Like last year, today we canned pickles! Using recipes from Bernardin’s Big Book of Canning Justin and I put away the beans that we harvested before the Feast of Avalon (the equinox) and some carrots we had in the fridge. The following recipe is better explained in the link above, but this year I didn’t boil the beans in the vinegar water first. I found them not to be crunchy enough last year. We’ll see if we make it!
Dilly Beans (7 pints aprox)
3 T Pickling or canning salts
3 C White vinegar
3 C Water
4.5 lbs green beans, trimmed and cut into jar length pieces (we just cut them as we put them into jars)
1/4 t dill (heaping)
1/4 t red pepper flakes
6 cloves garlic
Dilly Carrots (7 pints aprox)
6 C white vinegar
2 C water
1/2 C pickling salt
cloves of garlic (one for each jar)
1/4 t dill (heaping)
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1. Prepare canner, jars and lids.
2. Combine vinegar, water and salt for either recipe and bring to a boil
3. Load the vegetable into the hot jars along with 1 clove of garlic, dill and pepper flakes (the book says that one should cook the beans in the vinegar mix first, but not the carrots - you’ll know if we don’t make it.)
4. Ladel hot liquid mixture into jar to 1 cm headspace, tap down to release air bubbles, wipe rim, place lid and screw down top.
5. Place jars in canner making sure that they are 2 inches below the surface of water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes.
6. Remove from canner and leave to sit for 24 hours. Ensure that the lids have sealed, remove rings, wipe down and store.