Food preservation is easy. Just follow what you see at the grocery store. If a veggie is in a jar or can at the grocery store, you can can it, too.
But if you need some ideas, Blain’s Farm & Fleet is here to give you a list of some of the best vegetables to can.
Cucumbers are a great stepping stone into the world of canning vegetables.
We suggest pickling the cucumbers simply using water, vinegar, and whatever else you want to throw in for flavor. This could include garlic, dill, or peppercorn. You can make dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, and everything in-between!
You will want to raw pack the cucumbers. This is where you stuff the canning jar with raw cucumbers and add boiling hot water.
You can learn more about how to make pickled cucumbers on our blog.
To prepare green beans for canning, wash them in cold water, and snip off the edges. You can either cut them into pieces or leave them whole.
You must can green beans using a pressure canner—do not use the water bath canning method. The only safe way to can green beans is with a pressure canner. Otherwise, you’re at the risk of botulism.
You can hot pack the beans. This involves boiling them before canning. Or you can cold or raw pack them. Leave about an inch of space between the water and the lid of the jar.
You can find full the green bean canning recipe on our blog.
Cut the root off the asparagus and wash it. You can cut the asparagus or leave it whole. But like green beans, you must can asparagus using a pressure canner.
Pressure canning provides a high enough temperature to kill bacteria in vegetables with low acidity, whereas water bath canning does not.
Asparagus can be hot or cold packed.
Follow the steps in our how-to guide for canning asparagus.
When canning vegetables, tomatoes are a great choice. You can preserve them in a variety of ways. You can cut them up in quarters, halves, or the use the whole tomato. And you can use the water bath method or pressure canning.
Prepare the tomatoes by putting them in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds. Dip them in cold water and easily remove the skins, the core, and the green parts of the tomato. When canning tomatoes in a water bath, add lemon juice to acidify them.
You can use canned tomatoes for recipes all year round. Use them in homemade salsa, spaghetti sauce, or even as the base for a stew.
Read more about canning tomatoes in our DIY tutorial.
When canning beets, trim the stems. But leave the tap root on, as it will help the beets keep their color when you boil them.
Boil the beets for a few minutes. Cool them in cold water, slip the skins off, and cut the beets to your preferred size.
Beets must be hot packed, and you must can them using a pressure canner.
Read the step-by-step process on canning beets on our blog.
Canning vegetables is a great experience for both you and your family. You can learn more about canning basics and canning accessories on our Canning Blog.
