Garden Harvest in a Pickle Jar

Garden goods pushed into a pickle jar

Early Saturday morning I cleared out my humble 36" by 30" nugget of garden with my plot partner to prepare for cool weather crops. Because of square foot gardening and the neighborhood greenthumb I've taken home a remarkable amount of food. Not quite enough to feed myself every day, but more than I need on top of my CSA. I took home an armful of what was left in the ground about 1/2 lb beans, a few hot cherry peppers, some stalks of potent basil, and celery greens. Rather than chop it raw for a salad or cook my harvest, I decided to pickle everything together to savor the garden freshens. What grows together, goes together and makes for an outrageous crisp raw pickle. I plan to use my pickled beans in bloody marys, but they would be nice as finger food along with cured meats or cheese plate. Also try chopping the beans and serving them on top of salads.

Last of the summer veggies right out of the ground

Garden Jar Pickled Beans

2 1/3 cups water
2 tblsp salt
1 1/2 tblsp sugar
2 1/2 tblsp white wine vinegar
2 peeled garlic cloves, smashed
1 hot pepper, quartered
1 inch lemon zest
1 handful garden herbs
1/2 lb string beans

I did a variation of this pickled bean earlier in the year. I made the mistake of boiling beans with the liquid. The beans became mushy when I was after a crunchy pickle. I suggest boiling the water, salt, vinegar and sugar in a sauce pan and pouring into a clean mason jar on top of the garlic cloves, hot pepper, lemon zest, and herbs. The hot water will dissolve the salt and sugar while bringing out the flavor in the herbs.

Inside the world of a pickle jar

Cool the jar until no longer steaming, 20-30 minutes, and add the beans. Screw lid on, and shake vigorously. Let sit for 2-4 days until beans have a zesty tang. I like to sample part of a bean every day to see how the flavors are developing. Store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.