Bean There, Done That

• Small, underripe cucumbers are the canonical vegetable for making dill pickles, but they're variable enough that the finished pickles can be maddeningly inconsistent in texture and quality. Green beans are an appealing alternative, because they're sturdier than cucumbers. They'll retain their crunch and crisp texture much more reliably, and the slender pickles make an elegant alternative at the table. Properly prepared pickled green beans will retain their flavor and quality for up to a year in a cool, dark pantry, and become a durable refrigerator staple once they're opened.

Refrigerating Your Pickles

• Commercially produced pickled green beans are scarcer than cucumber pickles, but not especially difficult to find. They'll usually last at least six months in your refrigerator after opening, and can retain their quality for up to a year if you're careful to only use clean utensils to extract pickles from the jar. Home-canned beans can be more variable. The quality of your beans, the reliability of your recipe and the acid content of your vinegar all play a role in determining their lifespan. Ideally, home-canned beans should provide a safe and flavorful snack for up to six months, but they'll require a little more vigilance than their commercial counterparts.

A Careful Inspection

• Before you even open your jar of pickles, give it a good look. The lid should be visibly indented in the middle, indicating a good seal. It should open reluctantly and with a distinct popping noise, showing that it's still vacuum sealed. If the lid is no longer indented, if air escapes with a hiss, or if the contents are visibly bubbling, that means the seal didn't hold and the beans are spoiled or fermenting. Discard those pickles, and inspect the jars carefully for flaws at the rim that might have prevented a good seal. As long as you don't see any of those danger signs, they're safe to use. Eat the beans freely until their flavor or texture begins to fade.

Avoiding Contamination

• Once the jars are opened, the most important factor in their life expectancy is your own food-handling habits. If you reach into the jar with your fingers, or with a fork you've already used for food, you'll introduce bacteria and mold spores into the jar and the pickling solution. The acidity of the pickle juice provides a measure of protection, but eventually fermentation and spoilage microorganisms can establish a colony in your pickles. If you see a raft forming and growing at the surface of the pickle juice, that's a strong indicator that it's time to discard them and open a fresh jar.