Among the popular diet foods, green asparagus beans occupy a central place. This tasty and healthy vegetable diversifies our diet, being part of various dishes, and at the same time is inexpensive. In the article, we will talk about several ways of pickling green-string beans for the winter.

Did you know? The name of the leguminous culture "haricot" is borrowed from the Greek language, where the word "faeolus" means "long boat".

Useful properties of asparagus beans

Green bean leaves have a lot of different benefits and are great for a healthy diet for both the adult population and the children's menu.

• Some of the unique properties of green beans that have a positive effect on health:
• The leguminous vegetable has a meager calorie content (18–23 kcal per 100 g) and a lot of fiber, therefore, it can quickly satisfy hunger without adding extra calories. It is recommended for those wishing to build or those who do not want to gain weight.
• The pods contain a high level of potassium, an element necessary for the strength of muscle tissue. Potassium also normalizes the digestive processes in the intestines, improving motility and serving as a prophylaxis of constipation.
• The product serves as a source of vegetable protein, which is why it is recommended in a comprehensive, non-fat diet.
• The culture is useful for the expectant mother, as well as for a lactating woman, since there is a lot of folic acid in it - a necessary element for the development and growth of the embryo in the first stages after conception, as well as after the birth of a child. And this substance also softens the effects of oxidative processes in cells (their damage), therefore it resists aging.
• Unripe pods contain beta-carotene (provitamin A), antioxidant tocopherol (vitamin E), ascorbic acid, necessary for the absorption of iron and increase immunity, as well as most of the B vitamins. There is also a high content of magnesium (fully absorbed in the presence of vitamin B6). calcium, chromium, iron.
• The use of green pods is indicated for diabetes, because they contain arginine, an insulin-like substance that lowers blood sugar.
• The product restores the functions of the heart and blood vessels and serves as a prophylaxis for hypertensive crises and atherosclerosis, as it prevents bad cholesterol from forming and settling in the vessels.
• The valves have a diuretic effect, removing excess salt, which is useful for kidney stones and gout.

Did you know? With regular use, green pods can be a light painkiller for migraines, since the vegetable contains a large amount of magnesium.

How to choose and prepare beans

In order to get tasty and suitable preparations, you need to choose and prepare the product in the right way:

1. Provided that green beans were grown independently, it must be collected in a timely manner. The most delicious beans are pods of milk ripeness, which did not have time to outgrow, as the overripe ones will be stiff.
2. When buying a product on the market, you need to research the proposed vegetable: the pods must be resilient and at the same time flexible, and when broken, they make loud clicks. You can also slightly pierce one green leaf with a fingernail - the milk flaps will be juicy, with soft fibers, and the old ones will have hard skin. It is necessary to pay attention to the grains - they should not be mold.
3. The preparatory phase includes the selection of suitable pods, while getting rid of spoiled ones.
4. Rinse selected quality flaps in running water and put on a towel to make glass water.
5. Trim both ends of the beans, as they are not suitable for consumption.
6. If the pods are too long, you can cut them in half or cut them into pieces of the required length.
7. Before canning or preparing any dish, you must boil the vegetables: they are immersed in boiling water and boiled for no more than 5 minutes - so they will remain crispy and will not lose their properties and bright color.
8. To preserve color, asparagus beans are salted at the end of cooking.

How to Pickle Asparagus Beans at Home

There are several tasty options for preparing asparagus leaves for future use.

Important! Before eating, do not allow the digestion of green pods, otherwise they will lose not only an attractive appearance, but also all their usefulness.

Additional Cooking Tips

Asparagus pods can not only be pickled - they are widely used in the preparation of various dishes.

Did you know? Green beans are ordinary bean pods of weekly ripeness.

Here are some additional guidelines for making bean pods:

• the taste of the vegetable is better preserved if used in cooking no later than 3 days after harvesting;
• fresh vegetable can be stored in a cold place for 4-5 days;
• the pods can be frozen - in this form they retain all the properties and taste;
• asparagus pods can be prepared as a separate dish, as well as as an ingredient in a compound menu;
• salads, soups, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, sauces are prepared with boiled leaves, used as a side dish for meat, fish and seafood;
• young pods can be cooked, stewed, cooked in a slow cooker and steamed, you can fry and bake.

As you can see, the use of green bean pods in cooking is quite widespread. If you use green pods prepared in any of the ways described above in your diet, you can significantly diversify your menu not only without harming the figure, but also saturate the body with a set of elements necessary for life.