Dilly Beans

Growing up my mother canned and one of the family favorites was Dilly Beans. My poor mother tried making dill pickles and we never liked any of the recipes she tried but we always ate up all the jars of Dilly Beans. I found some large green beans at Costco. Stopped at the grocery to get fresh dill and already had chopped garlic at home.

I will pickle just about anything. Though I do not make pickles. Where I live in the Southwest I cannot find a good source for pickling cucumbers. I have pickled mushrooms and pineapples amongst a lot of other fruits and vegetables.

Because of the high acidic content in the pickling mixture Dilly Beans can safely be canned in a water bath canner. This is the smaller of the two water bath canners I own and use. The recipe I use seems to be the same as the one my mother used. The beans taste the same. The only difference is that instead of whole garlic cloves I put in a teaspoon of chopped garlic. The only reason is because I always have a jar of chopped garlic in my fridge.

As with all canning you cannot change the recipe significantly. Canning is a science and recipes must be followed otherwise you will have food that is not properly canned.

The beans "float" to the top after canning but are still good to use. You should leave the jars to pickle for at least 2 weeks before you open them up to eat. My DD and and I are the only ones who eat them in the house. My DH does not have a taste for pickled items, though he does like sauerkraut. We don't mind being in charge of making the jars disappear. The liquid is also good in small amounts in potato or macaroni salad.