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Can You Freeze Baked Beans? Three Ways You Probably Didn’t Know Existed for Freezing Baked Beans

The other day as were celebrating dinner with a couple of friends, out of nowhere one posed the question: Can you freeze baked beans? A food expert amongst us was quick to answer, and she highlighted three simple ways to achieve it. If you are eager to discover “Can you freeze baked beans?” you can click this link to jump to the section. Otherwise here is something you might want to know before then.

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For ages, baked beans have been consumed for their excellent sources of natural protein. In fact, the navy beans from which they are made from, are rich in calcium, phosphorus, folate, and fiber.

Did you also know that you can prepare them to act as complements to other meals that you also like? Well, try serving them with eggs or vegetables and we’ll be glad to hear your happy testimonial.

Back to our question. The short answer is yes, it is possible to freeze baked beans. So, what ways can you employ in freezing them?

  1. Using Freezer Jars

This method is useful when storing homemade baked beans. But there are some rules you must pay attention to:

  • First, freeze them the same day that you cook them. This keeps their natural flavor and increases their storage life.
  • Have freezer jars, preferably those built using ceramic or plastic material, to store you baked beans.
  • Avoid storing the baked beans while hot since this might break the containers when freezing initiates.
  • Label the jars with storage dates to help you keep track of their life in the freezer.
  • Keep air out of the containers – when emptying cooked beans from the pot to the containers, quickly cover them before air settles in. Air accelerates spoilage.
  1. Canning

If you don’t like the process of cooking the beans, you can purchase them from food stores in cans, then later freeze them. While they will maintain their quality during storage, they can only last for a maximum of three months.

Moreover, your freezer must be airtight and dark to reduce the amount of air and light entering the storage compartment. The advantage of canning is you can heat the jars directly after defrosting them and serve the beans.

  1. Honey-dipping Baked beans

This method involves soaking you baked beans in honey for a few hours before finally freezing them. Honey is an excellent preservative, and when correctly used, your beans will go for up to six months without rotting. The interesting bit about this method is your baked beans will maintain their texture and natural taste.

Thawing

Now, after storing your baked beans, perhaps learning tips on how to defrost them will be handy. We call the process thawing. It is as simple as moving the beans from the freezer into the refrigerator for a day then transferring them to the kitchen for heating.

Use a saucepan for this with medium heat for optimal results. Seven to ten minutes should be enough.

The greatest disadvantage of thawing is that the baked beans will eventually become watery or mushy thus compromising their taste. But you can always season them and sway the aroma in your favor.

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