How to Store Broad and Fava beans (raw, cooked +)【 2024 】

No one can doubt their nutritional and gastronomic capacity, but the problem is that they are seasonal, and the question immediately arises: How can I preserve broad fava beans?

It is possible to keep fava beans in the fridge for 3 to 4 days once they have been shelled, but they can last ten days in their pods. Then you can freeze them for 10 to 12 months or dehydrate them for a year or even more. On the other hand, cooked fava beans can last 4 to 5 days in the fridge or six months frozen.

This guide will discuss the proper processes for storing your fava beans. It doesn’t matter if you grew or bought them; I have the solution to preserve fava beans below, so read on.

How to preserve raw unsheathed fava beans

When you have your fava beans available outside their respective shells, you have several options to store them, but I will mention the most important ones than frozen or dehydrated in the fridge.

Keep unsheathed broad beans in the fridge

This is the simplest method and the one that has a shorter duration, keeping them fresh. To perform this method, you must do the following:

Step 1: Do not wash the fava beans.

More than a step is a recommendation: when the fava beans are washed and stored in the refrigerator, moisture makes them spoil faster, so you should only wash them when you consume them, but if you must clean them with cloths to remove dirt.

Step 2: Transfer the fava beans to an airtight container.

The purpose of the airtight container is to protect the fava beans from external agents such as moisture and oxygen.

Step 3: Store the fava beans in the fridge.

Finally, put the fava beans in the refrigerator. I recommend putting them in the coldest part of the fridge, which is usually the bottom. In this way, raw fava beans can last 3 to 4 days.

Freeze raw (fresh) fava beans

Many people have asked me if you can freeze fava beans, and the truth is that it is a suitable method that will help you solve the problem of seasonality that fava beans have since it is a fruit mainly linked to spring.

To freeze fresh fava beans, you must do the following:

Step 1: Wash the fava beans.

Unlike the previous method, here you must wash the fava beans to remove any impurities that the product may have.

Step 2: Fill a pot with water and boil

For the next step, you must boil water as you will blanch the fava beans. Therefore, once the water boils, step 3 begins.

Step 3: Whiten the fava beans.

The bleaching process is carried out to stop certain enzymes that can develop during storage, which can have harmful consequences for the body.

To do this, you are going to put the fava beans in the boiling water and you are going to leave them there for 2 to 3 minutes so that they boil but are not cooked.

Step 4: Remove the fava beans in ice water.

It is necessary to cook fava beans that were in boiling water. If you only remove them and put them in a fountain, they will not stop cooking due to the high temperatures to which the fava beans were exposed. Therefore, you should remove them and put them in ice water (if it has ice, even better).

Step 5: Drain the fava beans.

Remove the fava beans from the ice water and drain them with a strainer or any utensil that serves to lose water. as much water as you can.

Step 6: Remove excess water.

Draining the water is not enough since it is necessary to eliminate as much water as possible so that ice crystals do not form that harm their quality once the waters freeze. You can use paper towels or tea towels for this.

Step 7: Quick freezing.

Put the fava beans on a tray with parchment paper or a nonstick sheet so there is space between the fava beans, and you will freeze for 2 or 3 hours. The idea of this step is that when some water residues remain, the fava beans can be stuck with each other when frozen.

Step 8: Transfer to an airtight container.

Ziplock-style plastic bags are generally used as they are comfortable and allow you to remove some air. However, using any other airtight container suitable for freezing is valid.

Step 9: Label the storage date.

It is essential to follow good storage practices, so you must place a sticker or write on the same container the conservation date to control the product’s shelf life.

Step 10: Place the fava beans in the freezer.

Finally, you can freeze the fava beans for at least 12 months.

How to dehydrate fava beans

Another alternative to preserve the fava beans is to dehydrate or dry them. However, remember that it is a method that changes the texture of the fava beans. To do this, you must do what I indicate below:

Step 1: Wash the fava beans.

Add water in a bowl with the fava beans until the fava beans are exceeded by a finger and stir well to remove the dirt. Strain and repeat the wash once more.

Step 2: Dry the fava beans.

After straining the fava beans, use a clean towel and remove excess water since dehydration is a process that eliminates water.

Step 4: Dehydrate the fava beans.

If you plan to use a conventional oven to dry them, place parchment paper on a tray and spread the fava beans without them being together with each other.

Bake at the lowest temperature it allows (usually about 90°C / 190°F), and let it dry for 6 or 8 hours. But you should be very aware after 4 hours pass because they could burn.

If you have a food dehydrator, spread the fava beans on the trays, adjust the temperature to 60°C (140°F) and dehydrate for 8 and 10 hours. Change the position of the trays every 3 hours so that they dry evenly.

You will know broad beans are dry when they get hard and wrinkled. However, they still need to become dehydrated if you feel they are a little flexible or watery.

Step 5: Transfer to an airtight container.

Please wait for the fava beans to cool before transferring them to an airtight container (preferably glass). But if you want to store them in the freezer, use airtight bags for freezing.

Step 6: Enter the storage date.

Always remember to have control over storage, and to a greater extent, in the long term.

Step 7: Save the fava beans.

At this point, you are ready to store the dried fava beans. However, this product can be preserved differently, as shown below.

Where to store dried or dehydrated fava beans

You can store dehydrated fava beans in two separate places which are:

At room temperature: It should be a dark, cool, and dry place like the pantry, where they last between 9 to 12 months.
Freezer: It does not matter if it is a freezer or the famous fridge freezer. Dehydrated fava beans can last 18 to 24 months in the freezer.

How to preserve fava beans in pods

When you have the fava beans in their pods, it is best to keep them fresh in the fridge, which will last longer than in their grain format. For them, you must:

Step 1: Do not wash the pods.

You can remove dirt using brushes or cloths, but don’t put water on them.

Step 2: Wrap in kitchen paper.

It is necessary to wrap the fava beans in paper towels to protect them from external agents but not isolated. That is, air can circulate through the pores of the towel.

Step 3: Put in a bag.

Following the idea of the previous step, the idea is to add a new layer of protection but not completely cut off the air circulation. To do this, you will use a typical plastic bag but not close it, allowing the air to circulate freely.

Step 4: Store in the fridge

Finally, you can store the fava beans in pods in the fridge. Under this method, fava beans can last up to 10 days.

The fridge represents the only safe method of keeping fava beans in pods, so if you want to freeze them, you need to remove them from their pods and apply the steps to freeze the fava beans explained in the previous section.

Keep cooked fava beans

Another common way you can find fava beans is when you cook them, and to preserve them, you have two options again: the refrigerator or the freezer.

In any case, you must perform the same steps as if they were fresh or raw, except that you must wait for them to cool, but avoid that they spend more than 3 hours at room temperature.

To preserve cooked fava beans in the fridge, you must:

Wait for the fava beans to cool.
Drain them if they are cooked in water.

Dry the fava beans with absorbent paper.
Put them in an airtight container.
Store them in the fridge.

And to freeze cooked fava beans, you must:

Wait for the fava beans to cool.
Drain them if they are cooked in water.

Dry the fava beans with absorbent paper.
Use airtight bags suitable for freezing.
Separate the fava beans into rations of consumption so as not to thaw everything.

Label with the storage date.
Store them in the freezer.

Fava beans cooked in the fridge last between 4 to 5 days and are frozen last six months.

How long do fava beans last?

Product	Duration
Raw fava beans without pods in the refrigerator	3 – 4 days
Frozen raw fava beans	10-12 months
Fava beans in pods in the refrigerator	10 days
Fava beans cooked in the fridge	4 – 5 days
Frozen cooked fava beans	6 months
Dehydrated fava beans at room temperature	9 – 12 months
Dehydrated fava beans in the freezer	18 – 24 months

How do you know if the broad beans spoiled?

You will see that the fava beans are damaged when they have white or black spots or lint and develop mold. They are bad if the fava beans are viscous, or their texture is too soft. The smell is another factor in recognizing fava beans in poor condition. If they give off an acidic or rancid stench, throw them in the trash because they have already been damaged.

What is the best way to preserve fava beans?

The best way to store fava beans is to freeze them, as they keep for an entire season, and their nutritional content remains almost intact. If you like fava beans as fresh as possible, use the fridge. It is a simple way to preserve fava beans knowing that you must consume them promptly. If they are still in their pods, they will last longer in the fridge than in their shelled format. If you do not want to use a refrigerator or freezer, you can dehydrate them and keep them at room temperature for one year. [1]

Can you freeze raw fava beans?

The reality is that you can freeze raw fava beans directly, but the results will be bad, and in fact, it is not recommended to freeze for more than two months in that way. Therefore, whiten them, and you will have better results.

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