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2 cups green beans, cut in 1-inch slices

1 cup salt

2 cups sugar

1 cup flour

¼ cup dry mustard

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

2 quarts cider or distilled white vinegar

Combine vegetables and sprinkle with salt. Cover with cold water and let stand overnight. Place over moderate heat and bring just to boiling point, then drain thoroughly. In an enameled or stainless steel kettle, stir the sugar, flour, mustard, and turmeric until well combined. Slowly stir in the vinegar and blend smoothly. Stir over moderate heat until smooth and thick. Add well-drained vegetables and bring just to boiling point: they should never be overcooked and mushy. Ladle hot into hot canning jars, allow ½ inch of headroom; adjust lids and process in a Boiling–Water Bath (212, F/100 C), 5 minutes for pints, 10 minutes for quarts. Remove jars; complete seals if using bailed jars.

• Adjustment for my altitude if B–W processing _________________.

Pickled Mushrooms in Oil

Four ½-pints

6 cups small button mushrooms

½ cup bottled lemon juice or 1¼ teaspoons citric acid powder

1 quart plus 1 cup water

1 cup distilled white vinegar (5 percent)

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon dried oregano

4 bay leaves

½ teaspoon dried sweet basil

2 cloves garlic

1½ cups olive oil, or ½ cup olive oil and 1 cup neutral-tasting

vegetable oil

As with all products that are pickled in oil, the main ingredient—in this case the mushrooms—must take up enough acid to become truly pickled before the oil is added to the mixture and the jar is capped. If the oil by mistake were added too early, it would inhibit the mushrooms’ ability to take up the acid that pickles them (this acquired acidity makes them safe to be canned).

In a stainless steel or enameled kettle bring to a boil ½ cup lemon juice OR 1¼ teaspoons of citric acid crystals in 4 cups water. Add mushrooms, return to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes; drain. In a crockery or stainless steel bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup water and the vinegar; add the precooked mushrooms; cover and let stand 12 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, mix the salt and the crumbled oregano, bay leaves, and basil in a small dish. In the bottom of each ½-pint jar, place ½ clove of garlic and ¼ of the salt/herb mixture. Pack mushrooms and their liquid into the jars leaving a good ¼ inch of headroom; pour oil over the mushrooms to cover using a plastic spatula to clear out any air bubbles. Wipe sealing rim, clean and dry. Put on prepared disc lid, turn band firmly tight; process in a Boiling–Water Bath at 112 F/100 C for 20 minutes. Remove jars; cool upright and naturally.

• Adjustment for my altitude _________________.

Dilly Green Beans

7 pint jars

4 pounds table-perfect whole green beans

1¾ teaspoons crushed dried hot red pepper

3½ teaspoons dried dill seed, or 7 fresh dill heads

7 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled

5 cups water

5 cups distilled white vinegar

½ cup less 1 tablespoon pickling salt

Wash beans thoroughly, remove stems and tips, and cut them as much as possible in uniform lengths to allow them to stand upright in 1-pint canning jars, coming to the shoulder of the jar. Have jars clean and very hot, and lids and sealers ready in scalding water. In each jar place 1 dill head or ½ teaspoon dill seed, add 1 garlic clove and ¼ teaspoon crushed hot red pepper. Pack beans upright in jars, leaving 1 inch of headroom. Heat together the water, vinegar, and salt; when the mixture boils, pour it over the beans, filling each jar to ½ inch from the top. Run a plastic knife down and around to remove trapped air, adjust lids, and process in a Boiling–Water Bath (212 F/ 100 C) for 5 minutes. Remove jars, complete seals if using bailed jars.

The beans are almost garden-crisp, but the high acidity of the vinegar allows this B–W Bath processing to be safe for a low-acid food.

If you substitute ground cayenne pepper for the crushed hot red pepper, halve the amount of cayenne: use only ⅛ teaspoon cayenne to each jar.

Wait at least two weeks for these beans to develop their flavor.