MNN - Mother Nature Network

Marisa McClellan, author of the new cookbook “Food in Jars,” says that anyone who has never canned or preserved food before might want to start with pickling foods like dilly beans or okra. “They are incredibly easy to make,” says Marisa, and “can take as little as 45 minutes to make a batch of pickles from start to finish, and that includes the clean-up time.”

• 3 cups/720 ml apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons pickling salt
• 4 lemon slices
• 4 tablespoons Mixed Pickling Spice, divided (You can buy ready-made pickling spice. Marisa gives directions for her personal mix in the cookbook.)
• 2 pounds/910 g okra, washed and trimmed
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled

1. Prepare a boiling water bath and 4 regular-mouth 1-pint/500 ml jars. Place the lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer over very low heat.
2. Combine the vinegar, 3 cups/720 ml water, and pickling salt in a pot and bring the brine to a boil.
3. Meanwhile, put a lemon slice and 1 tablespoon pickling spice in the bottom of each sterilized jar. Then pack the okra in, first laying them in so that the points are up. Then insert another layer with the points down, so that they interlock. Nestle 1 garlic clove among the okra in each jar.
4. Slowly pour the hot brine over the okra in each jar, leaving 1/2 inch/12 mm headspace.  Gently tap the jars on a towel-lined countertop to help loosen any bubbles before using a wooden chopstick to dislodge any remaining bubbles. Check the headspace again and add more brine if necessary.
5. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
6. Let these pickles cure for at least 1 week before eating.