Garlic Parmesan Green Beans with Bacon - The Recipe Critic (2024)

FAQs

What is the best tasting green bean? ›

Maxibel ~ If you only get one bush bean variety, make it Maxibel. This is a full-size (7-inch pods) French filet bean that has straight, dark green pods. A very gourmet-type bean, Maxibel has a flavor that can't be beat.

The Blue Lake FM-1K Pole is a stringless pole bean that is very tasty! Blue Lake beans are known for reliability, disease resistance, flavor and high yields. This is the pole version of the popular bush type that is widely planted for the canning industry. These bright green beans are straight and reach up to 7'.

Put a pan of salted water on to boil. Meanwhile, trim the the beans. Once the water is boiling, steam or boil the beans until tender. Drain well, then tip the cooked beans into the bowl with your dressing and toss everything together, making sure all the beans get coated.

Some people (especially food service establishments relying upon your satisfaction) add an alkaline ingredient, such as baking soda, to the cooking water to help retain the color of green vegetables.

Unless the recipe tells you to keep the canned beans in their liquid, you should drain your can and give the beans a good rinse before using. This will improve the flavor and texture of your finished dish. Open your cans of beans using a can opener. There may be sharp edges from opening the can.

The brands we sampled were Green Giant, Del Monte, Libby's, and Krasdale. Krasdale was the cheapest, but also tasted the most canned, so it came in last place. Libby's came in first place because its beans tasted the most fresh.

Brighten with citrus: As soon as the green beans are cooked and seasoned, squeeze over a bit of fresh lemon, lime or even orange juice. The citrus will brighten the overall taste beautifully. You could also grate the citrus and sprinkle the zest in with your seasonings.

Cold pack, means you take your sterilized jars and place your green beans in cold/raw, then add the boiling liquid before placing them into the canner. In my experience, cold packing maximizes the amount I can preserve per jar, and for those that preserve, know that space is a precious commodity!

The pounds-to-quart canning ratio is approximately 2 to 1. A bushel weighs 30 pounds and yields 12 to 20 quarts. An average of 14 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 9 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints (4 1/2 quarts).

Why do you blanch green beans before canning? ›

Blanching stops enzyme actions that continue the ripening process and can make the beans tough. Tray pack beans by placing them in a single layer on a tray to freeze before packing. This allows you to take just the amount you need from the package.

What is a Serving? A serving of green beans is one cup. This is about 20 medium green beans.

Steaming is a simple way to cook vegetables, and it leaves the flavor and much of the nutrients intact. It's slightly healthier than boiling since fewer nutrients end up in the water. Plus, steaming requires little time and attention. A steamer basket is a great kitchen tool to have on hand.

To make the salad, blanch the beans by plunging them in boiling salted water for 1½ minutes until their rawness has been removed but they are still crunchy. Refresh immediately in cold water, then remove and put onto kitchen paper to absorb the moisture. Cut each bean into bite-sized pieces.

Steaming green beans gives them the same crisp-tender texture as blanching or boiling. Yet I think it preserves their lovely green color and allows the home cook more control over their texture than with those other two methods. Steaming is easy, too—and ease is what this recipe is all about.

The key to the best beans is to master how long to boil green beans. Cook the green beans, covered, in a small amount of boiling salted water until crisp-tender: 10 to 15 minutes for whole or cut green beans. 5 to 10 minutes for french-cut green beans.

They are knocked out by heat so putting vegetables into a big pot of boiling water deactivates the enzymes before they can break down the chlorophyll. Briefly steaming greens is the best way to retain their flavour and nutrients.