Appetites: Beth Dooley's tips for pickling produce from your bursting summer garden

It seems to be the year of the pickle at the Minnesota State Fair. On offer are pickle fudge, pickle lemonade and more — much to the dismay of some. But with summer gardens bursting, there’s no arguing that it’s the time of year for pickling.

Award-winning cookbook author Beth Dooley recently joined Appetites to share some fresh ideas for pickling, including a her Quick Pickled Green Beans (recipe below) that she recommends using as a stir stick for Bloody Marys.

To hear them all, click play on the audio player above.

Quick Pickled Green Beans

Use this simple, easy method for any crisp vegetable – carrots, broccoli, turnips, etc.  Here, Romanesco adds a pretty touch of green to the mix. This will keep for up to a month in a covered jar in the refrigerator.

2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1½ pounds total)

1 cinnamon stick

1 jalapeño pepper, cut in half, seeded and deveined

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

½ cup rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup water

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

Put the beans, cinnamon, jalapeño and peppercorns into a large-mouth, pint-sized jar or a glass dish with a cover. In a small pot, stir together the vinegar, honey, water and salt and set over medium heat.

Stir until the salt is dissolved. Pour this over the vegetables and spices. Cover and allow to cool before storing in the refrigerator. Let this sit in the refrigerator so the flavors have a chance to marry for at least a day before using, shaking the jar from time to time.

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