I Can Can!

I refuse to believe it though the signs are there: summer is coming to an end. I've started seeing geese in V formation flying around, there are yellowing leaves on the lawn, kids are going back to school, and just yesterday, I saw the ultimate sign of fall beginning: a Starbucks advertisement for its Pumpkin Spice Latte. Noooooooooooo! I'm not ready!

One of the things I've become interested in as I've learned more about local eating is food preservation. During the bounty of harvest season, canning or preserving what you grow in the summer to eat during the winter months is an ideal way to get around the conundrum of how to keep your food miles low while eating more than cabbage. It also preserves the last vestiges of summer as the inevitable slide into fall begins. (Noooooooooooo!) I didn't grow up with any experience of canning but luckily, local homesteader Thom, who doth protest too much he's just a regular guy, graciously offered to give me a lesson on how to can fresh beans. We used the Romanos and scarlet runner beans he grew in the backyard as well as my measly harvest of green beans and those grown by my friend May's grandma in her backyard. I showed up on a sunny Friday afternoon and the whole process, from picking the beans in the backyard to cooling jars of beans on the counter took about 2 hours. Not bad for something that can last you all year.

In order to can, you will need the following:
1. About a dozen sterilized pickling/canning jars and lids with a rubber gasket to keep out the cootie action. Get jars that are about the size of whatever it is you are canning so you don't have to do a lot of trimming. We used 12 oz straight-sided jars with a twist on lid.
2. A processor, which is really a big metal pot deep enough to immerse the jars into. They usually come with an insert to hold jars upright as you heat them and are convenient for pulling out the really hot finished products. Thom used a bunch of ornamental pebbles at the bottom to disperse the bubbles made by the boiling water instead with the added bonus that he could fit more jars into the processor.
3. 1/2 tsp. of alum powder
4. 5 C white distilled vinegar.
5. 5 C water.
6. 1/2 C canning salt which is pure and has no added agents. Do not use regular salt because it contains iodine and an anti-caking agent which causes the flavor to be off when canning. In a pinch (pun intended), you can also use Kosher salt though it is less dense so you may need to add in a bit more.
7. Various seasonings, which traditionally include dill (Get the whole stalks of dill that are about 5 feet tall with the yellow flowers. They are gorgeous in the jars and make your house smell yummy to boot.) and garlic but can include whatever else the pickler's creativity leads him/her. In our case, we put about 1 clove of garlic and a dill flower and sprig of leaf per jar as well as about a 1/2 tsp black peppercorns, 1/3 tsp mustard seeds, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 a hot sweet pepper, and 1 tsp of salted black beans as the umami maker (more on that in a future post).
8. About 3 lbs of fresh beans for about a dozen jars. They can be all one type or a mix.

To get started, again, make sure that all the jars have been sterilized (putting them through the dishwasher is easiest. If they are new, run them through with just hot water. If used, clean with detergent and then run them through with just hot water again.) Put the lids with the rubber gaskets in some hot water and keep warm so the rubber remains soft. Do not boil.



Wash and trim your beans, chopping any too large to fit into the jars down to size. You want to have about a 1/2" head room in the jars so the beans should be a bit shorter than the jar. Be sure to remove all cats from the counter before you start or your jars may not be vegetarian (cat hair!). We lined up all the beans in the colander facing the same direction to make it easier to put in the jars, so Thom said, but I think it's really because of his OCD.


At this point, you want to make the pickle brine. It is usually 50/50 water and vinegar and in our case, we used 5 C of each and then added 1/2 a cup of canning salt. Add the allum powder at this point in order to preserve the crunchiness of the bean. Bring to a simmer and keep warm on the stove as you fill the jars.



Now is when the fun really begins. Begin by putting a dill flower and a sprig of leaf as well as a clove of garlic (bashed in to let the flavors out) in each jar. Add the peppercorns and mustard seeds and then tilt the jar and start stuffing the beans in. Put enough in so they fill the jar but are not overly crowded. Put the pepper in on the side as well as a bay leaf and then sprinkle the black beans on top. If you prefer more sweetness in your pickling, you can add in spices like allspice or cloves.



Once you've got your beans and spices in, you are ready to add the brine. Pour the brine from the stovetop into a measuring cup for easier pouring and then fill the jars up, leaving about a 1/2" head space in the jars. Then tighten on the warmed caps and deposit the jars into the processor and bring the water to a boil for about ten minutes.



After ten minutes, lift the jars out and set them on the counter to cool. The top of the lids will be convex and as they cool, will emit a popping sound and the lids will flatten out. The beans will be floating towards the top of the jar and have turned a different shade of green. As they marinate in the brine, they will begin to settle down in the jars. For optimal flavor, let them sit in their own juices for at least 2 weeks.



I can't wait to try them! These jars are definitely not going to last until winter but now that I know how straightforward canning can be, next summer I'm going to plant more beans with the hopes of being able to have at least one jar left by wintertime.