Green beans are so easy to put up that I always wonder why I don't plant more...and then I quickly remember that with our short spring season, they usually don't even make well! However, once in awhile, it's a good year for green beans, and when it is, I can dozens and dozens of quarts, make Dilly Beans, and dry several quarts of the delicious beans.
Dried Green Beans are also known as Leather Breeches. Here are several ways to make them:
Dehydrator Method
Wash, and snap tender green beans (string if necessary). You can dry them whole, but it takes a lot longer, and I am impatient! Blanche the beans for 4 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of the beans. I usually end up with a mixture of different sizes, so I generally go with about 6 minutes of steam blanching. Cool the beans in a sink full of cold water for about 2 minutes, then spread them on a towel and pat them dry. Arrange them on your dehydrator trays in a single layer, and dry at 145 degrees for the first hour, then reduce the heat to 125 degrees until they are done. They will be brittle and crisp when dry. Depending on the size of the bean, mine usually take 8-16 hours to dry.
String Method
Wash your beans and string them on heavy thread. Just run a needle with through the top or middle of the beans (I usually stack them by running the needle through the middle of the beans, as I can get more on each string that way.). Then, blanch them by placing the whole string of beans in either boiling water or a steamer basket for about 6 minutes. Cool them in cold water, and hang them to dry outside, in your attic, or anyplace else that will provide a hot, dry environment with ventilation. Do not hang them in the sun, and if you can keep them from bugs and such, it's a definite plus. You can just store the beans on the string when dry, and use them as needed.
Whole Plant Method
When our growing season is short, I only get one or two pickings off the plants before it turns too hot for them to continue making. When this happens, I generally pull up the plants, beans still attached, and hang the whole plant, upside down, outside, until the beans are dry.
**A note about blanching: Being hard-headed, I thought, in the past, that blanching took a lot of time, and probably wasn't all that necessary. Ha! I ended up with a tougher end-product
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