Dilled Snap Beans

2 pounds straight, tender, young green beans, tipped and cut into 4-inch lengths
4 garlic cloves, halved lengthwise
Eight 4-inch sprigs of fresh dill, washed and patted dry, or 4 teaspoons dill weed
1½ cups white (distilled) vinegar
1½ cups cider vinegar
1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons pickling salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, crushed

This will surely become everyone’s favorite low-cal cocktail food (each bean contains about one calorie).

Wash and rinse 4 one-pint preserving jars and their closures and submerge in a large kettle of boiling water.
Remove the jars from the boiling water one by one, pack snugly with the beans, then push two garlic halves and two dill sprigs or 1 teaspoon dill weed down into each jar.
While packing the jars, boil the two vinegars, water, sugar, pickling salt, and red pepper flakes uncovered in a large nonreactive saucepan over moderate heat for 5 minutes. Keep hot.
When all the jars have been packed, ladle enough of the hot pickling liquid into each to cover the beans and come to within ¼ inch of the top. Run a thin-blade spatula around the inside of each jar to release air bubbles; wipe the rim with a clean, damp cloth, then screw on the closure.
Process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath (212° F.). Lift from the water bath; complete the seals, if necessary, by tightening the lids, then cool to room temperature.
Date and label each jar, then store on a cool, dark shelf for about a month before serving.