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| I'm going to try making dilly beans for the first time. I have fortex pole beans and a variety of yard long beans. I did a search and saw that someone here reported that the yard long beans worked well, although they may turn out a litle softer. the recipe on NCHFP site recipe calls for 4 lbs of beans and I won't ever have that much all at once. I'm wondering if I could safely half the recipe? Also, I have 1 1/2 pint jars, can I use these, if so, what is the processsing time? Lastly, does anyone use cider vinegar, or always white vinegar? I'd love any advice since I've never made these before. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by readinglady z8 OR (My Page) on Thu, Aug 23, 12 at 12:36
| You can safely halve the recipe, just keep everything in proportion. The only tested recipes I've seen for Dilly Beans call for a pint size, and you can't size up from that. There's no tested processing time and the brine is already at the lowest recommended for canning, 1:1 vinegar and water, so I wouldn't want to take any risks. The Ball pints are taller than the Kerr pints, so work best for Dilly Beans. Their 12-oz. jelly jars also work well for smaller amounts, as they're tall and straight. Old-timers often used cider vinegar in their pickles because it has a softer finish on the tongue. But it will result in a darker pickle. White vinegar is sharper (5% white wine vinegar can work well) but results in a brighter clearer pickling solution. In this case with the 1:1 of vinegar to water harshness of distilled less of an issue. Regardless, the beans will mellow over time. Don't eat them until they've sat on the shelf a while. Whichever you choose, enjoy the results! Carol |
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| Thanks Carol! Looks like I'll have to find another use for my pint and half jars :) |
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| Whatever you end up putting in the pint and 1/2 jars uses the quart processing time. So use them for foods that won't be hurt by the longer processing time. Dave |
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| Carol, the Ball Blue Book (current edition) Dilly Beans recipe states: "Process pints and quarts 10 minutes in a boiling water canner." I love using the 1.5 pint jars for my dilly beans =). |
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- Posted by readinglady z8 OR (My Page) on Fri, Aug 24, 12 at 13:44
| Thanks for that reminder. I was looking at the NCHFP recipe online. Interesting, the Ball recipe is identical but specifies quarts as well as pints, as you mentioned. Carol |
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- Posted by OldHippieMomma 6a (My Page) on Sun, Aug 26, 12 at 16:23
| Shucks, I bought some of those 1 1/2 jars, too, for making pickled green beans. Pepfun1-2 - Do you BWB the 1 1/2 pints for 10 minutes? Do the bean stay crisp? I don't know if I am going to be able to find any fresh dill where I live (at least that I would want to buy - the stuff in the grocery stores looks really old). Can I make pickled green beans without dill? Next year, I'll be sure to add it to my herb garden. |
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| When pickling recipes call for dill, they don't usually mean the ferny green leaves, they mean the seed-bearing flower head. You can substitute dill seed for a head of dill if you don't have a head of fresh dill available. |
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| Oops, forgot to add that I process pints of dilly beans for the recommended 10 minutes and they stay crisp. The secret to crisp dilly beans IMO is to use impeccably fresh beans. I always try to pickle them within a few hours of picking. That's basically true of all pickled vegetables - the fresher the produce, the crisper and more high quality the pickle. Oh, and I always use cider vinegar in pickling. I think the taste is superior to white vinegar, but it's probably just what I'm used to as my mom, aunts, and grandmothers always used cider vinegar for pickling. |
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| Thanks everybody! I haven't had time to make the dilly beans yet. I'm overrun with tomatoes right now, which are keeping me busy! I ended up inviting friends over for dinner and sauting the beans I had. I might have to buy beans from the farmers market, I don't think I'll get enough at one time to have a decent batch. I appreciate all the advice and experience from everyone. |
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| OldHippieMomma, yes I do BWB the 1.5 pints for the full 10 minutes. I've never had a problem with the beans getting soggy/mushy...although I try to do them asap after being picked. We've opened jars that have been several years old with the beans only having turned slightly mushy =). Marymd, I've never tried them with cider vinegar, but if I did I'd only do a very small test batch as I've heard the taste is quite different. Happy canning everyone =) |
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