Canned Dilly Beans (pickled green beans)

Every year for Christmas my grandma in Washington sends us grand kids a jar of homemade jam, and a jar of dilly beans (along with other homemade gifts). Her dilly beans (pickled green beans) are so yummy. In fact,  I'd say they are the best!  It's a recipe I debated whether or not to share, because as it is my grandmothers recipe, it is special to me and I wanted to be selfish with it. The more I thought about it, I decided maybe someone else will be able to make it special, a recipe they can hand down to their kids and grand kids. It's pretty simple, but Oh. So. Good.

I hope you enjoy it.

Gramma Annie's Dilly Beans
yield: 8 pints

Ingredients
4-5 lbs fresh green beans
12-16 heads of fresh dill (2 per jar)
1-2 clovers Garlic (per jar)
4 cups Apple Cider Vinegar (5% acidity)
4 cups water
1/2 cup pickling salt
1 tsp hot red pepper flakes  (1-2 flakes per jar)

Directions
1) Wash and trim ends from the green beans and cut them into 4 inch length.
2) In a 3-4 quart saucepan, combine vinegar water and salt. Bring it to a boil.
3) Meanwhile, take your sanitized hot jars and place 1-2 sprigs of dill, 1 garlic clove and your 1-2 red pepper flakes into each jar.
4) Pack beans in jars, firmly.
5) Pour hot vinegar (brine) into each jar, leaving 1/2 inch  of headspace.
6) Carefully run a non-metallic utensil down the sides of the jars to remove trapped air bubbles.Wipe the jar tops clean and place hot lids on them. Screw the lids and bands on them and place in water bath.
7) Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.