We normally allow them to dry on the vine and store as dried beans but if harvested fresh we prefer lightly steam blanching and then freezing.

Canning makes them very mushy, almost mashed. If that texture doesn't bother you then canning will store them longer than freezing.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Canning Butter Beans

Thanks for the information they would be mushy if canned. That's the kind of input I needed.

Prior to meeting me, my husband used to let them dry on the vine also, but once I convinced him to try picking them before they dried, he won't go back to that method!

There is a vast taste difference between fresh butter beans and from dried beans! We wait until the pods are filled out, but still green. Any that dry on the vine we store dried, but I find it hard to cook them knowing they aren't nearly as tasty!

Has anyone fully cooked them and frozen them that way? How is the consistency after freezing? I keep thinking it would be so much easier to cook one huge batch and divide into meal-size containers in the freezer.

Still shelling them...wishing I had an automatic pea sheller!

Just goes to show you how taste buds differ. We much prefer the taste of dried ones over the fresh. The fresh taste bland to wife and me. To each his own. ;)

Dave

Maybe it's a difference in variety? We have the Florida Speckled butter beans. Or like you said, just a difference in tastes. :-)

I ended up cooking them with a ham hock and freezing them in meal size batches. Now it's a couple of weeks later, and I have another batch of butter beans to do something with.

I have decided to try, at least once, pressure canning them. I have a lot more pantry storage than freezer space. I follow only tested recipes, but I do have some questions.

Keep in mind that I am preserving them fresh, not from dried beans. I will use the USDA recipe for hot pack lima beans, which states to loosely fill jars, leaving 1" head space, and process pints for 40 minutes. However, I think packed in water will make them very bland.

I can make turkey stock or meat broth by the USDA recipe, which states to process pints for 20 minutes.

If I wanted to cover my fresh beans with broth instead of water, would I have to follow the soup recipe of 50% solid to 50% liquid? That would require processing for 60 minutes. Or could I still just process them for the 40 minutes bean requirement? There is nothing else added except dried spices.

The drawback to using the soup method (as I see it) is that I would need to up my jar size to quarts in order to get the amount of beans needed for a meal. And that means an even longer processing time than for pints.

Thanks for your help and patience.

Jill

You are right that using the broth will change the processing time and increase the "mushed beans" factor. I would can them plain in the water and then drain it at serving time and heat them in the broth.

As an alternative add some dried herbs of choice to the water for flavor.

Dave

You might also try a can with a 1/4 tsp pickle crisp to see what happens. There is also a ham and beans recipe somewhere for dried beans that I want to make with white beans sometime.

dkstorm:. Q. Why pillow cases?

Ditto Kate's question and are these dried or fresh beans you are storing this way?

Dave

Last year's pink eye purple hull still look fresh picked. I just throw in 2 a pillow case after shelling and washing. Pat dry if needed to prevent from freezer burn.

Its a Family tradition I never questioned.

Fresh from garden.

dkstorm, those look beautiful. I freeze October beans without blanching, I just put them into ziplock bags and into the freezer. If I wanted to store them longer, I might put them through the FoodSaver after freezing on a sheet tray, but we eat them quickly enough that storage isn't an issue.

This year I finally got my hands on some Mayacoba seeds, and they'll be ready to pick in a few days. I can hardly wait, I'll save some for next year's garden and the rest will be frozen or eaten.

Annie

Dkstorm77 when you put the beans in the pillowcase its just one you use and take out what beans you wish to cook that day and tie it back off. I am interested in trying this with my butter beans.

So wait...

To my understanding with this thread... Those nasty green lima beans that I hate turn into the huge beige canned butter beans that I adore? Seriously?
Dang, now I'm going to have to do some research into growing those next year, lol.

Lima beans and butter beans are the same family but different different varieties. So no, technically lima beans do not "turn into butter beans".

The confusion comes from how different regions of the country use the labels differently. For example, in the midwest folks call the big wide and flat tan limas "butterbeans" but in the south butterbeans are the small green limas (aka baby limas). Lots of different varieties of lima beans and that doesn't even get into the many field/Dixie/southern/butter/etc. peas bunch, many of which are actually beans.

Dave