Preserving the Harvest: Green Bean Pickles

It's not like I had such an abundance of produce from my garden that I was forced to put up pickles. But I've decided that I really like this preserving business, and I like lining up those little jars and seeing the fruits of my labour. I'm getting quite a cupboard full. I wanted to try my hand at pickles and given the fact that the only really successful crop in my garden was the green beans, that's what I had to work with.

I recall from my childhood jars of mustard green bean pickles that someone regularly put up and sent over to our family and I thought they were revolting. When looking for something appealing, I kept coming across those kinds of recipes and although I love mustard, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I finally found a simple recipe using dill and garlic that sounds like it will be wonderful. Of course, unlike the jam and the onion relish, I can't tell you what they taste like. I have to wait a couple of weeks for the flavours to infuse the green beans before I open them and have a taste.

These were very easy to make and didn't take long at all. I halved the recipe and it worked perfectly. I also used smaller jars than called for, but it didn't seem to be a problem. If you plan on making these pickles, check out the earlier post on the procedure for processing. You want to ensure that you have a good vacuum seal for your food and that will tell you how to do it.

Green Bean Pickles

2 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
4 cloves garlic, peeled
8 sprigs fresh dill weed
4 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 1/2 cups water

1. Cut green beans to fit inside pint canning jars.


2. Place green beans in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm, for 3 minutes. Plunge beans into ice water. Drain well.


3. Pack the beans into four hot, sterilized pint jars. Place 1 clove garlic and 2 sprigs dill weed in each jar, against the glass. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to each jar.


4. In a large saucepan over high heat, bring vinegar and water to a boil. Pour over beans.


5. Fit the jars with lids and rings and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Difficulty Level: Easy

From the website All Recipes

Related Items
Preserving the Harvest: The Procedure
Preserving the Harvest: Caramelized Red Onion Relish
Preserving the Harvest: Making Strawberry Jam

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