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Canning Frozen Vegetables
I am pressure canning frozen veggies, in meal sized portions, for my pantry shelf.
Why? Well because we live in very uncertain times. I know I've been saying that for years, but just about every day the future seems to get a little harder. We don’t know what will happen in the world, but we can keep our eyes and ears open, and pay attention to what is going on around us, so we can keep on preparing and filling our pantries.
Having food preserved in different ways, is my redundancy style food storage system. It means we have more security for our preserved foods.
If we had everything in the freezer and the grid went down, and we couldn't preserve the food using another method, it would be lost. Wasted food. Wasted time. Wasted money.
So I like to preserve using a variety of methods, and canning frozen vegetables supplements the dehydrated veggies and the frozen veggies we have as a part of our food storage.
It is safe to pressure can frozen vegetables. Vegetables are low acid foods, so they need to be pressure canned to be safe to eat and to store on your pantry shelf.
My garden didn’t produce enough for me to preserve this summer (it was a terrible garden year for me), so I'm buying frozen veggies and canning them. If you don't have a garden, you can pressure can frozen veggies.
I canned frozen mixed vegetables, bought at Woolworths. The 1 kilo bags of mixed veggies (peas, corn, carrots) are $5 ($4.50 if you use your 10% off Extra Rewards) and they are Australian (always a bonus). Aldi Market Fare 1 kilo bags of peas, corn and carrots are $2.79, but they aren't Australian. Just saying, so you're aware.
How do I use canned veggies? I use them the same way I would if they were to come straight from the freezer - usually as a side veggie with a meal. They are great for adding to a lettuce salad too.
The advantage over frozen veggies is that they are ready to eat as soon as the jar is opened. They have been cooked in the jar. Save the water from the jar to make gravy or to add to soup stock, it's full of nutrients, just like the water from steaming or boiling.
To can frozen veggies you treat them as raw veggies.
Step 1 is preparing your jars, lids, rings and canner and the veggies. It's no longer a requirement to sterilise your jars and lids if the jar is going to be processed for longer than 10 minutes, and in this case they will be processed for 75 minutes, so washed in hot, soapy water and rinsed is all you need to do.
Put the water in your canner. I have a Presto 23 quart so it takes 3 quarts of water. Put it on the stove to start warming up. You want the water to be steaming, not simmering or boiling, but at steaming point, when you put the jars in.
Take the vegetables out of the freezer to thaw; they need to be thawed when they go into the jars.
Step 2 is to fill the jars. Add your veggies to the jars. I put 2 cups into a pint jar. Don't pack the veggies down, just put them in the jar. There will be gaps, that's OK, the liquid will fill those gaps.
Step 3. Fill the jars with boiling water, leaving 1 inch headspace. Debubble and top up the water if necessary.
Step 4. Wipe the rims with vinegar, put the lids on and then put the rings on to finger tight.
Step 5. Put the jars in the canner and put the lid on.
Step 6. Let the canner vent steam for 10 minutes. Put the weight on and let the canner come up to pressure for your elevation. (For my elevation I use the 10lb weight and the canner will process at between 10lbs and 11lbs). When the canner comes up to pressure, start the timer for 75 minutes*.
Step 7. After the 75 minutes, turn the canner off and let it naturally cool down and come to zero pressure. Crack the lid to let the steam out and leave it for 5 minutes (this helps to stop sudden siphoning). Take the jars out of the canner and let them cool overnight. Next morning, take the rings off and check they have all sealed. If any haven't sealed, put them in the fridge to use during the next few days. Wash, dry and label the jars and put them away.
This is a really quick canning project. It takes about 5 minutes to fill the jars. Then the hands on work is done until it's time to take the jars out of the canner, about 2 minutes at most, for a shelf stable addition to your food security. .
*The 75 minute processing time is for mixed veggies. Single veggies have different processing times, depending on what they are and how they are packed (raw pack or hot pack). Check the processing methods and times if you are doing single vegetables.
Why? Well because we live in very uncertain times. I know I've been saying that for years, but just about every day the future seems to get a little harder. We don’t know what will happen in the world, but we can keep our eyes and ears open, and pay attention to what is going on around us, so we can keep on preparing and filling our pantries.
Having food preserved in different ways, is my redundancy style food storage system. It means we have more security for our preserved foods.
If we had everything in the freezer and the grid went down, and we couldn't preserve the food using another method, it would be lost. Wasted food. Wasted time. Wasted money.
So I like to preserve using a variety of methods, and canning frozen vegetables supplements the dehydrated veggies and the frozen veggies we have as a part of our food storage.
It is safe to pressure can frozen vegetables. Vegetables are low acid foods, so they need to be pressure canned to be safe to eat and to store on your pantry shelf.
My garden didn’t produce enough for me to preserve this summer (it was a terrible garden year for me), so I'm buying frozen veggies and canning them. If you don't have a garden, you can pressure can frozen veggies.
I canned frozen mixed vegetables, bought at Woolworths. The 1 kilo bags of mixed veggies (peas, corn, carrots) are $5 ($4.50 if you use your 10% off Extra Rewards) and they are Australian (always a bonus). Aldi Market Fare 1 kilo bags of peas, corn and carrots are $2.79, but they aren't Australian. Just saying, so you're aware.
How do I use canned veggies? I use them the same way I would if they were to come straight from the freezer - usually as a side veggie with a meal. They are great for adding to a lettuce salad too.
The advantage over frozen veggies is that they are ready to eat as soon as the jar is opened. They have been cooked in the jar. Save the water from the jar to make gravy or to add to soup stock, it's full of nutrients, just like the water from steaming or boiling.
To can frozen veggies you treat them as raw veggies.
Step 1 is preparing your jars, lids, rings and canner and the veggies. It's no longer a requirement to sterilise your jars and lids if the jar is going to be processed for longer than 10 minutes, and in this case they will be processed for 75 minutes, so washed in hot, soapy water and rinsed is all you need to do.
Put the water in your canner. I have a Presto 23 quart so it takes 3 quarts of water. Put it on the stove to start warming up. You want the water to be steaming, not simmering or boiling, but at steaming point, when you put the jars in.
Take the vegetables out of the freezer to thaw; they need to be thawed when they go into the jars.
Step 2 is to fill the jars. Add your veggies to the jars. I put 2 cups into a pint jar. Don't pack the veggies down, just put them in the jar. There will be gaps, that's OK, the liquid will fill those gaps.
Step 3. Fill the jars with boiling water, leaving 1 inch headspace. Debubble and top up the water if necessary.
Step 4. Wipe the rims with vinegar, put the lids on and then put the rings on to finger tight.
Step 5. Put the jars in the canner and put the lid on.
Step 6. Let the canner vent steam for 10 minutes. Put the weight on and let the canner come up to pressure for your elevation. (For my elevation I use the 10lb weight and the canner will process at between 10lbs and 11lbs). When the canner comes up to pressure, start the timer for 75 minutes*.
Step 7. After the 75 minutes, turn the canner off and let it naturally cool down and come to zero pressure. Crack the lid to let the steam out and leave it for 5 minutes (this helps to stop sudden siphoning). Take the jars out of the canner and let them cool overnight. Next morning, take the rings off and check they have all sealed. If any haven't sealed, put them in the fridge to use during the next few days. Wash, dry and label the jars and put them away.
This is a really quick canning project. It takes about 5 minutes to fill the jars. Then the hands on work is done until it's time to take the jars out of the canner, about 2 minutes at most, for a shelf stable addition to your food security. .
*The 75 minute processing time is for mixed veggies. Single veggies have different processing times, depending on what they are and how they are packed (raw pack or hot pack). Check the processing methods and times if you are doing single vegetables.