I’m preserving summer by canning veggies: carrots and kohlrabi. ‣ MyFixitUpLife

By Theresa HerFixitUpLife How-to Kitchen Theresa's blog

If you’re curious about canning veggies, you’ll want to know a few things that I learned canning carrots and kohlrabi.

We have a farm share at a local farm called Pennypack. If you aren’t familiar with farm shares, here’s the deal: we pay the farm a set price every season for a certain number of shares, and then we go pick up fresh produce every week that total the number of shares we purchased.

And we love the fresh produce that Pennypack Farm grows, but in the winter season it’s mostly greens. So when my friends at Ace Hardware asked if I’d like to try canning vegetables, I was psyched to learn how to extend the enjoyment of vegetables through the winter months.

As a vegetarian for my entire adulthood, canning is something that I have thought about over the years, but I always thought it sounded complicated, time-consuming, and messy.

But canning carrots was way easier than I imagined. And I was able to get everything I needed, the ball mason jars and an electric canner, at Ace Hardware. And you can definitely can vegetables without the electric canner, but the one I found also is a multi-cooker. I love a tool that has more than one use.

Yes, it’s very true that I’m not an expert at canning. I wanted to share my first attempt at preserving vegetables, so you can see what it’s like to get started from a real novice.

If you are a canning aficionado, we would love to read your tips and insights in the comments section below.

Check out my canning carrots how-to below.

Step 1: Picking out the veggies.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 4 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_farm shares at Pennypack — This is what greets me at my local farm. I look on the board to see what is available that day, and strategize how we will use our farm shares.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 4b ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_what to select for canning — The produce at Pennypack farm is fresh from the ground, and is simply displayed in crates labeled with the name of the item and how much we can get for one share.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 4c ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_how about beets says jack — My 7 year old Jack likes to look at the vegetables and especially items that look different than at our grocery store

‣ MyFixitUpLife 4d ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_How about carrots says jack — Jack wants me to can carrots and I agree so canning carrots is what we will do

‣ MyFixitUpLife 5 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_Kohlrabi looks interesting — The kohlrabi looks interesting Ive never eaten or cooked kohlrabi Im told that its as easy to can kohlrabi as carrots so we grabbed a few

‣ MyFixitUpLife 5 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_weigh vegetables at pennypack farm — Weighing the carrots determines how many we can take from the farm. The carrots are fresh from the ground, and are interesting shapes. Not like the bags of baby carrots at the grocery.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 5b ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_vegetables look so good — Now that the vegetables are home I like to admire the colors and shapes Im a design geek

Step 2: Setting up the canner and jars.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 2 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_Set up new canner — The first step in using an electric canner, is making sure all of the pieces are in the box. And checking the instructions to make a list and gather other items needed.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 3 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_Ball jars pint size — Since this is my first time canning I chose to use pint size jars You may notice that one jar is already missing Jars are used for so many things in my home and workshop so they tend to get used quickly

Step 3: Veggie prep.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 7 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_wash carrots before peeling — The first step to canning is cleaning the vegetables With carrots its important to wash them before peeling

‣ MyFixitUpLife 8 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_peel carrots — I love saving time We compost at our house so I peel the carrots right into our countertop compost bin

Step 4: Jar prep.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 9 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_clean jars — Next Im going to start the canning process by cleaning and then heating the jars

‣ MyFixitUpLife 10 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_insert cleaned canning rack — After the pot and jars are clean and dry, I place the canning rack at the bottom of the pot.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 10b ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_place clean jars in canner on rack — Then I can place the jars on top of the canning rack

Step 5: Let the canning begin!

‣ MyFixitUpLife 8e ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_peeled carrots — The carrots look delicious but Im sticking to my plan of canning and wont eat them all now

‣ MyFixitUpLife 11 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_chop vegetables — Since Im new to canning I want to make this simple so Im just slicing the carrots and not adding anything There are tons of recipes for canning carrots and other food Next time I will try one of those

‣ MyFixitUpLife 14 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_put lid on jar before back in canner — After the carrots are chopped its time to take one jar out of the pot to fill it and lid it

‣ MyFixitUpLife 12 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_fill jar with carrots — Its important to leave about 1 inch of space at the top when canning vegetables I love how this looks The carrots look really pretty in the jar

‣ MyFixitUpLife 14b ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_putting filled cans into canner — Since the water is warm Im using a towel to put the canned jars back in the pot I repeat this step until all of the jars are full

Step 5: Bonus round of kohlrabi.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 15 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_how about canning kohlrabi — And then I hit an opportunity I didnt have enough carrots to fill all of my jars so Im thinking kohlrabi would be fun

‣ MyFixitUpLife 16 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_remove outer peel as farmer suggested — I was told at the farm to only use the inside of the kohlrabi so after peeling Im slicing it for the jars

‣ MyFixitUpLife 17 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_slice and ready for the jar one inch at top — The kohlrabi looks really good in the jar Im very curious how it will taste When canning vegetables its important to press down and push out air bubbles with a plastic spatula or spoon before sealing

‣ MyFixitUpLife 23 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_add more heated water to the top so the water is 1 inch above — When all of the cans are in the pot I add hot water to the pot so that there is about an inch of water above the cans The inside of the pot has lines marking how high it is safe to fill the pot with water

‣ MyFixitUpLife 18 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_add steaming and diffuser rack to top of cans — After all of the jars are full of vegetables, I put the steaming and diffuser rack on top of the cans. It adds to the heat efficiency and helps reduce any splattering water.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 19 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_put the lid on this and wait 30 minutes — Whos the girl canning Yes Thats me putting the lid on my first canning project

‣ MyFixitUpLife 24 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_set temperature to canning — It’s easy finding the right temperature for canning. It’s right there on dial. I turn the dial to canning, and wait about 30 minutes.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 20 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_compost scraps — While I’m waiting for the vegetables to be ready, I compost the peels in our backyard compost bin.

‣ MyFixitUpLife 25 ACE_MyFixitUpLife_Canning_canning complete — And these are my first canned vegetables They are cooling for about 12 hours and then the rings can come off If the lid comes off with the ring then you know you didnt get a tight seal Just eat those veggies now and store the rest for later

I’m so happy Ace Hardware asked me to try out canning, because it only took a few hours, from prep to clean-up and I have vegetables safely stored for up to one year.

‣ MyFixitUpLife Ace_Canning_Blogger_Logo

Note: Ace Hardware has provided me with the product used within this project. I was also compensated for my time and this blog post. All opinions and positions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Ace Hardware. For more information about canning or other home improvement projects, please check out Ace Hardware online.

Theresa

A handy designer and writer, she shares DIY projects, tool how-to, and home makeovers as a book author, home show speaker, DIY workshop coach, and radio host. Plus, she has a degree in journalism with a minor in architecture, and is a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPs) and certified color consultant. She's created fast-paced makeovers for TV shows, and shares home trends and DIY tips as a freelance writer and guest on news shows and satellite media tours for TV and radio.

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Comments (5)

Rosie

October 13, 2016 at 4:03 pm

This is wonderful! I would love to have everything for canning. I have a dehydrator, and I also dry and freeze herbs, and I have been wanting to get into canning! An Ace Hardware opened up right near me, I could walk there, and I adore the store, they are very helpful and excellent merchandise.

Luzviminda Gunter-Smith

October 11, 2016 at 8:18 pm

I love trying new projects, all I can say that you have done a great job, I have not tried vegetable Canning but probably will try it too. WE’LL DONE.

Tamra H

October 10, 2016 at 2:32 pm

We’ve had a great year in the garden this year and I really want to start canning so we can enjoy the goodies all year long. It doesn’t look too scary!

Stacy

September 29, 2016 at 10:13 am

You’ve got me jazzed to put up some summer produce!

Tara B

September 28, 2016 at 9:34 pm

I admire people who can do this, it always seemed like a lot of work.

I’m preserving summer by canning veggies: carrots and kohlrabi.