[moby]

Here in France the preferred method of preserving vegetables is to bottle them (left over from the days when not many people had freezers and those who did couldn't trust the electricity supply!)However, I can't find much on how to do this (especially for green beans). Has anyone any advice as the section in this web site only deals with tomatoes.

[mumofstig]

Well the way i understand it bottling veg is quite 'dodgy' as there is no acidity (as in toms or chutney) or sugar (as in jams and jellies) to aid preservation. So without quite specialised equipment you are stumped! I know in America there are an awful lot of 'rules' for safety.
look here for general advice
http://www.allotment-garden.org/allotment_foods/bottling-canning/index.php

have alook here but haven't tried it my self for the reasons explained in the link
http://www.foodlovers.co.nz/forum/read.php?3,118990,119033,quote=1

[Patricia]

I used to bottle(what we call canning) green beans in the US. But I had all the gear. We had ball canning jars and lids and a pressure cooker large enough to take the jars. I think once it got up to the pressure you had to cook at that pressure for some time. You had to make sure to use good quality jars so they didn't break in the process. I don't think I will be doing them over here in the UK. If mine ever grow I will do some pickled beans or freeze them. I think you can check out some methods on the Ball canning web site.