Dilly Beans

By Becky Jo

People either love them or have never heard of them.

People raised with a vegetable garden are most familiar with a dilly bean. When you grow beans, the dilly bean is ammunition against plants that produce green beans every time you turn your back. Where every day’s harvest is a big heap of beans.
Don’t despair. Dilly them.

And then put the crispy, vinegary, spicy delights in a Bloody Mary, alongside your pulled pork barbeque, or eat them right out of the jar. They are a great balancing element on a cheese and charcuterie plate, or wherever you might serve a dill pickle.

Ingredients

• vaguely adapted from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving
• 2 lbs. green beans
• 1/4 c pickling salt
• 1-1/4 c apple cider vinegar
• 1-1/4 c white vinegar
• 2-1/2 c water
• 4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and trimmed
• 4 T dill seed

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from mrswheelbarrow.com

Preparation

Step 1

Sterilize your jars. Wide mouth pint jars are best. If the beans are very long and elegant, the 12 oz jelly jars are gorgeous.

Trim the green beans. I leave the tails. Make sure they fit in the jars leaving 1/4″ headspace.

Bring salt, vinegars and water to a boil.

Divide the red pepper, garlic and dill seed between the jars.

Pour the hot brine over the beans.

Run a chopstick or other airbubble removing device around the jars.

Place lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Allow the beans to pickle for about a week before opening.