[shokkyy]

I had a bumper crop of runner and French beans this year, so I've got loads stashed away in my freezer, as well as dried. I've never frozen runners before, so I'm wondering how nice they're going to taste if I just cook them the same as fresh runners, or will they tend to go a bit mushy? Are they better cooked up with some tomatoes and onions (which is what I was planning to do with the dried) or will they be ok just steamed?

[Kleftiwallah]

Using only the young runner beans. . .top and tai, then cut to 1 " lengths and blanche for two to three minutes then cool in ice cold water, drain then pack in the freezer.

You can try and de-string the larger beans but they always turn out tough.

Cheers,   Tony.

[Spana]

I freeze lots of runner and french beans and find them really good but i know a lot of people who say the opposite.

I do blanch mine after slicing, cool in iced water and then bag them up in 2portion packs. I cook them from frozen in salted water, just bringing the water back up to the boil after adding the beans, then  take off the heat and leave to stand for about 10minutes with the lid on the pan.
Works for me.

[DD.]

Using only the young runner beans. . .top and tai, then cut to 1 " lengths and blanche for two to three minutes then cool in ice cold water, drain then pack in the freezer.

You can try and de-string the larger beans but they always turn out tough.

Cheers,   Tony.

Good answer, wrong question, Tony! 

[GrannieAnnie]

My OH didn't like my frozen runner beans.  He said they were always tough, so I froze the smaller more tender ones in separate bags from the bigger ones.

Small ones I boil in a little water, and the bigger ones that are chopped into chunkier bits go into stews and curries etc.

He will eat them like that!

[Auntiemogs]

I steam mine and though they're not quite as firm as the bought, frozen ones, they still taste much nicer. 

[Growster...]

I keep the unpicked beans for seed, and also, if there are any spares, I shell them, and boil the individual beans for twenty-five minutes.

When a bit cooler, I rub off the purple skins, and let them settle in a container.

Then they are absolutely to-die-for as a salad accompaniment with a little mayonnaise, and maybe some garlic puree and white pepper...

It takes a bit of time, but so does a proper coleslaw or Waldorf salad!

[mumofstig]

I blanch mine before freezing. I add them to cold water and bring the water back up to the boil  and find that they're ready to eat by then, or at most another 30 seconds

[shokkyy]

OK, that sounds as though they'll be fine on their own then. I am usually a steamer rather than a boiler, so I'll try that way first and see how they come out. If that doesn't work too well I'll try these other ways of boiling them a bit too.

I did blanch before freezing, and they are stringless beans (White Lady). The ones that were a bit tough and big I dehydrated rather than freezing, because those I was planning to stew up with some tomatoes and onions anyway. But I was a bit overwhelmed by the size of the crop, especially since I had a lousy crop the year before. I don't even know how many kilos of them I picked and froze or dried or ate, because I lost count. I think next year I should probably not do quite as many plants

[Trillium]

One lesson I learned with runner beans is pick them young or they're tough no matter what you do.

[madcat]

I have one of those multi layer tefal steamers and I put the potatoes in the bottom section and the beans, frozen in a block because I never get enough of the water out of them after blanching  , on the next section up.  By the time the spuds are done, the beans are defrosted and cooked as much as they need to be.  if the spuds are in big bits or obstinate, the beans may need to come off a few minutes earlier.

Personal choice - i prefer the runners frozen to the french beans.  So we tend to eat the french beans in season and freeze all the runners.  Frozen french beans are often just defrosted, drained and added to winter salads ... they work well with tuna.