Beans in abundance at farmer’s market

EMILY GOJMERAC

REPORTER

Farmer’s Market Report

Green beans are an overabundance this time of the year and most people have more beans than they know what to do with.

If you’ve never tried growing beans yourself, here are some tips that may help you. There are various types of beans, but the most common grown in this area are the yellow, green, and purple beans. They all have different colors and flavors.

Beans prefer rich hearty soil and need plenty of water to grow and mature.

Rebecca Zuleger of We Grow Foods says, “They require good air flow to prevent them from getting bean rust, or rotten from too much water”.

A tip for all you gardeners out there: If you let your bean pods over grow, wait until you can hear the beans rattle around inside the pod, you can use those seeds for your next year of planting.

A common way to preserve beans is to pressure cook them. Blanching and then freezing them is also another way to keep the vegetable from spoiling.

Dilly beans are a common favorite. If you’d like to try your own version of dilly beans, here is a recipe to try: PICKLED DILLY BEANS RECIPE Adapted from The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving Yield: 3 pints Method: Water Bath Canning Process Time: 10 minutes (adjust for altitude) Headspace: 1/2 inch 2 lbs. green beans, ends trimmed 2.5 cups vinegar (5% acidity) 1 cup water 3 Tbls. canning salt 3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 6 fresh dill sprigs 3-6 garlic cloves, peeled 1. Wash beans and trim the stem ends. Trim both ends if you like uniformity, but the tail end is the tender end so you can leave it intact. I start by measuring one bean to 1 inch below jar height, and then cut them all to the same length so they pack well into the jar.

2. Pack the green beans into wide mouth pint jars and top each jar with 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, 2 dill sprigs and 1-2 garlic cloves. Be sure to leave just over 1/2 inch headspace.

3. Combine vinegar, water and canning salt and bring to a boil on the stove to make a hot brine. Pour the hot brine over the beans in jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

4. Seal the jars with new canning lids, tighten on bands, and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes adjusting for altitude.

5. Remove the jars from the canner and allow to stand at room temperature for a few hours until they’ve “popped” and completely sealed. Store any unsealed jars in the fridge and use immediately.

6. For sealed jars, remove the canning bands and store in the pantry at room temperature.

7. Enjoy.