Martha Rose Shulman

In the summer of 2015, I learned how to preserve food from Grammie Lambie. We called it canning. I was obsessed. Nothing was safe from my intention of putting it in a jar. We made blackberry preserves, spicy carrots, marinated mushrooms, and this recipe for pickled green beans. 

In the South, they are called Dilly Beans because of the dill that goes into the jars with the beans. Grammie Lambie grew up canning during the depression. There was no waste. She trimmed the green beans to exactly the correct length and packed them tightly into the Ball Mason jars. Anything left of the green beans was used in a salad or for dinner. 

Canning is pretty simple, but there are a few hard-and-fast rules I learned from Grammie Lambie. You have to sterilize the jars, use clean tea towels, and new mason lids. The last thing you want is contaminated food or a batch not to seal. After carefully packing the green beans into the mason jars, pour on the brining fluid and send everyone (I mean the jars) to the water bath. After you take them out of the jacuzzi (I mean water bath), hold your breath and wait to hear the popping sounds of the lids sealing. 

I am so thankful for the time we spent in the kitchen that summer. There is just something so special about learning a skill from your mom as an adult versus as a teenager. No more ‘tudes,’ just a genuine desire to learn. More than the skill, it is the gift of time she gave me. 

Ingredients

• 7 oz Green beans
• 1 t Coriander seeds
• 1 t Mustard seeds
• ¼ t black peppercorns
• 3 Sprigs of fresh dill
• 1 Bay leaf
• ½ C White wine vinegar
• ½ C Sherry vinegar
• ½ C Water
• 1 T Raw brown sugar
• 1t Sea salt1
• Lg. Garlic clove, quartered

Directions

• Rinse green beans and break off stem ends. Put them into a pint jar, standing them up and squeezing as many into the jar as you can. 
• There should be ½ inch of head space in the jar, so you may have to trim down some of the beans. 
• Once you’ve cut them down to fit, take them out of the jar and sterilize the jar in a boiling water bath for 5 to 10 minutes. 
• Using a jar grip, carefully remove the jar from the water and tip out all water.
• Place coriander seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a jar and fill with beans, standing them up in the jar. Push dill sprigs down into the jar.
• In a small saucepan, combine the vinegars, water, sugar, salt, and garlic and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 2 minutes. 
• Pour into a jar with green beans. The beans should be covered, but there should still be ¼ to ½ inch head space. Push garlic down into the jar. Seal jar and allow to cool, then refrigerate for up to 2 months. 
• For best results wait two days before eating.