Sour beans are a hearty part of classic home cooking. They are used in stews as well as in salads. Pickling beans yourself is not difficult and is a very good way of preserving your own bean harvest.

Pickling beans is not an art

Things to know about beans

For pickled beans, primarily green beans are used, but so-called wax beans or yellow beans are also used. All of these terms refer to unripe bean pods. This means that the bean kernels are not yet ripe and the pods are tender.
Raw beans, both the pods and the kernels, contain the toxin phasin. It is sensitive to heat, which is why beans can be eaten cooked. Even with sour beans, you have to make sure that you destroy the phasin: the lactic acid fermentation only weakens the content; before consumption, you must thoroughly heat the beans.

How do the beans go sour?

Sour pickled beans are the result of lactic acid fermentation. The vegetables used must be stored in the absence of oxygen so that the lactic acid bacteria can multiply and start fermentation. They also suppress other microorganisms, which is why the vegetables do not spoil. A brine is used to keep oxygen away from the pickled vegetables.
The lactic acid fermentation creates a typical finely sour taste that most people are familiar with from sauerkraut.

Sour beans, shredded beans, salt beans, salt cut beans, cut beans: a recipe

To lactic acidify green beans, you can use the following tried-and-true recipe. Vegetables have been preserved in the same way for centuries, and vitamin-rich foods have been preserved for the cold season.

  1. Clean the beans by washing them and removing both ends. Cut the beans into 2 cm long pieces.
  2. Salt the bean pieces with 20 g iodine-free salt per kg, mix well and leave to stand for at least an hour.
  3. Prepare mason jars by boiling them or sterilizing them in the oven.
  4. Tamp the beans firmly into the jars. This will prevent air pockets and allow liquid to escape from the beans, which is supposed to cover the vegetables.
  5. If you don't get enough liquid this way, prepare a 5% brine (boil the water, dissolve the salt in it, let the brine cool) and cover the beans with it.
  6. To keep the vegetables submerged, weigh them down with a clean rock or other heavy object.
  7. Seal the jars with a new rubber ring and leave them at room temperature for about 10 days.
  8. Fermentation is then continued in a cool, dark place for another four weeks. The sour beans are then fully fermented and can be stored for up to a year.
  9. Before eating, cook the beans to render the toxin phasin harmless.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

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Vegetable garden