The other week, my friend, D, walked me through the pressure canner process with some beets I had. Even though I was still a little nervous, I decided to pressure can the whole lot of carrots (3/4 of a bushel).
Jamey scrubbed them as I diced, packed jars and manned the pressure canner. That pressure canner got more of my undivided attention than my children have in the last couple days. I was that nervous. Thankfully, there were no decapitations. I only had to call D once and that was because I wasn't patient enough. As I apologized for calling her on her cell, what I was afraid wasn't happening started to happen. The rest went smoothly. I think I like this pressure canner thing...minus the paranoia.
They came out of the pressure canner a brilliant yellow-orange. This is a good reminder that a lot of the nutrients are probably in the water, so I need to find ways to use it. I'll use these carrots as a side dish, warmed with melted butter, parsley and a little brown sugar. They will also be added to or pureed into soups.
I am really excited to have carrots on hand for this winter. Last winter, carrots and onions were the only vegetable I was buying from the store, only occasionally at that. We had run out of onions and hadn't grown enough carrots. I feel confident we have enough of both this year. Produce aisle, you will not be missed! Pin It
So how many quarts (wait, are those pints?) did 3/4 bushel make? Just wondering...
ReplyDelete7 quarts and 17 pints (three pressure canner batches). We had about a gallon and a half leftover that we are just eating and using from the fridge.
ReplyDeleteGood for you. I'm terrified of my pressure canner---I'm feeling the need to push myself past that fear barrier, but while I've been hemming and hawing around, that barrier has grown about as big as the Great Wall of China.
ReplyDelete-JJ
Here's to the fear of pressure canning! I agree with JJ...I've had one sitting in our basement ever since we got married (only 2 years ago) but I'm afraid to touch it. Doesn't help that it is filthy...cob-webby, a bit of rust, some stone dust. Yum. But your carrots look delicious!
ReplyDeleteNow, ladies.
ReplyDeleteDon't be afraid. Especially if you can have someone walk you through it the first time, it is not nearly as daunting as it may seem. Oh, and my neighbor's vegetable soup, pressure canned, is amaaaazing. I may be asking for a used pressure canner for Christmas. I surprise myself!:-)
do you ever freeze anything? I always just freeze carrots and other veggies, mainly cuz I'm scared of the pressure canner but also because it's so easy. Why can them?
ReplyDeleteZoe,
ReplyDeleteGood question! I do freeze a lot of veggies, but I have to can a lot because I don't have enough freezer space. You'll see what I mean in tomorrow's post:-).
Also, I would say that some veggies can better than freeze. It's just personal preference. Some things I save room for in the freezer- the rest gets canned.
ReplyDeleteIf you are aquiring a pressure canner (new or used) look for 1 with a weighted gauge. I have been pressure canning for many years. My canner has a gauge which tells how high the pressure is inside. It also has a weight that you put over the vent after you exhaust the air, sound familiar? You have to watch it and adjust the heat to keep the pressure where you want it during the processing time.
ReplyDeleteCanning has gotten much easier since I replaced the weight with a slightly different one. You can set this one @ 5, 10, or 15 pounds per. The weight rocks slightly and releases steam to keep the pressure inside @ a steady 10 pounds.
I can a lot of fish as my husband is a fisherman. Fish is processed @ 10 pounds for 90 minutes, so that is a long time to watch closely. This way I can do other things while it's processing.
I have had the same Presto canner for 40 years. The sealing gasket has been replaced, and now a new weight. The old one is still fine, but I probably won't use it again. The replacement was found on Amazon, very inexpensive.
I hope this helps, since I see pressure canners in thrift stores often, and the only thing wrong with them is that the weight (the only removeable ) part is missing.