Turns out not all non-cuke pickles are gross! I had a brief but wonderful visit with some friends on the island who had pickled beans and carrots from their own garden and they were so good I just had to make my own as soon as I got home. Since I only grew tomatoes and herbs this year I didn’t have any garden fresh carrots or beans. However, there was an ample selection of both at the farmers market. I showed up a little late in the day and managed to get both for a steal.
Loren kindly provided his very flexible recipe, and it couldn’t have been easier to make the brine and pickle some amazing, crisp, beans and carrots for future consumption. Pickling is like defeating our ever-present enemy entropy for a little while.
I like beans and carrots for long-term pickling because they are so damned firm to start with so they maintain quite a bit of crispness when you pickle them. I made 7L of pickles, and including the chopping, it didn’t take me a full hour! Definitely worth the investment!
If you’d like to make your own pickled beans and carrots here is the recipe I used, though I suggest you read a few other pickler’s instructions so you have a rounded understanding before getting underway, and as always, please review the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s guides on the subject and make your informed choices as canning can be dangerous.
The following recipes and instructions are only an imperfect and casual reflection of my process and are not meant to substitute for official NCHFP recipes and instructions.
Pickled Carrots and Beans Ingredients:
- Carrots
- Green Beans
- Grape Leaves
- Garlic
- Fresh Dill and Dill Heads
- Chili Flakes
- Vinegar, Salt + Sugar
Pickled Carrots and Beans Brine Recipe:
- 8 parts pickling vinegar
- 24 parts water
- 2 part salt
- 1 part sugar
Pickled Carrots and Beans Instructions:
- Boil your water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to make your brine
- Sanitize Jars and lids
- Pack in your garlic, chili flakes, and dill to keep them at the bottom
- Wash grape leaves and pack them into the bottom of your jars on top of the spices
- Work all of the beans and carrots into the jars tightly
- Cover with brine
- Lock on your lids
- Set aside in a cool dark place. Winter is coming.
Treat each other with kindness folks.