Food Preservation…
Canning Low Acid Foods, Lesson 4
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Canning Low Acid Foods:
Vegetables & Meat
by Roxie Rodgers Dinstel
Selection Of Vegetables Pressure Canner
Vegetables for canning should be young, ten- All vegetables (except tomatoes) and all meats
der and freshly gathered. Any delay in canning have little natural acidity. They must be heated
gives the bacteria in the food an opportunity to a temperature 240°F before the bacteria
to multiply and make the food more difficult that cause spoilage and food poisoning are
to process. Tough, overmature vegetables will killed. You obtain this temperature only with
result in a finished product that is very poor in a pressure canner. It takes 10 pounds of steam
quality and flavor. The sweet flavor of veg- pressure at sea level to attain 240°F. At higher
etables such as corn and peas changes rapidly altitudes, more pressure is needed. For every
after gathering. Any delay in canning results in 2,000 feet above sea level, add 1 pound of pres-
considerable loss of flavor and nutritive value. sure. In addition to the danger of losing foods
from spoilage, there is also danger of poison-
After vegetables have been sorted by size and ing by botulism unless foods are properly
degree of maturity, they should be thoroughly canned. Botulism is caused by a bacterium that
washed. Soil clinging to the vegetable may may exist in spore form in food. The spores
carry bacteria that will not be destroyed in the must be destroyed during processing or they
processing, and may cause spoilage of the food can grow and produce one of the most power-
or an infection from foodborne pathogens. ful poisons known.
It is possible for canned vegetables and meat to
contain the poison-causing botulism without
showing signs of spoilage. To be certain there
is no danger of botulism poisoning, make sure
your processing equipment is in good condi-
tion, your pressure gauge is accurate and the
food is processed for the recommended time.
A pressure canner must be fitted with a rack in
the bottom, a steam-tight cover, a dead weight
or petcock, a safety valve and an accurate pres-
sure gauge or weight that measures definite 7. As soon as processing time is up, remove
pressure. The jars of food processed in a pres- canner from heat carefully. Do not force
sure canner reach temperatures many degrees cool, but let canner sit and cool until
above the boiling point of water. Read carefully needle on pressure gauge returns to zero.
the instructions for operating the type of pres- Open petcock or remove dead weight
sure canner being used. The general steps that gradually. For canner with weight control,
apply to all types of cookers are as follows: nudge it. If no steam escapes, pressure is
down. For canners with lid locks, wait until
1. Prepare jars and food depending on the lock drops back into lid. Nudge weight
whether you want raw or hot pack. to see if all the steam is gone. After the
canner is depressurized, wait 10 minutes
2. When food is ready to be packed in jars,
before unfastening the lid and removing
set canner on heat. Place rack in bottom of
it. Tilt the lid away from you to reduce the
canner and add boiling water to cover bot-
chance of burning.
tom of canner to a depth of 2 to 3 inches.
8. Food in jars may be boiling vigorously; if
3. As each jar is filled and the cap firmly
so, allow it to remain in the canner for a
tightened, set it on the rack in the can-
few minutes, then remove. Do not tighten
ner to keep hot. Pack only enough jars at
screw bands on caps. Set jars 2 or 3 inches
one time to fill the canner. Jars should not
apart on a rack or several thicknesses of
touch in canner. Set apart so steam can
cloth and allow to cool in an upright posi-
circulate freely.
tion. Do not set hot jars in a draft or on a
4. Adjust the cover of canner and fasten cold, wet surface. Do not cover them. Al-
securely. If cover is fastened by clamps or low jars to cool from 12 to 24 hours.
band, tighten opposite clamps.
9. When jars are cold, test for seal and re-
5. Canners must be exhausted (vented). For move screw bands. Wash and dry bands.
the canner with a gauge, leave the vent Bands are unnecessary once jars are sealed.
(petcock) open and allow steam to es-
cape freely for 10 minutes. Close petcock Adjusting For Elevation
or drop on dead weight. As soon as the Recipes are designed for sea level. Higher
required amount of pressure is shown on elevations need more pounds pressure to reach
gauge, start counting processing time. the 240°F necessary for kill-
Adjust the heat to keep the pressure uni- ing spores. In general, add
form throughout the processing period. If 1 pound pressure for each
the canner has a weight control, leave it off 2,000 feet above sea level.
the vent pipe until steam is coming from Check with your local
the vent in a steady stream for 10 minutes. Cooperative Extension
Select desired pressure and place weight Service for recommended
over the vent pipe. When control jiggles pressures for processing
or rocks gently, start counting processing at higher elevations.
time. Adjust heat so control will jiggle or
rock according to manufacturer’s direc-
tions.
6. Process for required length of time.
2
Processing Time Under Pressure for Low-Acid Vegetables, Meats and
Poultry (10 lbs. weighted gauge or 11 lbs. dial gauge)
Food Minutes to Process
Pint Quart
Vegetables
Asparagus Raw or hot pack 30 40
Beans Dry with tomato or molasses sauce 65 75
Beans Dry, baked 65 75
Beans Fresh lima, raw or hot pack 40 50
Beans Snap, raw or hot pack 20 25
Beets Hot pack 30 35
Carrots Raw or hot pack 25 30
Corn Cream style, hot pack 85 —
Corn Whole kernel, raw or hot pack 55 85
Greens Including Spinach, hot pack 70 90
Hominy Hot pack 60 70
Mushrooms Hot pack (1⁄2-pint jars need same processing
time as pint jars) 45 —
Okra Hot pack 25 40
Peas Fresh blackeye (cowpeas, blackeye
beans), raw or hot pack 40 50
Peas Fresh green, raw or hot pack 40 40
Potatoes Cubed, hot pack 35 40
Pumpkin Cubed, hot pack* 55 90
Squash Winter, cubed, hot pack* 55 90
Meats
Beef, veal, pork, lamb,
mutton, wild game Raw or hot pack 75 90
Ground meat Hot pack 75 90
Soup stock
(beef, chicken) Hot pack 20 25
Poultry Cut up, with bone, raw or hot pack 65 75
Poultry Cut up, without bone, raw or hot pack 75 90
Moose, caribou Cubed, hot pack 75 90
Fish Raw pack 100 160
Fish, smoked Raw pack 110 —
*Do not can puree. Density of the product interferes with adequate heat penetration.
3
References
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. Online
version: www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/
publications_usda.html. Print version ($18):
https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/item.asp?item_
number=AIG-539#.VWTLiZRdWrY.
So Easy to Preserve ($18). University of Geor-
gia Cooperative Extension Service: www.uga.
edu/setp.
Ball Blue Book. Ball Corporation, Consumer
Products Division, Consumer Affairs, 345 S.
High, Muncie, IN 47305-2326.
Canning the Fish Catch, FNH-00128.
University of Alaska Cooperative Extension
Service.
Canning Moose and Caribou, FNH-00226.
University of Alaska Cooperative Extension
Service.
www.uaf.edu/ces or 1-877-520-5211
Roxie Rodgers Dinstel, Associate Director of Extension.
Published by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service in cooperation with the United States
Department of Agriculture. The University of Alaska Fairbanks is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and
educational institution.
©2017 University of Alaska Fairbanks.
9-05/RD/8-17 Revised August 2017
