Triple The Fun With Dilly Green Beans

Once upon a time I had a brilliant idea.

Excited by the colors of a bounty of Blue Lake green beans, Royal Burgundy (purple) green beans and Golden Wax beans, my mind wandered to Mardi Gras.....

These colors were similar to the colorful jester hats, masks, beads, feathers, fleur de lis and King cakes that are everywhere in New Orleans, where my middle son lives. 

I had high hopes for this triple treat, but alas once I processed the jars in a boiling water bath the purple beans turned green and the yellow turned a bit darker, and I basically had Dilly GREEN AND GREEN'ISH Beans, which considering how delicious they were, wasn't such a bad problem to have after all. 

If you want to make my fabulous Dilly Green Beans, here's my printable recipe. 

If you want to know why the purple beans turned green...keep reading:
 
When it comes to purple beans, however, heat plays a role when you cook them. Boiling, baking or sauteing at high temperatures causes the anthocyanins to deteriorate. The heat breaks down the plant cells, diluting the acidity of the cell sap as the pigments are dispersed in a more neutral solution (water). What’s left behind is green chlorophyll, which was always present in the beans but masked by the plant’s anthocyanins. So, your purple beans end up as green beans.

Read more: http://www.gardenbetty.com/2013/07/why-do-purple-beans-turn-green-after-cooking/#ixzz2baTpOMa2