Beans came to our regions from South America in the 18th century, after which it spread not only in large-scale agriculture, but also in private gardens. Its popularity is justified by good productivity, ease of cultivation and a variety of varieties. The body perfectly assimilates dishes prepared from this product, their protein composition is as close as possible to meat analogues.
So that this culture does not disappear and is present on the table all year round, you need to know how to store beans correctly. There are no special tricks in this, the main thing is to protect bean fruits from grain bugs and provide a suitable temperature regime.
Short introduction
Storing beans at home requires knowledge of certain rules, methods and tricks. Otherwise, there is a high risk of grain damage by pests in the form of grain bugs. It is important to keep the culture in question in dry and cool places, having previously selected unhealthy and deformed beans, and also avoiding getting wet.
Primary requirements
Compliance with simple but effective rules will save the product for a long time. Before long-term storage, the following manipulations are performed:
- Dry the beans in dry and sunny weather. To do this, lay the collected pods on a flat platform and leave them until the evening. After sunset, the culture is collected in boxes, bags or boxes, and the next day again brought out to dry.
- Another way to store beans during drying: the culture is collected in wreaths and hung in dry weather in a draft. This method is no worse than processing under the sun.
- Check the readiness of the beans for further storage. A culture is considered fully matured, the pods of which become yellowish and dried out, while the sashes slightly open. The grain itself must be hard to the touch.
- The ripened fruits are taken from the pods and folded into containers (fabric bags, glass jars and other containers that are tightly closed).
- Metal or glass covers are best. It is advisable to pre-hold fabric bags in a weak salt solution, and then dry them thoroughly.
- How to store beans at home? After these procedures, it must be placed in a cool room or refrigerator.
other methods
If it is not possible to place the harvest in a cool place, there are other ways to keep the crop at room temperature. Dill (seeds) and chopped garlic are placed in a container with beans. This will protect the crop from pest bugs. Proportions: about 15-20 grams of dill and three cloves of garlic are taken per 1 kilogram of beans.
Another interesting option on how to store beans is presented below. The culture is placed in glass jars, at the bottom of which 30-40 millimeters of ash are poured in advance. After harvesting, the containers are twisted with a metal lid. This method allows you to save the fruits up to 5 years. This method has a significant drawback - the fruits lose their ability to grow, due to the lack of oxygen in a sealed container. This option is acceptable only for beans intended for human consumption. Sometimes beans are simply canned in the standard way for many crops, while all vitamins and nutrients are preserved.
Pests
The main enemy of the culture in question is a small grain bug. It is very harmful and penetrates into the grain before the moment of full ripening. This usually occurs in summer in hot weather. Two to three dozen larvae settle in one bean. After this, the fruits are damaged and lose a significant part of their beneficial and taste characteristics. Beans are unsuitable after this neither for sowing, nor for cooking.
Grains feel great only in high temperature conditions. If the beans are refrigerated, the pests will quickly leave the fruit. However, it is important not to get rid of the bugs, but not to allow them to appear at all.
How to store beans so that bugs do not start?
Below are a few ways to help protect the crop from pests:
- Place the beans in cloth bags, where to put a few cloves of garlic or dill. Why do these cultures help? They secrete special substances that scare away grain bugs. This method allows you to store the product in the pantry or on the balcony, without resorting to "cold procedures".
- You can protect the fruit from the pest with ordinary cold. Bugs are afraid of temperatures below 7 degrees.
- Beans are placed in glass containers with ash. This method is discussed above. You can only add that the fruits in a sealed container are stored perfectly and at room temperature.
- Pests do not like printing ink. To maintain a large bean crop, you just need to put it in boxes covered with newspapers. However, this method is not the most effective.
Warming up
How to store beans to protect it from bugs? Consider another way. It's about warming up the beans. The fruits are laid out on a baking sheet and placed for 10 minutes in the oven, heated to 90 degrees. After that, they are poured into prepared containers, closed tightly and placed in a cool place. Beans will not deteriorate for several winters.
For the proper preservation of the product in question, two main conditions must be met: air humidity should not be higher than 50%, storage temperature should not exceed 10 degrees.
Pros and cons of various methods
How to store beans? For the winter, it can be prepared in several ways, which we considered. To choose the best of them, consider the pros and cons of all these methods:
- The refrigerator is the most optimal method. The main thing is to choose a container that would not collect condensate.
- A freezer is a very appropriate option if there are not very many fruits, since the chamber is filled with many other products.
- Balcony. This method is suitable only after the onset of cold weather or using garlic and dill.
- A pantry or utility room is not the best option. With this method, the grain must be processed accordingly.
How to store beans in glass jars?
In stores, you can now purchase cans that are perfectly suitable for storing various crops or similar containers, which is complemented by a vacuum pump and a similar lid. Beans are poured into the jar, covered with a lid, which is equipped with a silicone valve. Air is pumped out through it. In a vacuum, the fruits are stored for a long time, because without air it is impossible to form pests and fungus. The only negative of this method is that the beans are unsuitable for subsequent planting.
It should be noted that during storage, as well as before laying, it is necessary to sort beans periodically, removing shriveled, deformed and other suspicious grains.
In conclusion
Bean farming is a fairly profitable and profitable type of business. This is due to the popularity of this culture in various regions of the country and neighboring republics. Beans are valued for their rich taste, the content of various nutrients and the variety of dishes prepared from them. For the cultivation of this crop to be successful, you need to know how to store green beans properly so as not to regret the time spent and the missing crop. Above are a few ways to determine the appropriate method.