Canning Green Beans

One of the many blessings of living in the country is having enough space to plant a large vegetable garden. While Angela was visiting, she got in on The Great Bean Canning Experiment. I call it an experiment, because you never know if all the jars are going to seal - or not.

A few baskets of beans and we were ready to go to the next step, snipping the ends. Angela washed the beans and snipped them. I cut them and got them ready for the canner.

I also washed out the inside of the canner and put in a couple quarts of water and a couple tablespoons of white vinegar. Then I turned the burner on medium and went back upstairs to sterilize the jars and get the rings and lids heated in water.

 I know it's a mess, but think of it as the look of progress.

And yes, that's an 8' x 10' map of the world on our kitchen wall. 
I remember telling the carpenters, 'I don't care how deep the pantry is, you just need to leave at least 10' for my map.'

Misty's favorite place to lie while I'm working in the kitchen is...yes, you guessed it...

I have an electric range in the basement, especially for the purpose of canning. I've heard from more than one source that ceramic stove tops (like mine, upstairs) can't take the prolonged heat of the canning project and are likely to crack.

Beans are put into sterilized jars, boiling water is poured over the beans, lids and rings are placed on and tightened, then the jars are carried to the basement and placed in the canner. Canner lid is secured and I wait while a steady stream of steam vents for 10 minutes.

Now I place the pressure regulator on and watch the gauge...pressure building...excitement building...pressure building...3 pounds...5 pounds...7 pounds...9 pounds...11 pounds. Set timer for 20 minutes (we're processing pints). Keep pressure at 11 pounds.

 

Drag out the crossword puzzle book and get busy. This is the longest 20 minutes ever!

Timer finally beeps. Turn stove off. LEAVE PRESSURE CANNER ALONE. Wait til pressure drops to ZERO, then take pressure regulator off, open canner, and carefully remove jars to a flat surface covered with a towel (I'm not sure why. I just do that.)  When they're cool, check to see that all the lids are slightly concave. That means they've sealed. If not, you have to get them into the refrig and plan on eating them in the next couple days. And there IS a limit to how many canned green beans I want to eat at once. Too bad they can't stay fresh on the vine in -40 degree temps.

When I canned 20 pints at a time, every jar sealed. The next time, I did only one layer of jars (10) and two didn't seal!  Who knows! Last night I canned 14 pints and all of them sealed!! Yea!

There's something very satisfying about preserving food, preparing ahead for the long, cold Wisconsin winter, knowing that when we run out of Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut, there are always green beans in the basement. :-)

While Angela was visiting, these two were my helpers.
Yesterday, only Misty and Bridger were here to help.

Do you preserve food? Canning? Freezing? Smoking? Don't get funny here!  Dehydrating?

This post is linked to Tempt my Tummy Tuesday
and Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods
and Tuesdays at the Table
and Tuesday Tag-Along