When I post pictures of vegetables or pickles that I have canned, I usually get a few requests from people wanting to learn this lost art.    Well, I can assure you that I am NO expert.   As a matter of fact, I have to reread my pressure cooker instructions each season.    (If you have never used a pressure cooker, the book that comes along with it provides step by step instructions.)

I finally picked two rows of snap beans.   This was close to the end of the row and I was tired.

The first step is to wash and snap the beans into smaller sizes.

Wash your jars and boil your lids.

Fill your jars with the snap beans and place a teaspoon of salt on top.

Fill the jars with enough hot water to cover the beans then place the lids on top.  Tighten the lids and place in the pressure cooker.

I boil the water and allow steam to release through the steam valve for 10 minutes before I put the pressure regulator on top.   Once the pressure builds up to 12 pounds I set the timer for 25 minutes.

Once the timer finishes and the pressure drops in the canner, I remove the lid and place the jars on the table to cool.

I did have something strange happen this time that didn’t happen last year.  I think I left the lids too loose and had a couple of jars turn out like this.  Strange …  I decided to pour them out.

After dealing with these beans all afternoon I was tired and called it a night!

Today, I got out of bed at 5am and finished processing the last 7 quarts.  The final count as of today is 40 quarts.  These are from the first picking only.  Does this mean I will have 80 quarts eventually?  Yikes.  WHERE WILL I PLACE THEM ALL?

If you haven’t canned before, give it a try.   If you don’t have a garden, stop by your local farmer’s market.

Have a great week everyone!