Green Beans turned brown - Ask Extension
Hi! I recently canned my first batch of green beans, grown in my garden. I was pretty nervous because I hadn't used a pressure canner before, but I fo...
Knowledgebase
Green Beans turned brown #215010
Asked September 30, 2014, 5:58 PM EDT
Hi! I recently canned my first batch of green beans, grown in my garden. I was pretty nervous because I hadn't used a pressure canner before, but I followed the steps in my Ball canning guide. All seemed to be going well until I pulled the jars out of the canner. The exposed cut ends and the seeds inside turned a reddish-brown color. I did blanch the beans for 5 minutes, per the Ball guide. What went wrong and are they still okay to eat? Thank you for your help!
Deschutes County Oregon
Expert Response
Your green beans look ok. The brown you see is the faint red pigments (anthocyanins) that are present in small amounts in some varieties of green bean. When canned these pigments tend to have a brownish look to them.
If you pressure canned your green beans in a pressure canner for 20 minutes for pints and 25 for quarts and adjusted the pressure for altitudes over 1000 feet for weighted gauge canner and 2000 feet for dial gauge canner then your beans will be safe to eat.
If you have other questions you might like to call the OSU Food Preservation/Safety Hotline open M-F from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Certified Master Food Preservers are available to personally answer your questions.
Thanks for using Ask an Expert
Nellie Oehler
If you pressure canned your green beans in a pressure canner for 20 minutes for pints and 25 for quarts and adjusted the pressure for altitudes over 1000 feet for weighted gauge canner and 2000 feet for dial gauge canner then your beans will be safe to eat.
If you have other questions you might like to call the OSU Food Preservation/Safety Hotline open M-F from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Certified Master Food Preservers are available to personally answer your questions.
Thanks for using Ask an Expert
Nellie Oehler
