If you don’t like tinned yellow wax beans from the store, you’re not alone. Many don’t. But, home canned yellow wax beans taste nothing like that.
Yellow wax beans (aka yellow snap beans) can up beautifully at home. Many people prefer them to home-frozen yellow wax beans, because while most varieties of yellow wax beans can up nicely, only a few varieties of yellow wax beans freeze successfully without becoming mooshy upon being thawed.
They are quick and easy to can.
You can also can them half and half in a jar with a veg that takes a relatively similar time, such as carrots. As with all vegetable combos, you process for the longest time (so that would be 5 minutes longer, for the carrots.) You could also can combined with green beans, which take the same time.
Yellow wax beans must be pressure-canned; there is no alternative way to can them unless you pickle them.
See also: Drying Yellow Beans
Quantities of yellow wax beans needed
Numbers are approximate guidelines.
On average, as a very rough guideline, expect to need about 1 kg (2 lbs) of yellow wax beans per 1 litre (US quart) jar of canned yellow wax beans.
- 6 kg (14 lbs) of yellow wax beans = 7 litres (US quarts) canned beans
- 4 kg (9 lbs ) of yellow wax beans = 9 x ½ litres (US pints) canned beans
- 1 US bushel yellow wax beans = 23 ½ kg (30 lbs) = 12 to 20 litres (US quarts) canned beans
The recipe
Jar size choices: Either half-litre (1 US pint) OR 1 litre (1 US quart)
Processing method: Pressure canning only
Yield: varies
Headspace: 3 cm (1 inch)
Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet.)
Processing time: Half-litres (pints) 20 minutes; litres (quarts) 25 minutes
How to can yellow wax beans
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash the yellow wax beans, change water, then re-wash the beans, and give them a final rinse under running water from the tap as you lift them out of sink.
- Top them to get stems off; no need to tail them.
- Leave whole, or chop or break into 2 to 3 cm (1 inch) pieces, or of whatever length you like.
- HOT PACK: Put in a large pot of water, bring to a boil, then boil for 5 minutes. OR RAW PACK: skip this blanching step.
- Pack into half-litre (US pint) jars or 1 litre (US quart) jars. (Pack more tightly if doing raw pack.)
- Leave 3 cm (1 inch) headspace.
- Optional: a pinch of salt or non-bitter, non-clouding salt sub per jar.
- Top up with clean boiling water (such as from a kettle, for instance), maintaining headspace.
- Debubble, adjust headspace.
- Wipe jar rims.
- Put lids on.
- Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet.)
- Processing time: half-litre (US pint) jars for 20 minutes OR 1 litre (US quart) jars for 25 minutes.
Nutrition
Processing guidelines below are for weighted-gauge pressure canner. See also if applicable: Dial-gauge pressures.
| Jar Size | Time | 0 to 300 m (0 - 1000 feet) pressure | Above 300 m (1000 ft) pressure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ½ litre (1 US pint) | 20 mins | 10 lbs | 15 lb | |
| 1 litre (1 US quart) | 25 mins | 10 lbs | 15 lb |
Reference information
How to pressure can.
When pressure canning, you must adjust the pressure for your altitude.
Recipe notes
- Instead of clean boiling water to fill the jars with, you can use the blanching water if you wish. Some experts say use the blanching water, others say use fresh water.
- Hot pack is an extra step, but it is preferred by most experienced canners for a higher-quality end product. “The hot-water blanch is recommended. If not blanched, beans must be packed deliberately tight.” [1] Hertzberg, Ruth; Greene, Janet; Vaughan, Beatrice (2010-05-25). Putting Food By: Fifth Edition (p. 135). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
- If you do raw pack, the reason that you need to pack them in more tightly is that they will shrink as they lose air during processing.
Recipe source
Beans, Snap and Italian – Pieces, Green and Wax. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Complete guide to home canning. Agriculture information bulletin No. 539. 2015. Page 4-8.
Nutrition
Serving size: 250 g, drained (about one half of a ½ litre / US pint jar, if 500 g went into the jar.)
- 75 calories, 15 mg sodium
- Weight Watchers PointsPlus®: 0 points (yellow beans are free on Weight Watchers).
* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com
* PointsPlus™ calculated by healthycanning.com. Not endorsed by Weight Watchers® International, Inc, which is the owner of the PointsPlus® registered trademark.
References
noella lachaine
I just can yellow beans and the water is getting milky ,, is it the beans fermenting
Healthy Canning
How did you can them, did you follow the above directions exactly including the pressure canner processing times?
Jeanette Coffman
Why would the water in yellow wax beans turn a rust color during processing
Healthy Canning
Hi Jeanette, ask one of these Master Food Preserver groups what they feel.
Brenda Duke
Why a pressure canner instead of a regular canner that goes on th
e stove.
Healthy Canning
Regular water-bath canners don’t get hot enough to kill botulism spores off. When canning directions say pressure can, then there is no substitute. If you don’t have a pressure canner, then freeze, or dehydrate.
noella
I am canning beans for the first time
Patricia Orlando
Hi I am going to try canning wax beans this year .my question is can I saute them after you have canned them?
Healthy Canning
When you open the jars, you may do whatever you wish with them.