Donald Siems acquired the snipple bean cutter from Arthur Rietforts between 1968 and 1972. Arthur told Donald that his mother brought it from Germany. Arthur's father's name was George F.E. Rietforts. George died 17 September 1941 in Waseca County and Arthur died 26 September 1972 in Waseca County. Snipple beans are sometimes referred to as "Stink Beans" because to the novice they smell kind of stinky, like sauerkraut, when they are cooking. Use pole beans, wash the beans and break off the ends and string them. Then run the beans through the hand cranked snippling machine which will cut them very much like French Sliced Green Beans in a can. After they are all cut, place them in a big crock in layers. Thick layer of beans, covering of kosher salt, layer of beans, salt, etc. Let them sit for about an hour, then work them with your hands to get the extra salty juice off them. Spoon off excess liquid and discard. Place in stone crock or mason jars and pack them in tightly using a long wooden masher. Leave about two inches space at the top of the jar. Put the lids on the jars or cover the crock with a towel and a thin board and something heavy on top. Do not tighten the lids all the way. In a couple of weeks, take lids or board off, skim off any scum that formed and replace lids, only tighten them this time. Let sit for at least 6 weeks. To cook the beans: one pound bag of dried Navy beans, one quart mason jar of snippled beans and one large pork roast. Clean and soak Navy beans per package directions, rinse navy beans and place in large pot. Rinse snipple beans in a colander just to remove any excess salt. Cut pork roast in large chunks. Place navy beans, snipple beans and pork roast pieces in pot and cover with water to about as deep as you would if you were just cooking regular dried beans. Bring to boil, lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for hours until all beans are tender and pork is cooked completely through. Leave any fat on the pork when you cook it as it will help flavor the beans. Pioneer. Immigration.
