from garden plOTT to kitchen pOTT; canning green beans

For as long as I can remember my mother canned green beans. It always seemed like she picked the hotest day of the year to do it though. Everybody had a job. Dad usually picked, I tried to snap and even the grandparents would come over and help, all while mom would be processing the jars in the kitchen. When I was in 4-H I took the project "Food Preservation" and would freeze and can items for that. So naturally when I got married, and Ott, E and I planted our garden, I canned what we raised. One day last summer I was talking to one of my co-workers about what all I had canned over the weekend and to my surprise he was astonished at the fact that I canned and put up produce. (In fact his exact words were; I thought that was something only little old ladies did. Well..... little old ladies..... and me!) His statement along with some others who I talked to about canning made me realize how skeptical or intimated a lot of woman were about canning.

So this week Jen over at From Mess Hall to Bistro and I will be blogging daily with how-to instructions on how we can, why we can and giving you lots of tips and recipes along the way.  We welcome you to join in the fun by participating in our linky party located on my blog.  As well as joining our facebook page where you can engage with other canners, post questions, or recipes or just learn more about canning.

Today I will be cold pack (raw pack) canning those infamous Green Beans.  Ott, E and I raised both green and yellow green beans and I think mixing them makes for a much prettier jar and appealing sidedish on your dinner plate.  I also use pint jars for my beans as one of those makes for a nice sized side dish for Ott, E and I.

After picking my green beans, cleaning them and snapping off the ends I then snap the beans into bite size pieces.  









As for my canning equipment I use a pressure canner so I place that on the stove with a plate rack in the bottom and fill it about 2/3's full of water.  I turn the heat on that as it takes a while to get the water to boil.  I then take my jars and fill my kitchen sink up with hot water to both sanitize the jars and get them warm.  (It's important not to put cold jars in the hot water inside the canner as this cold cause you jars to break.)  I also place the lids in a bowl of hot water and the rings in a seperate bowl of hot water for the same purposes.  (Please note it is important to look your jars over for any nicks or cracks as this will prevent them from sealing.)  At the same time I also put a pot of water to boil on the stove (this will come into play later).

Next I take my empty jars out of the hot water and place the freshly snapped green beans inside.  I try to push as many green beans as possible into each jar and either use my hand or a spoon to do so.  I then take the pot of boiling water off the stove and ladel water into each jar being sure to leave 1 inch of head space at the top of the jar.  (Leaving headspace is important as the it allows for expansion during the pressurization process.)  Using a funnel can help you get water inside the jars.

Next I take a straw or long handled spoon and poke down inside the jar to make sure there are no air bubbles.  I then add a 1/4 teaspoon of salf to each jar.  Then I take a paper towel and wipe off the rim of the jar to ensure their is no debris that would prevent the lid from sealing. 

After that I place my lids on the jars.  (Some canning supplies come with a wand with a magnet on the end or you could just use your fingers.)  Next I tighten the rings on my jars and place the filled jars in my pressure cooker.

Once the water has come to a roaring boil I place the lid on the pressure canner and twist it into place.  I allow the steam to flow through the vent pipe for a few minutes before placing my weights over the vent pipe.  (Some pressure canners come with gauges to help you know the pounds of pressure inside.  My version has wights which acts as a pressure regulator.  Each weight weighs 5 pounds so if I add two weight then I know I have 10 pounds of pressure.)

Once I add the 10 pound weight to the pressure valve I wait for the pressure guage on my canner lid to go up.  It may take a couple of minutes, but once it's up I know my canner is airtight.  Now I wait for the weight on my canner to start rocking back and forth.  (Don't worry when it starts rocking you will know it.)  Once it does I adjust my heat just a little bit down on the canner because I want it to maintain the heat it is at and then I set my timer.  For green beans I process pint jars for 20 minutes.  At the end of twenty minutes I turn the heat underneath my pressure canner completely off. 

At this point I very carefully tilt the weight on the steam valve on my canner lid. I want to slowly release the pressure inside the canner. (Note: you must do this slowly as releasing too much pressure to fast could cause
your jars to break.  Also be careful not to get burned by the heat of the canner or the steam itself.)

Once the steam is all out and the pressure guage on the lid has dropped, I know it is safe to take the lid off.  I then take the jars out of the canner and sit them upright on a towel on my counter to finish setting up.

Now comes my favorite part of the canning process.  Listening for the sound of the can lids to pop.  When the lids seal completely they will make a one time popping sound.  At that point I know I did my job correctly.  I continue to let my jars sit there, usually for about 24 hours until I move them to my pantry. 

Now when Ott, E and I need a sidedish of green beans I can go to our pantry, open up a jar pour them in a pan add a little pepper, onion, bacon or all of the above and after heating we can continue to enjoy our garden produce throughout the fall and winter months.

Here's a tip about the look of your jars.  From time to time the water may leave some residue behind on the outside of your jars.  (Like when you wash your glasses in the dishwasher and you get water spots.)  If you pour just a splash of vinegar into the water in your pressure canner, your jars will come out clear. 

There's lots of ways to have fun with our "Canning Week Blog Party" this week.  You can stop by Jen's blog: From Mess Hall to Bistro and sign up for your chance to win some fabulous canning prizes.  Or if you are a canner feel free to link up to our Canning Week Linky Party and share what you know and how you can. The linky is open till 4 pm Friday, August 27th and we are excited to announce that we will be having a guest judge for our linky party.....Jane from Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms will look for the post with the most descriptive explanation, good pictures and entertaining read and that blogger will win a copy of her cook book "Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms."

All winners will be announced on Saturday, August 28th.

This post was linked to:
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Just Something I whipped up Mondays on the Girl Creative, Made by You Mondays on Skip to my Lou, Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple, Made it Mondays at The Persimmon Perch, The DIY Project Parade on the DIY showoff, It's so very Creative at It's so very Cheri,