How to Pressure Can Carrots: For Beginners
Learn how to properly pressure can carrots for long-term storage with our step-by-step guide for beginning canners.
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Pressure canning carrots is a great way to preserve this nutritious and versatile vegetable for long-term storage. Not only does it allow you to enjoy the taste and texture of freshly harvested carrots all year round, but it also ensures that you have a ready supply of nutrient-rich ingredients for soups, stews, salads, and other dishes. If you are new to pressure canning or looking for tips to improve your technique, this post will provide useful information on how to safely and successfully can carrots at home.
Whether you found carrots on sale at your local grocery store and couldn’t pass up a great deal like I did, grew them in your own garden, or bought them at the farmers market this process will work. The good news is canning carrots or any vegetables for that matter are so easy and great for beginners.
Equipment
- Pressure canner
- Stockpot
- Jars
- Lids
- Rings
- Jar lifter
- Magnetic lid wand
- Debubbler
- Funnel
- Ladle
Materials
- Carrots
- Water
Step by step how to can carrots
Prep:
1: Decide on the size jars you will be using. If you use pints you can fit about half a pound of carrots in each jar. If you use quarts you can fit about a pound of carrots per jar.
2: Sterilize jars and lids. This step is optional. There is a lot of contradicting information out there but as long as the jars are going to process for longer than 10 minutes then there is no need to sterilize the jars or lids. Make this decision based on your own research and do whichever you feel is safe.
3: Fill your pressure canner to the fill line (or 3 quarts) with water. Set the canner on a burner that is set to low-medium heat. You don’t want the water to boil, just hot.
4: In a large stockpot bring water to a boil. Once the water boils turn the heat on low and let sit. The amount of water you will need will be dependent upon the amount of carrots you are processing.
5: Wash carrots thoroughly. Remove any bruised or bad carrots.
6: Fill the jars with clean carrots. Don’t overfill the jars. Fill them to the bottom of the neck of the jars with raw carrots.
7: Using your funnel and ladle, ladle hot water into each of the jars leaving 1 inch headspace. Use a debubbler tool to remove any bubbles or air pockets from the jar.
8: Wipe the rim of the jar with vinegar to ensure there is nothing on the jar that would prevent a good seal.
9: Using a magnetic lid wand place lids on top of the jars. Screw rings onto each jar that is finger tight.
Pressure Canning:
10: Next using a jar lifter add the jars into the canner of hot water. After the canner is filled with jars place the lid on the canner and turn it until it seals. Turn stovetop to medium heat.
11: After 3-5 minutes turn the burner onto high heat. Wait until the air vent on the canner pops up and seals off.
12: Once the air vent has sealed wait on steam to come from the vent pipe. Once a steady stream of steam is coming from the vent pipe allow it to vent for 10 minutes.
13: After the canner vents for 10 minutes add the weight or pressure regulator onto the vent pipe. This will be dependent upon the type of pressure canner you have. Allow the canner to reach 10 pounds of pressure. Turn the burner to medium heat once the canner reaches 10 pounds. Let the canner process for 25 minutes for pints or 30 minutes for quarts.
14: After the allotted processing time turn the burner off. Do not do anything to the canner. Allow the canner to cool naturally until the air vent has gone back down.
15: Once the air vent goes back down remove the pressure regulator or weight whichever your canner has. Allow the canner to set for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes open your canner and using the jar lifter remove the jars from the canner.
FAQ’s
Home canned foods can last for years but after a year of being stored it begins to lose nutritional value. According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation you should only preserve food to last for one year. Personally I have stored food 4 years before and have not noticed any decrease in the quality or taste in the food. I am sure the nutritional value has decreased over the years though.
Canned carrots should be stored just like any other home-canned foods; in a climate controlled space that is dark and dry. Any exposure to sunlight can alter the color of food, quality, and nutritional value. Changes in temperature of the jars and food can cause the jars to unseal. Ideal temperatures for food storage is 50-70°F.
Raw packing sometimes referred to as cold packing is when you put raw uncooked food into jars.
No. Carrots are a low acidic food and have to be pressure canned to kill botulism spores.
This is totally optional. I personally don’t add any salt to my carrots when canning so I omitted it from this recipe. If you want to add salt to your carrots then simply add 1/2 a teaspoon to pints and 1 teaspoon to quarts.
There are so many ways you can use canned carrots. The good news is after they are processed in the pressure canner they are completely cooked so they just need to be heated up before eating. We love to use them as a side and just eat them on their own, in vegetable soup, chicken noodle soup, chicken pot pie, casseroles, or any other dish you can think of.
No, you can chop up the carrots however you like. You can slice, dice, shred, or cut them into sticks. Whichever you prefer. However you cut them up the process of canning them will be the exact same as long as you raw pack them.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below.
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