Pickled green beans

For David's 32nd birthday, we decided to throw a pickling party, where people could bring their pickleable items of choice and use our canning supplies. Much jar-processing and maths (to re-calculate recipe amounts based on the amount of food/jars we had) took place and after 3 weeks, we can finally start tasting the fruits of our labour. The first in this pickling series is green beans, which as long been on our list but we've never actually gotten around to making. Amazingly, almost every at the party brought green beans, so we ended up making somewhere in the neighbourhood of 10 jars of green beans in the end.

Recipe

from Allrecipes.comMakes 3 pint jars2-1/2 lbs fresh green beans2-1/2 cups distilled white vinegar2 cups water1/4 cup pickling salt3 cloves garlic3 tsp dill seeds3/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)Sterilize 6 (1/2 pint) jars with rings and lids and keep hot. Trim green beans to 1/4 inch shorter than your jars. In a large saucepan, stir together the vinegar, water and salt. Add garlic and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. In each jar, place 1 tsp dill seed and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Pack green beans into the jars so they are standing on their ends. Ladle the boiling brine into the jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of the tops. Discard garlic. Seal jars with lids and rings. Place in a hot water bath so they are covered by 1 inch of water. Process for 10 minutes. Remove from the bath and cool to room temperature on a rack. Let pickles ferment for 2 to 3 weeks before eating.

Musings

D declared the green beans to be super delicious (I trust his judgment on this, as I am not a fan of pickled things generally)! They're crisp and light, and the flavour of the green beans still comes through. They are simple and tasty and will make an excellent accompaniment to a Bloody Mary or even a cold meat dish.