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Canning Carrots {How to Can Carrots}

posted August 10, 2019 by Sarah // 0 Comments »

Follow this step by step tutorial to learn how simple Canning Carrots can be. A key ingredient for so many comfort foods, once you know how to can, your favorite soups/stews, and roasts can be ready in a flash. Pressure canning carrots is so much easier than you would expect.

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Imagine how easy meals will be if you could open up a few jars and have a homemade soup or stew on the table in just minutes.

Pretty great right?

So many comfort foods like soups, stews, and roasts include delicious and flavorful carrots. By learning to can them yourself, you open up the opportunity for healthy and quick dinners.

Before we get started, I have to reinforce this point. You cannot safely can carrots in a water bath canner. Let me say it again for those in the back: you cannot safely can them in a water bath canner.

Carrots, like all low acid vegetables, must be preserved using a pressure canner. This is the pressure canner I have had for seven years and I love it.

Ways to Use Canned Carrots

Home-canned carrots are soft but not as mushy as the canned version you’ll find at the grocery store.

Quickly cook some organic grass-fed beef and potatoes in the Instant Pot (ala Whole30 Beef Stew) and add in the canned carrots when it is done cooking.

They would be amazing as carrot mash if you’re looking for a potato-free mash side or to use in a Simple Shepherd’s Pie.

Use them in soups like Carrot Soup With Garlicky Greens or as an ingredient in Carrot and Zucchini Fritters.

Canning Supplies for This Recipe

Check out this in-depth post for a complete list of canning supplies.

You’ll need:

Carrots tops removed and peeled
Pressure Canner
Large saucepan (I use my enameled dutch oven)
Canning funnel
Pint or quart canning jars (thrift stores are my favorite sources for these!)
New canning lids and clean rings
Jar lifter
Ball Blue Book of Home Preserving
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Vegetable peeler (this one is my favorite – I actually have two!)

Do You Have to Peel Carrots Before Canning?

Yes. I know, bummer because it is extra work. But the canning Jedis over at the National Center for Home Food Preservation stress that the carrots must be peeled. And so, I peel!

Root crops can harbor soil-borne microbes and peeling is an extra insurance policy to keep your food safe.

How to Prepare Carrots For Canning

You can totally can them in many different formats. For smaller carrots, you’re able to can them whole. You can also can them diced or in larger chunks which is how I prefer.

How Many Carrots Do You Need for Canning?

Overall you’ll need about 2.5 pounds (tops removed) per quart jar.

For seven quarts, you’ll need about 17.5 pounds. For nine pints, you’ll need 11 pounds. A US bushel is 50 pounds with tops removed and will net you 18-25 quarts.

RAW PACK FOR CANNING Carrots

Raw packing simply means placing the peeled and chopped (or whole) carrots in the jars without precooking them. You’ll then fill the jars with boiling water and process them in the canner.

Raw packing is much faster than a hot pack process, but there are some drawbacks. No matter how well you pack the jars, the density of the veggie will change during their time in the canner.

This often leads to something called “float” in which the vegetables will float to the top of the jar, leaving water on the bottom. You’ll also find this when you’re canning pears and canning peaches as well. There is nothing wrong with fruit float as long as your jars are still sealed.

HOT PACK FOR CANNING Carrots

Hot packing involves cooking them in boiling water for 5 minutes before packing them into jars for canning.

The benefits of hot packing are that you typically can fit more per jar, and the near elimination of float. The downside is that the veggies are exposed to heat longer which results in a slightly softer carrot.

How to Can Carrots

*A detailed and printable recipe card is available at the bottom of this post.

Wash and clean your jars. It is no longer necessary to sterilize jars before canning (hurray!) but you should make sure they are preheated enough to not crack when placed in hot water.

You can put them in a clean dishwasher and run them through a quick wash cycle, or place them in a large pan with some water in a low heat oven (my lowest temp is 170 degrees) until you need them. I’ve even just put hot tap water in them before and left them on the counter.

Wash your lids with hot soapy water and place them in a clean bowl for now.

Cut the tops off the carrots. Rinse and peel, and then rinse again.

If you are hot packing, add them to a pot of boiling water and let them cook for 5 minutes. If you are not hot packing, allow 8 (ish) cups of water to come to a boil in a pot or kettle.

Add 3 quarts of water to your pressure canner and put it on a burner set to high. Make sure there is a canning rack in the bottom of the canner.

Add the carrots to the jars. You really want to pack them in there. Pro tip: wiggle the jar often as you add them to allow them to settle and make room for more. Using a canning funnel, carefully and slowly add the boiling water, leaving 1-inch of headspace. Headspace is the distance between the top of the food and the top of the jar.

Using a long utensil (I prefer a plastic chopstick), remove all the air bubbles from the jar.

Clean the rim of the jar very well with a hot damp rag. Any food debris left on the rim may impact the seal of the lid in the canner.

Place a clean lid on the jar. Add a ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.

Using canning tongs, gently place the jars in the canner. Lock the lid. Soon, steam will start coming through the vent pipe (I call it the steam chimney). Allow the steam to pass through for about 10 minutes. Then put the pressure regulator (I call it the chimney cap) on top.

Pretty soon, the air vent will pop up. That is a sign that you’re starting to build pressure inside the canner (get excited. This is happening!). Under normal conditions, hot or raw packed carrots need to be pressure canned at 11 pounds of pressure for 25 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts. See chart below for any changes to processing times.

When the dial gauge reaches 11 pounds of pressure, reduce the burner temp to medium, and start your timer. The pressure must stay at 11 or (a little bit) above for the duration of the cooking time. You’ll likely need to adjust the temp on the burner a few times depending on your stove.

When the time is up, remove the canner from the burner and allow it to sit until you hear a distinctive “click” of the air vent dropping. Remove the pressure regulator and carefully remove the lid (Pro tip: I always use oven mitts when I take the lid off because the steam is super hot).

Let the jars sit for 5 minutes in the canner and then lift them out with canning tongs. Pro tip: allowing the jars to sit in the canner with the lid off can help reduce the siphoning of liquid in your jars.

Siphoning is when liquid seeps out from under the lids and reduces the overall amount of liquid in the jar. You can see it in action here:

If just a bit of siphoning has happened and your jars sealed, your item is still safe to eat but use your best judgment. I tend to quickly use any jar that has experienced siphoning simply because it can discolor the food at the top not covered in the liquid.

Place hot jars on a towel where they can sit undisturbed for 12 hours.

After a few hours, to check for sealing, gently press down in the middle of the lid. If the lid has no give, it’s sealed. If you can press the lid in and it pops a bit, your jars are not sealed.

How Long Do Canned Carrots Last?

If stored in a dark cool place, they will last for 12 months.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

You can add salt to each jar prior to canning it. Use pickling salt and add 1 tsp per quart. Personally, I find the unsalted version easier to use in recipes because it allows me to control the overall sodium.
Pressure canners can often leave white lines on lids and rings. It’s totally normal and safe. To prevent this, add 1/3 cup of white vinegar to the canner before processing.
If you don’t have enough jars to fill the canner, consider Canning Water in a few jars to stock your emergency drinking water supplies.

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