Are my dilly beans safe?

9 years ago

Hello! I'm relatively new to canning, today I made 36 pints of dilly beans using a family recipe. I'm now concerned that that water to vinegar ratio may have been too low...

The recipe I used calls for 1 cup white vinegar to 3 cups water and 2 tablespoons salt.

I've made a lot of these before, but they'd never lasted very long (and lately I've not even processed them I just store them in the fridge, they're eaten quickly).

So, I just finished 36 jars and processed in a BWB for 10 minutes as per the recipe.

Are these shelf safe? If not what options do I have? Can I reprocess in a pressure canner? Store In the fridge? Open them and add vinegar then reprocess?

It was A LOT of work to just throw them out....

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

2ajsmama
9 years ago
Did you just process them yesterday? If within 24 hours, yes, you can open them and reprocess. They will be softer.

You can PC them but still need to open them, warm the jars, and pour boiling water over the beans. Do you have a PC and are you experienced? Beans aren't something to learn on.

It would be better to open them (again, only if you processed them less than 24 hours ago), drain them, dump the beans into a big pot, wash and warm the jars, pack the beans into as many jars fit into your BWB, heat a mixture of half (5%) vinegar and half water plus any dried spices you may need (depends on if any are still sticking to the beans), I wouldn't add more salt or fresh herbs/garlic, then process for 10 minutes in BWB.

For future reference, here is NCHFP recipe - if you don't sterilize the jars, process for 10 minutes instead. There is a good recipe in Small Batch Preserving, and more in The Joy of Pickling.

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP Dilly Beans
shellbellfnp
Original Author
9 years ago
I have used the PC for a few other recipes, never done green beans though. It's only been about 12 hours since I did them. I just popped the lids and moved to the refidgerator. We will eat them I'm the next couple weeks out of the fridge, better safe than sorry. Hopefully I can get my hands on another bushel of beans for the winter and use the nchfp recipe!

Thanks for your help!
Related Discussions
Favorite dilly beans recipe?
Q
Comments (27)
I made 1 jar with a habernaro for my Husband. I ended up eating it, cause it was too hot for him. I use the same recipe with some changes in the amout of pepper, garlic and dill to make all my pickles. Our favorite is a mixed pickle. That is just what ever there is from the garden that day. I use the recipe at the beggining and end of the season when there is too much for dinner and not enough for serious canning. Small chunks of summer squash do esspecially well in the mix. With our favorite being patty pan squash.
...See More
Kohlrabi pickles--Dilly bean style?
Q
Comments (3)
Greenmulberry, Generally you cannot assume that a pickle recipe for one vegetable is acidified enough for a different vegetable. For example, my idea to do half beans and half garlic in a dilly bean brine turned out to be a bad one, because pickled garlic requires a higher proportion of vinegar than dilly beans do. You might be able to use it in a broccoli or cauliflower pickle recipe, or in straight vinegar, but personally I would email Elizabeth Andress at the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Carol often recommends this option and says that she is very responsive to questions. Let us know what she says. In the meantime, there are two refrigerator pickle recipes for kohlrabi in The Joy of Pickling, which I now own thanks to Smokey98042! One is pickled in miso and the other in vinegar, but neither is recommended for processing for pantry storage. Let me know if you'd like me to post these. If you search this forum for kohlrabi, you will find a recipe for kohlrabi pickle chips posted by Daisyduckworth. You might be interested in that...I usually try to find the original source of a recipe before I make it, just in case. Melissa Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP contact info
...See More
Dilly Beans, Can I eat them now.
Q
Comments (27)
Dilly beans are really strong dill when you use a Mrs. Wages dill pickle mix instead of just plain pickling salt, and you add the extra dill weed and fresh dill seed heads. I like mine really dill flavored, and with the pickle mix alone, its quite good. To dry dill weed, its best to use a dehydrator. The quicker it dries, the more color and flavor is retained. Once the dill weed is dry, it crumbles in your hands very easily. As mentioned, I store mine in canning jars and use the Food Saver jar attachment to pull a vacuum on the jar. This really helps keep the dill flavor and color. Mine is 2 years old now and is still bright green and has that distict dill taste. When my mom made potato salad, she would add some dill pickles chopped up, and also celery and onions. Most of the time she found it lacking something. That 'something' was dry mustard powder. A little added to the mayo and potato salad makes it really flavorful.
...See More
Pickled Dilly Beans
Q
Comments (6)
A "bunch" sold here at farm stands runs about $2.99 and tends to be roughly 10-12 large heads of dill plus a few immature ones. They are pulled up by the roots and bundled together. Most often found standing in a tub of water. I agree that it is a matter of taste. I love dill so need a minimum of one large head or 2-3 smaller ones per quart jar. I noticed the recipe you posted doesn't list an amount for the water. It is included in the instructions, but not the ingredient list. Hopefully, it is equivalent to the vinegar amount OR LESS for a 50/50 ratio. The recipe also just says to refrigerate, so I'm assuming it isn't to be processed for long term shelf storage? Just stored in the fridge? Deanna
...See More
2ajsmama
9 years ago
Wow, you have room in your fridge for 36 jars? I was going to suggest finding family members to take some.

My fridge is stuffed with fresh beans right now, I've been blanching and freezing for days. I guess I should clear off some shelves in the little upright freezer (where I've been putting the bags of frozen beans) so I can fit 2 more cookie sheets, it will go 3x as fast.

I have to count how many pints of pickled beans I've made already this year - at least 10. Plus relish. Lots more beans and zukes than cukes this year. Though I should make more relish - I've got cukes that have been sitting in the fridge a few days. Ones I picked yesterday should go in a fermenting bucket today - or I could make quick pickles but I have quite a few jars from past years in the basement.

Where do you live? I'll sell you some beans!
shellbellfnp
Original Author
9 years ago
Luckily we have a second fridge in the garage, but friends and family are always willing to take dilly beans off my hands... My nieces can't get enough of them. I have made close to thirty jars in small batches throughout the summer and they don't last long enough to even bother processing, I just put them right into the fridge and after a few days they disappear. I was hoping these would be our winter supply, but safety first!

I'm in northern West Virginia, I think the bean season is winding down here unfortunately.
2ajsmama
9 years ago
Up in the mountains? Maybe so. I think we'll be lucky to get another month here, we're expecting some cool nights starting next week, even though most of this week is going to be near 90 as a high. Very unusual - the past few weeks have been the highest sustained temps we've had all summer, though broken up enough that we can't call it a heat wave.

Are my dilly beans safe?

Comments (5)

2ajsmama

shellbellfnp
Original Author

Related Discussions

2ajsmama

shellbellfnp
Original Author

2ajsmama

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Are my dilly beans safe?

Comments (5)

2ajsmama

shellbellfnpOriginal Author

Related Discussions

2ajsmama

shellbellfnpOriginal Author

2ajsmama

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

shellbellfnp
Original Author

shellbellfnp
Original Author