Dillies

Most people when they think of pickles they think of cucumbers.  The problem is they are missing out of so many other wonderful veggies just waiting to be pickled.  From the garden you can pickle darn near everything, with the main one we do being green tomatoes.  Just before the first big frost that will kill off every last tomato on the vine all the tomatoes, ripe and unripe are gathered up.  The ripe ones are processed for one last batch of whatever tomato product we might be a bit short of in the cellar.  While the green ones are cut into quarters, put into wide mouth canning jars with whatever herbs and spices sound good at the time, and a mixture of vinegar, water and salt is poured over it. 

Many wild veggies can be pickled this way too.  My two favorites are purslane and milkweed pods.  Purslane grows in abundance in most disturbed areas so even if you don't garden you can easily have some delicious pickles free for the taking from the wilds.  Milkweed pods take a bit more work, the must be put into at least three changes of boiling water to get the latex out of it.  From then on though it is just as easily pickled as any other veggie.

There are two ways of pickling; true pickling, which is when the veggie is submerged in a salt and moisture mixture until it lactose ferments.  The salt water keeps "bad" bacteria from forming on the veggies but allows for lactic acid to form.  The most famous way of doing this is with cabbage as sauerkraut.  But most vegetables can have this done to them.  More or less water may have to be added to the vegetable, depending on how much water the vegetable releases.  Fermenting is a great way of preserving vegetables and fermented foods are also very good for you.

The other way of pickling is called brine pickling.  This is where you use a brine made out of something that is already fermented, usually vinegar.  The easiest recipe for a pickling brine is equal parts vinegar to water with 1/4 cup of salt to ever 5 cups of vinegar/water.  This mixture is poured over your veggies and spices in a canning jar and then boiled in a water bath canner, usually 20 minutes for pints, 30 for quarts.  Give your county extension a call to find out any extra information.

I have an interesting green bean vine this year that produces one to one and a half foot long beans.  While they make lots of canning beans, they aren't as sweet as the standby Blue Lake Beans that I love to can.  So instead I pickle them, making dillies.  Dillies are simply green beans made the same way that cucumbers are made into kosher dill.

These four pints were made with 2 1/2 cups of water mixed with 2 1/2 cups of white vinegar with 1/4 cup of canning salt dissolved into it.  In scalded canning jars I put a head or two of dill seeds, two or three garlic cloves, and a tablespoon of pickling spices.  I fill up the rest of the space with the green beans and pour the vinegar mixture over it.  Put the cover on the jars, submerge them in a water bath canner and boil them for 20 minutes.  After I make sure the jars are sealed, I let them set for at least 2 weeks to blend the flavors (usually the set until winter though). 

It is a very easy pickle to make, as are most pickles and a good one to put up for the long winter nights.  Now is the time to work but winter nights are the time to rest in the darkness.  But first we must prepare for those nights.  Give it a try, pickle whatever veggies you have left over and give yourself the power to control your own food.  It is wonderful to have those jars on the shelves, ready for when you need them.  Controlling your own food is the first step into freedom.  Enjoy that step.