George Shirley wrote:
> I got this recipe from the renowned Barb Schaller who got it from the
> cook book, "Blue Ribbon Pickles and Preserves. I ultimately bought the
> book and it has lots of good recipes.
>
> DILLY BEANS
>
> 2 pounds trimmed green beans
> 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
> 4 garlic cloves
> 4 springs fresh dill
> 1/4 cup pickling salt
> 2 1/2 white vinegar
> 2 1/2 cups water
>
> Sterilize canning jars and lids.
>
> Pack beans lengthwise into hot, sterile pint jars. To each jar add 1/4
> teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 garlic clove, and 1 sprig of dill. Combine
> salt, vinegar, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour,
> boiling hot, over beans, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Seal with
> sterilized lids according to manufacturer's instructions. Process in a
> boiling water bath for ten minutes.
>
> Yield: 4 pints. Note: I have put up fifteen or twenty pints at one time.
><G> We have a lot of canning pots, etc. Our pressure canner if well over
> forty years old, bought it at Sears when we were just married, we keep
> it clean, all the apparatus gets cleaned too, and I have the gauges
> tested annually before use. Our kids, grands, and great grands love our
> dilly beans. Now we need a bumper crop of green beans next year.

the brine i make for the pickles is 2 water to 1
vinegar, some salt and a little sugar.

i measure the volume of brine needed by packing
the jars then filling them with water to the level
needed and then dumping that into my pot. when
i've done that for all the jars then i measure
that amount and divide by three. 1/3 then is
cider vinegar 2/3 water, 1 scant tablespoon or
less of salt per quart or two, 1 heaping teaspoon
of sugar. taste to make sure it's ok. not every
batch is exactly alike, but close enough.

tons of dill. 1 sprig would be a joke to me.
i really like dill. i could just eat pickled dill
alone.

also, i don't put any spices or garlic in there.
cayenne doesn't do much for me and so far nobody
has complained. i grow plenty of garlic here so
it's not like i don't have any, i just never put
it in the pickles.

i guess i'm a big fan of simplicity.


songbird