If you follow my Instagram, you may have noticed I’ve been canning (insert Portlandia reference here… it’s so true, ha) and have even joined the Portland Preservation Society. It’s a group of people that WANT to know where their food comes from. My pickled carrots: from my garden and pickled by me.
Canning has been quite an adventure. Have you wanted to try it? I’ve enjoyed it and can’t stop! Pickling is DEFINitely a great way to start. It’s super simple… and pickles are delicious! This recipe I used (adapted from Serious eats) is a great one to try as your first canning. The water bath canning instructions are at the end of the directions. A couple of notes that I find are important for starting canning:
– If you are using old jars to can with, make sure they are specifically for canning and have no chips on the rim. There will not be a proper seal with a chip.
– Only use new lids. You can use old bands, but all the lids should be new. The old lids will not create a proper seal and the food will probably spoil.
– Vegetables cannot be pickled using the water bath method… without some sort of acidity. That’s why pickling is awesome! Pickle all the veggies! Hee.
– Most fruit should have enough acidity to can with the water bath method.
– I recommend checking out the Ball site if you have any questions.
Spicy Pickled Carrots Canned
- 1 1/2 pounds carrots, trimmed to fit your jars
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon pickling salt
- 1 teaspoon dill seed
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 clove of garlic for each jar
Directions (adapted from Serious Eats):
1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil in which to blanch the carrots.
2. Prepare 1 pint and a half jar, or 2 12-ounce jelly jars. Place lid(s) in a small pot of water and bring to the barest bubble to soften sealing compound.
3. Peel carrots and trim to fit jars. Cut into thin sticks.
4. When the water comes to a boil, drop in the carrots and cook for either 90 seconds if you plan on canning your pickles, or 3 minutes if you’re making them as refrigerator pickles.
5. When time is up, remove carrots from water and run under cold water to stop cooking.
6. Combine vinegar, water and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
7. Place spices and a garlic clove into the bottom of each jar.
8. Pack carrots sticks upright in jar(s).
9. Pour the boiling brine over the carrots, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
10. Tap jar(s) gentle to remove air bubbles.
11. Wipe the rims and apply the lids and rings.
12. If you’re canning the pickles, process them for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.
13. When time is up, remove jar(s) from canner and let cool.
14. Sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to one year. Refrigerator pickles should be placed in the fridge as soon as the jars are cool.
15. Let pickles rest in pickling liquid for at least 48 hours before eating.
– Chelsey
Tags: canning, carrots, pickled
Categories: food, paper mama farm, Snacks and Appetizers
These were okay but I do feel like this needs more vinegar! A 1:1 ratio of water to vinegar does not make it acidic enough at all, and I don't have a particularly high tolerance to acidity. Most vegetables that I've pickled taste best with a ratio of roughly 1:2, water: vinegar.
I definitely like a little more vinegar, too. 🙂
Pressure canning is not needed when you are pickling things. The vinegar gives enough acid to make the regular processing safe. Tomatoes can go either way. Most have enough acid to process with a basic canner but some tomatoes need to be pressure canned because they have low acid content, check what kind of tomatoes you have on the internet and you should be able to find out how you would need to process. I can Roma's and Celebrities and never use a pressure canner for either type of tomato. Pressure canning is needed when canning low or no acid fruits and vegetables and meats.
My boyfriend and I are getting into canning this year – and yes, we're just outside Portland. 🙂 Glad to perpetuate the stereotype!
Ha ha! Oooooh, Portland. I'm glad you are getting into canning! It's so fun.
this is exciting for me.
Word.
this sounds so yummy! might have to try it!! pressure canning is easy! my husband fishes a lot & last year caught SO much albacore tuna. more than we can ever eat. so we froze some & then canned tuna with the rest. meat has to be cooked in the jars & so we had to use a pressure cooker. surprisingly it was easy & now we never have to buy canned tuna again! yum!!
I definitely need to try this.
Eeek! This makes me so excited. We just move to a farm, so canning is on my list of to-dos! What pressure canner do you have??
I don't have a pressure canner…. I've only tried water bath canning. Pressure canning is on my to do…. it's a little intimidating! 🙂