Getting Pickled

I planted the cucumbers and string beans later than the veggie starts, but they are producing quite well now...well enough to pickle some of the harvest.

Pickled Cucumber Spears are delicious and mine have kept their crunch in the past. Haven't tried the ones that I pickled about 5 days ago, but hope to try them this weekend. The Dilly Beans that I made this year use the same brine as the cucumber spears and should be equally delicious. The brine is pretty simple; water, apple cider vinegar, sea salt and a bit of sugar, boiled together until the salt and sugar dissolve. Probably the most difficult part is picking all those beans, and a little difficult is dipping the glass jars and the lids in boiling water and then draining them, before adding the produce, dill and peppercorns. This time the most difficult thing was finding the right sized jars and their lids! Pint sized canning jars with a wide mouth work best, but you can use other sizes, too. I had a jar I'd save that was just as tall, but thinner. It held fewer beans, but will make a nice gift. 

Remember, these are refrigerator pickles, so they don't last forever. If you're gifting them, give them after you have shaken them daily for about 5-7 days.

If you can harvest or purchase really fresh pickling cucumbers and long, thin string beans, do try this recipe. It's a great way to add some nice pickles to your meals, plus it keeps the harvest. That's a good thing when your veggies produce a lot, all at once!

Dill Pickle Spears

Fresh pickling cucumbers, washed under cold water and drained
fresh dill
a few black peppercorns, whole
brine

For the brine:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar 

Trim the ends off the cucumbers and cut into spears by cutting in half lengthwise, then cutting each half in half lengthwise.

In a clean quart jar place the quartered cucumbers, standing on a cut end, packing them in tight. I used three fairly long cucumbers. Push pieces of the fresh dill down among the quarters and add a few black whole peppercorns to the jar. They will end up at the bottom. That's OK.

In a small pot bring the apple cider vinegar, water, sea salt and sugar to a boil and stir until mixture is boiling and the salt and sugar are dissolved. Pour over the cucumbers in the jar. If liquid doesn't come up to cover the tops of the cucumbers, add enough boiling water to do so.

Let mixture cool. Tap the jar lightly on the counter to dislodge any air bubbles. Once almost room temperature, Seal jar with a tight lid and put into the refrigerator. Every day shake the jar. Keep in the fridge for six or seven days, then open the jar and taste to see if it's pickled enough for you. Jar can be kept in the fridge, tightly closed, for up to three months.

Dilly Beans

The pickled beans are fairly easy to make, but canning is one of those activities where keeping everything clean is essential. I washed the jars and lids in hot soapy water, rinsed them, then put them into boiling water, too, before draining them and then filling the jars with the trimmed beans, dill, and whole peppercorns. The vinegar solution was boiling so I used a metal cup measure to fill the jars with that mixture, then dipped the lids in the boiling water before putting them on top of the jars.

Per Jar: 
3 dill sprigs or 1 dill head
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
fresh green beans, young ones preferred

Bring the vinegars, water and salt to a boil in a medium nonreactive pot. Stir to dissolve the salt.

Place dill, garlic, mustard seeds, and peppercorns in each hot jar. (I dipped each clean jar into the boiling water & then drained it right before filling it. Pint canning jars with a two part wide mouth lid is the best.) Trim the ends off the beans and rinse them. Pack the beans into the jars tightly. Make sure there is a half inch headroom and trim the beans so that they will be covered with the brining solution.

Pour boiling brine over the beans. Tap a few times on the counter to dislodge air bubbles, wipe the rims, and seal with the screw bands. Let cool to room temperature, then put in the refrigerator. Shake the jars daily for about a week. Then enjoy. Store in the fridge.