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Crates of fresh green beans in the Nutmeg Disrupted kitchen
Pickled Beans

Pickled Beans

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A few weeks back I received a few crates of gorgeous green beans at work. The first of many shipments in the coming year.

During my coffee break, of which I am the only female in attendance, the subject of pickled beans came up, of course started by yours truly. The conversation during our breaks usually consists of hockey talk, or the business of grocery, shopping trends, busy times, gas prices. But occasionally I will bring up what I am cooking in my kitchen at home. And for a bunch of guys they are pretty receptive! Plus the occasional goodies I bring doesn’t hurt either.

When I mentioned pickled beans there was quite the conversation of what each person envisioned when they thought of bean pickles during that break. I had intentions of making mustard pickled beans with a bit of cauliflower and some pearl onions added because really, that is my favourite part of mustard pickled beans. One co-worker was quite adamant that you only used yellow beans when making this particular pickle. Another agreed with me that no, green beans are used. So you can see the contrasting colors. And finally my boss said screw that just make regular pickled beans, they are fantastic in Caesars.

He has a very good point!

Caesar w/pickled beans from Nutmeg Disrupted

This is a fantastic recipe that you make by the jar! Great if you are new to pickling as it is an easy recipe and perfect if you are just wanting a small batch.

Pickled Beans

2 pounds of fresh green beans

dried or fresh red chili peppers – 2 per jar (optional)

a bunch of dill – I like to use the seed heads when making pickles but being that it is off season I used the green part of the dill

2 heads of garlic – sectioned and paper skins removed – 3 per jar

pickling salt – 1 tablespoon per pint

1/3 cup of boiling vinegar per pint

boiling water

 

Wash and heat all the jars you will be using. Place the lids and screw rings into hot water in a small pot on the stove, keep the burner on low and bring the water to a light simmer.

Wash and trim all beans to fit the jar. Wash and pat dry the dill greens.

In a medium sized pot place the vinegar on medium heat and bring to a boil.

Dill, garlic and red chili peppers for pickling in the Nutmeg Disrupted kitchen

Using oven mitts or a tea towel to handle jars, place 3 cloves of garlic and 2 red chili peppers with a few sprigs of dill in the bottom of each jar. Fill the jars with beans, packing them fairly tight. Measure the salt over the beans. Add a 1/3 cup of vinegar to each jar and top with boiling water within 1 inch of the opening of the jar. Place a hot sterilized lid on each jar and apply the metal screw band on finger tight.

Jars of pickled beans going into the canner in the Nutmeg Disrupted kitchen

Place all the jars into the canner, I like to use the jar rack that came with the canner. It makes fast work of getting the hot jars in and out of the very hot water.  Cover the jars with at least once inch of water. Bring to a boil and heat for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the jars form the canner and allow to cool completely. The lids will ping as they seal.

Store in a cool dark place for a few weeks before opening.

Best if chilled before eating. Seriously delicious with only the slightest hint of heat. I used dried chili peppers so the heat may be a touch more pronounced if using fresh red chilis.

2 pounds of beans yielded 6 pints of pickles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Preserving Lemons and Limes on Nutmeg Disrupted
Preserving Lemons and Limes

Preserving Lemons and Limes

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So one of the perks of being a Produce Manager and a foodie is that every morning is a little like Christmas. I tear into the huge pallets of fresh produce like a giddy school girl, excited to inspect all the fabulous contents.

Naturally my fruit and vegetable consumption has gone up dramatically. You can’t move 1000’s of pounds of produce every week and not take it home and create with it.

Being a huge lover of anything citrus one of the first things I had to try was preserving lemons and limes.

They are extremely easy to make, the only thing you require is patience to allow them to preserve.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Preserving Lemons and Limes
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Citrus
Cuisine: Preserving
Ingredients
  • 7 - 8 lemons
  • 7 - 8 limes
  • kosher salt
  • canning jars
Instructions
  1. Wash the fruit well If you can buy organic, that is a great option as the skins are not removed for the preserving process.
  2. Cut 5 or each fruit into fourths.
  3. Cut the 3 remaining into halves for juicing.
  4. In the bottom of each jar add 2 generous tablespoons of salt.
  5. Take another 2 tablespoons and salt the wedges liberally.
  6. Tightly pack the lemon and lime wedges into the jars adding a few more teaspoons of salt .
  7. Press the fruit in tightly forcing some the juice to be released.
  8. Top up the jars with freshly squeezed juiced form the remaining halves.
  9. Seal tightly.

Prepping lemons for preserving on Nutmeg Disrupted

limes for preserving

Salting lemons for preserving on Nutmeg Disrupted

Salting limes for preserving on Nutmeg Disrupted

Preserving Lemons on Nutmeg Disrupted

Preserving limes on Nutmeg Disrupted

Every day tip the jars over and give them a good shake to disperse the extra salt that settles to the bottom. Store in a cool cupboard until the white pith takes on a bit of a translucent look.

 

Preserved Lemon from Nutmeg Disrupted

Preserved limes from Nutmeg Disrupted

Once opened store in the fridge.

 

 

 

 

 

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Fresh made pickles in the Nutmeg Disrupted kitchen
Yum Yums

Yum Yums

Comments 4 comments

Whew………….

The past 48 hours has been tremendously busy.

With Dan and Jen’s wedding , a Pie for Mikey, the Sugar Unleashed and everything else that fills my schedule, I am about 7 days behind on the post for the Pickling Party.

I hit the kitchen as soon as I got home from work last night prepping the veggies for the 3 hour salt soak they had to take.

And by 9:30 the satisifying ping of sealing pickle jars was echoing throughout the house.

If you have wanted to trying pickling this is a great first time recipe. The prep is minimal and the results are fantastic.

You will need a few basic tools to begin your canning journey. First off you need a large canner, basically that is a large special made pot to boil the jars in once they have been filled. We do that as a final step to be sure that we have a shelf safe product. It kills any  microorganisms inside the jar. It also forces out any air and creates a nice tight seal as the jars are cooling.

A rack for your canner is handy, though not necessary. It does make removal of the hot jars quick and easy. You can also purchase canning tongs. They are made specifically to lift jars and are a fantastic tool that makes quick work of handling hot jars.

One last thing is a jar funnel. It is a funnel with a large opening in the bottom that fits perfectly in the opening of the jars. Again, it is not necessary but does make the job of filling the hot jars quick easy and keeps the process much cleaner. Anything to make a job easier is a good investment.

I am using a very old recipe of my very favorite pickle ever.

I fell in love with these as a child one Easter. I was shocked that peppers and onions could be that fabulous! I always remembered how much I enjoyed them.

And it was that flavor discovery that created my desire to learn how pickle.

They are a touch sweet with a nice tangy finish.

You may find yourself eating the entire jar in one sitting!

…not that I would do anything like that.

The first step in the canning process is to sterilize your jars. We use the canner to do this first step.  You place the jars in the canner and cover the jars by 1-2 inches and put on the lid. Turn up the heat on the stove and once at a boil will leave them at a boil for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes turn down the heat and leave the jars in the canner.

Next step is to get the lids ready for the jars. This step is important, it softens the rubber outer seal so they will adhere to the glass rim of the jar. Jar lids need to sit for 10 minutes in hot, previously boiled water.

Fresh made pickles in the Nutmeg Disrupted kitchen

Yum Yums

Combine the following and let stand for 3 hours.

6 quarts of sliced cucumbers

1 quart of sliced onions

4 green peppers

2 red or yellow peppers or a  combination of both

1/2 cup of pickling salt

4 quarts of cold water

 

At the end of 3 hours, drain and discard water. Place everything into a large pot. Add:

6 cups of vinegar

6 cups of sugar

1 tsp of tumeric

1 tsp of celery seed

1 tsp of mustard seed

Bring to a boiling point. Ladle into hot sterilized jars and seal with lids. Be sure to leave a 1/2 inch of head space between the pickles and the top of the jar.

Place the jars into the canner and be sure they are covered with a minimum of 2 inches of water. Bring the water to a boil and process for 20 minutes. Timing begins once the water begins to boil.

Remove all the jars to a rack to cool. Do not adjust the screw bands as that may affect the seal of the lids.

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