Dilly Beans - Pickled Green Beans

Home canning is basically preserving foods in jars. They can be pickles, sauces, vegetables, fruit, jams, or preserves. It can be a little intimidating to start with but once you get the hang of it you can preserve your favorite in season foods year round.

I started canning quite recently when I ran out of room in my freezer for the extra vegetables my garden was producing (and not all veggies respond well to freezing). I didn't want the extra to go to waste and there's only so much I can unload on my friends.

It turned out to be a lot of fun especially since I absolutely love pickles and dilly beans. The equipment needed to start out with is pretty minimal, you can get the jars at many stores or order them online, a pot big enough to cover the jars completely with water, other pots and pans for preparing the foods, and a good pair of tongs for removing the jars from boiling water.

Step 1: Place jars and lids in the large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil. Alternatively you can use a dishwasher with a sterilize setting to sterilize your jars.

Step 2: Wash and remove ends form the beans. Slice the garlic and chili peppers.

Step 3: Combine water, vinegar, and salt in large saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer at least 5 minutes.

Step 4: While waiting for the vinegar mixture to boil pack the jars with beans, 1 head of dill, 1 sliced garlic clove, 1/4 of the sliced peppers, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Step 5: Pour the vinegar mixture into each jar until nearly full. Place lids on the jars.

Step 6: Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Step 7: Store in a cool place for at least 2 weeks prior to eating.

Makes 4 Pints

Warning: These are spicy, if you don't like spicy foods reduce the amount of chili peppers or remove it altogether.

A chemical reaction between garlic, vinegar, and copper (usually from water or cooking utensils) will turn the garlic blue-green. The garlic is still safe to eat despite the funny color.

Cooking is chemistry, we just don't realize it most of the time. Many of the things we do while cooking involve changing the chemical makeup of food.

The Culinary Cuttlefish is about what I'm actually cooking at home. Most of the ingredients I use are easy to find in any supermarket though some are from my garden.

Cuttlefish will never feature on the menu.

The Culinary Cuttlefish

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