Last night I dreamed I was snapping and canning green beans. That is probably because in the past two weeks, I have processed over 150 jars of beans. All of my children and most of the grandchildren helped in the picking and snapping of these beans. My husband deserves the credit, though, because he planted, tilled, and fertilized the beans to create this bountiful harvest.
Our favorite variety is called Jade, because they do not get tough like some varieties. Here is how they looked in the garden:
In the picture below, my canner has almost reached the correct setting of 10 pounds of pressure to begin processing for 25 minutes. More jars are being prepared to go in next:
We also like to make a few dill beans. They are a family favorite, and go over well at carry-in dinners. We use Mrs. Wage's Dill Pickle mix and add a sprig of fresh dill from my herb garden.
Canning green beans is hot work during the picking, time consuming during the snapping (although I admit I was able to watch House Hunters International and the Anne of Green Gables mini-series guilt-free while working), and it takes nerves of steel to operate the pressure canner.
The result is a product that I know is high quality. I know these beans were grown in dirt that we own. I know whose hands planted, snapped, and washed the beans and packed them into the jars. I enjoyed the comradeship and sharing with my family that went on during the process. It was a bountiful harvest in more ways than one.
Oh Judy, your pressure cooker looks just like the one my grandma used when she canned green beans. I love em but I've never ever used a pressure cooker in my life. My grandma loved to have a big garden and keep count of how many quarts of green beans or whatever she was canning up at the time. I sometimes think it's a lost art and I really wish I had a garden to can some stuff. Keep up the good work and the good news on here!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cindy!
ReplyDeleteI just LOVE reading your posts, Mrs. H! Ones like this remind me of hot summers when I was younger when my mom would can beans and freeze home grown sweet corn. I remember the old kitchen at mom and dad's and the big tubs of corn and the back of dad's S-10 pickup full of corn waiting to be "shucked." And mostly, I remember the hours of fun I had with Nanny while she would cut the corn off and tell stories of her childhood growing up on farms we still maintain today and waiting on the milk man and the joys of getting a piece of ice from the truck that delivered the milk... So many memories!!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you got it that I was talking about preserving memories along with the produce!
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