Creative Cooking Tips - Canning Vegetables

Cooking Tips
Home Canning
Vegetables

Procedures for Preserving Vegetables

Read recipes all the way through. Make sure equipment and ingredients necessary are available.
Read instruction booklet that accompanies steam-pressure processor.
Check jars for nicks, cracks, and chips on sealing edge. Discard jars that are not perfect. Wash jars and lids in hot suds. Rinse jars well and leave in hot water until needed. Boil lids five minutes. Remove from hot water one at a time as needed.
Sort produce for size. Don't preserve vegetables showing signs of spoilage.
Wash vegetables well before peeling or cutting. Use a vegetable brush to remove soil.
Estimate the number of jars the processor can accommodate at one time. Prepare sufficient food for one processing only. Don't soak vegetables in water before bottling or valuable minerals and vitamins may be lost.
Place vegetables in a kettle and cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil, cover, and boil for the time recommended in the recipe.
To prevent hot, empty jars from cracking, place on a dry cloth or wooden board.
Work as quickly as possible when packing vegetables into jars.
Fill jars, one at a time, with vegetables. Add salt and cover with boiling cooking liquid or with boiling water. Remember to leave the recommended headspace.
When jars are filled, work out air bubbles by running the blade of a clean knife inside the jar between food and jar.
Seal each jar with a sterilized lid and screw band as it is filled.
Place filled, sealed jars in steam-pressure processor. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for use of processor. Process at the pressure given in the recipe for the recommended length of time.
After processing, follow instructions for opening processor. Remove jars from processor and place on a wire rack or folded cloth. To prevent cracking, don't place hot jars on cold or wet surfaces. Keep jars out of drafts while cooking.
Adjust lids according to manufacturer's instructions.
When cold, test for seal.
If jar has failed to seal, food my be repacked, boiling hot, in clean, hot jars, sealed with a new lid, and reprocessed according to directions in original recipe.
Never allow more than 24 hours to elapse before reprocessing. However, as reprocessing can result in badly overcooked food, you may prefer to refrigerate and use as soon as possible.
Wipe jars. Label, indicating contents and date packed.
Store in a cool, dark, dry place.

Preparing & Packing Chart

Recipe Table for Steam-Pressure Processed Vegetables processed at 10 pounds pressure.

Processing times given are for foods processed at altitudes less than 1,000 feet above sea level. See Canning Altitude Chart for additional processing time required at higher altitudes.

		Processing Time
Vegetable	Preparing & Packing	Pint Jars	Quart Jars

Asparagus		30 min.	35 min.
Wash, break off tough ends of stalks. Remove scales if necessary to wash away sand. Cut into lengths to fit containers and still provide required 1/2" headspace. Tie in uniform bundles. Stand upright in sufficient boiling water to cover half the stalks. Cover, bring to a boil, and boil 3 minutes. Pack hot, tips up, (a few stalks inverted in center will help keep stalks upright). Add salt. Cover with cooking liquid leaving 1/2" headspace. Seal and process.
Beans - Green or Wax		30 min.	35 min.
Wash young tender beans. Trim ends and remove strings if necessary Leave whole or cut in pieces. Cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil and boil, covered, 3 minutes. Pack hot, leaving 1/2" headspace. Add salt. Cover with hot cooking liquid leaving 1/2" headspace. Seal & Process.
Beets		30 min.	35 min.
Wash young beets. Leave on roots and 2 inches of stem to prevent bleeding. Cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil and boil, covered, until skins slip off easily, about 25 minutes. Remove skins, stems and roots. Pack hot, leaving 1/2" headspace. Add salt. Cover with boiling water, leaving 1/2" headspace. Seal & Process.
Carrots		30 min.	35 min.
Wash and scrape tender young carrots. Cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil and boil, covered, 5 minutes. Pack hot in upright position alternating stem and root ends. Leave 1/2" headspace. Add salt. Cover with boiling water, leaving 1/2" headspace. Seal & Process.
Corn, Whole-Kernel		60 min.	70 min.
Wash ears. Cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil and boil, covered, 4 minutes. Dip into cold water. Cut whole kernels from cobs. Cover with boiling water, using half as much water as corn. Bring to a boil. Pack hot, very loosely, leaving 1" headspace. Add salt. Seal & Process.
Corn, Cream-Style		75 min.	Not recommended
Wash ears. Slice thin layer from kernels off cob. Next, slice remainder of kernels from cob and finally scrape cob to remove cream or juice. Cover with boiling water, using half as much water as corn. Bring to boil, stirring to prevent scorching. Pack hot, very loosely, leaving 1" headspace. Add salt. Seal and process.
Greens - Spinach, Chard, Beet Tops		50 min.	60 min.
Wash thoroughly. Cook, covered, in very little water until completed wilted, about 5 to 8 minutes. Turn several times during cooking. Pack hot, very loosely, leaving 1/2" headspace. Cut greens crosswise to bottom of container with a sharp clean knife. Add salt. Cover with boiling water, leaving 1/2" headspace. Seal & Process.
Mushrooms
Do not home process mushrooms.
Peas		40 min.	45 min.
Shell and wash young tender peas. Cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil and boil, covered, 1 minute. Pack hot, very loosely, leaving 1" headspace. Add salt. Cover with hot cooking liquid, leaving 1" headspace. Seal & Process.
Pumpkins, Winter Squash		70 min.	80 min.
Cut or break apart. Remove seeds and stringy fibers. Cut into pieces. Steam, bake or boil in small amount of water, until tender. Scrape meat from skins and mash or put through a sieve. Bring to a boil, adding a little water, if necessary, to prevent scorching. Pack hot, leaving 1/2" headspace. Seal & Process.

[ Cooking Tips | Back to Top | Creative Cooking ]