Canned Carrots Recipe
Follow this step-by-step tutorial to learn how simple canning carrots can be. A key ingredient for so many comfort foods, now your favorite soups/stews, and roasts can be ready in a flash, thanks to a stash of home-canned carrots.
Servings: 7 quarts
Equipment
Ingredients
- 18 lbs carrots
- 8 cups water {+ more for the canner}
Instructions
- Wash and sanitize your jars. You’ll want to keep them warm to avoid having them crack when placed in the canner. You can fill them with hot water, or place them on a tray in the oven at 170˚F.
- Wash your lids and set aside in clean place.
- Cut the tops off the carrots. Rinse and peel, and then rinse again.18 lbs carrots
- HOT PACK: If you are hot packing your carrots, add them to a pot of boiling water and let them cook for 5 minutes.
- RAW PACK: If you are raw packing, allow 8 (ish) cups of water to come to a boil in a pot or kettle.8 cups water
- 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.
- Using a canning funnel, add the carrots to the jars. You really want to pack them in there. Pro tip: wiggle the jar often as you add the carrots to allow them to settle and make room for more.
- Carefully and slowly add the clean 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.
- 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. Allow the steam to pass through for about 10 minutes. Then put the pressure regulator on top.
- Pretty soon, the air vent will pop up.
- In a dial-gauge pressure canner, process pints and quarts based on the elevation guide below (see processing chart in post for additional altitude adjustments):*0-2,000f ft {PSI: 11 lbs of pressure} = Pints 25 min, Quarts 30 min*2,001-4,000k ft {PSI: 12 lbs of pressure} = Pints 25 min, Quarts 30 min*4,001-6,000k ft {PSI 13 lbs of pressure} = Pints 25 min, Quarts 30 min*6,001-8,000k {PSI 14 lbs of pressure} = Pints 25 min, Quarts 30 min
- When the dial gauge reaches the appropriate PSI, reduce the burner temp to medium, and start your timer. The pressure must stay at the PSI 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 of the canner (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 with the canner lid off and then lift them out with canning tongs. Pro tip: allowing the jars to sit in the canner with the (canner) lid off can help reduce the siphoning of liquid in your jars.
- Remove with canning tongs and place 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.
Notes
- You can add salt if you'd like to:
- Quarts: Salt (optional) 1 tsp
- Pints: Salt (optional) 1/2 tsp
- 17 1/2 lbs carrots per 7 quarts, or 11 lbs carrots per 9 pints.
- Once the jars have sealed, remove the rings. Label and store sealed jars in a cool (best results are 50-70˚F) dark place for up to 12-18 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 25kcal