Dilly Beans

These are spicy pickled beans. A fun way to use some of your beans from the garden.

Dilly Beans
Yield: about 4 pints or 2 quarts
2 pounds green beans
1/4 c. canning salt
2 1/2 c. vinegar
2 1/2 c. water
1 tsp. cayenne pepper, divided
4 cloves garlic
4 heads dill

Trim ends off green beans. Combine salt, vinegar, and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Pack beans lengthwise into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Add 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1 clove garlic, and 1 head dill to each pint jar. (Double the amounts for each jar if using quart size.) Ladel hot liquid over beans, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust 2-piece caps. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. (Adding time for higher elevation. Where I live is about 4,000 some feet so I add 10 minutes, for a total of 20 minutes. Here's a handy dandy chart to reference.)
Turn burner off and remove canner lid. Let jars rest in water for 5 minutes, remove and cool.

From the Ball Blue Book of Preserving