve them through canning, you would need to use a pressure canner to make sure you are heating them to a high enough temperature to prevent the growth of bacteria. If you are not ready to use a pressure canner, dilly beans are for you! Dilly Beans are a pickled product. The addition of vinegar makes them safe to can in a boiling water bath canner. Check out the UMaine Extension video for the step-by-step process to make dilly beans.
Resources
- Bulletin #4255, Vegetables and Fruits for Health: Green Beans and Wax Beans.
- Green Bean Salad. University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
- Green Beans with Garlic. University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
- Bulletin #4384: Freezing Vegetables. University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
- How to Freeze Green Beans YouTube Video. University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
- Dilly Beans for Your Pantry. University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
- How to Preserve Dilly Beans. University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Author
Kate Yerxa is a registered dietitian and has been with University of Maine Cooperative Extension since 2008. Kate is the coordinator of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and also teaches undergraduate nutrition courses at UMaine. Kate enjoys cooking with her kids – but really she enjoys having help in the kitchen at mealtime!