Email to Cat      

Pickled Wax Beans

Source of Recipe

From "Preserving by the Pint" by Marisa McClellan


Recipe Introduction

"This pickle is a take on the traditional dilly beans, which are most often made with green beans. A few years back, I had a share in a CSA that ended up including multitudinous wax beans. After eating all I could manage steamed and buttered, I turned to pickling and was delighted to discover that they were just as good in brine as their green brethren. Because wax beans are sturdy little suckers, they retain their crispness through the boiling water bath process."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 dry quart wax beans (about 1 ½ pounds)
â—¦ 1 ½ cups cider vinegar
â—¦ 2 tablespoons finely milled sea salt
â—¦ 4 medium-size garlic cloves, divided
â—¦ 4 teaspoons dill seeds, divided
â—¦ 2 teaspoons black peppercorns, divided


Recipe

Prepare a boiling water bath and four half-pint jars. Place four lids in a small saucepan of water and bring to a gentle simmer.

Wash and trim the beans so that they fit in the jars. If you have particularly long beans, cut them in half. Combine the vinegar, 1 ½ cups of water, and the salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. While the pickling liquid heats, pack your beans into the jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace. To each jar, add 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon of dill seeds, and ½ teaspoon of peppercorns.

Slowly pour the hot brine over the beans, leaving ½ inch of headspace. After all the jars are full, use a wooden chopstick to dislodge any trapped air bubbles. Add more liquid to return the headspace to ½ inch, if necessary. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Let the pickles sit for at least a week before eating.

Makes 4 (half-pint) jars



• Note:
You can really use any combination of beans you have, for the pickle. I'm particularly fond of choosing several different colors of beans and mixing them in a single jar. Even flat Romano beans do well here.