Dilly Beans

From the garden

• 2 lb green beans, stem ends trimmed, cut to fit the jars
• 4 sprigs fresh dill heads or sprigs
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled

From the pantry

• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2½ cups distilled white vinegar (5%) · full strength is what makes low-acid beans safe to water-bath; never dilute below this tested ratio
• ¼ cup canning or pickling salt

1. Wash 4 pint jars and keep them hot in the water-bath canner while it heats; wash the lids and bands.
2. Trim the beans to about ¾ inch shorter than the jars so they'll sit fully below the brine.
3. Bring the vinegar, 2½ cups water, and the canning salt to a rolling boil.
4. Into each hot jar put 1 garlic clove, a dill head or sprig, and ¼ teaspoon pepper flakes, then pack the raw beans standing upright, tight enough that they hold each other in place. Pour in boiling brine leaving ½ inch headspace, release air bubbles with a thin spatula, wipe the rims, and screw the bands on fingertip-tight.
5. Process in boiling water covering the jars by 1 inch for 10 minutes. Altitude adjustment: at 1,001–6,000 ft process 15 minutes; above 6,000 ft, 20 minutes.
6. Set the jars on a towel and cool undisturbed 12–24 hours; check that the lids don't flex and refrigerate any jar that didn't seal. Wait at least 2 weeks: the beans need that long to turn from vinegary to properly dilly.