Guidance for Preparing and Packing Vegetables Products

Foods can be canned raw or boiled for a period of time. Raw packing is filling the jars tightly with unheated fruit or vegetables. Raw Packed foods must be processed with a pressure canner. Hot Packing means the food you put in the jars is hot or boiling. Foods usually keep longer by hot packing.

Vegetables can be packed raw, or preheated and packed hot. See the guidance for preparing and packing vegetables products in the table below. Most raw vegetables should be packed closely because they shrink during processing.

Table of Guidance for Preparing and Packing Vegetables Products

Vegetable	Pack	Preparation
Asparagus	Raw	Wash, trim, cut in 1-inch pieces. Pack tightly without crushing, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
	Hot	Wash, trim, cut in 1-inch pieces. Cover with boiling water. Boil 2 or 3 minutes. Loosely fill jars with hot asparagus, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with boiling liquid, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Beans, lima	Raw	Shell, sort, and wash beans. For small beans, allow 1 inch headspace for pints and 11/2 inches for quarts. For large beans, allow 1 inch headspace for pints and 11/4 inches for quarts. Do not press or shake beans down. Add salt.* Cover with boiling water, maintaining headspace.
	Hot	Shell, sort, and wash beans; cover with boiling water and bring to boil. Fill jars loosely, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Beans (snap, green, wax, or Italian)	Raw	Wash, trim, cut in 1-inch pieces. Pack tightly, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
	Hot	Wash, trim, and cut in 1-inch pieces. Cover with boiling water; boil 5 minutes. Pack hot beans loosely, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with boiling hot cooking liquid, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Beets	Hot	Cut off tops; leave 1 inch of stem. Leave roots to minimize color loss. Wash beets. Cover with boiling water. Boil until skins slip off easily (15 to 25 minutes). Cool, remove skins, and trim off stems and roots. Discard cooking liquid. Leave small beets whole; cut larger beets in 1/2-inch cubes or slices. Halve or quarter larger slices. Pack hot beets in jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with fresh boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Carrots	Raw	Wash, peel, and rewash carrots. Slice or dice. Pack tightly, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
	Hot	Wash, peel, and rewash carrots. Cover with boiling water; bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes. Fill jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.*  Cover with boiling cooking liquid, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Corn, cream style	Hot	Husk, remove silk, wash ears. Cut corn from cob at center of kernel; scrape cobs. To each 4 cups of corn and scrapings in saucepan add 2 cups boiling water. Heat to boiling. Use pint jars only; fill with hot corn mixture, leaving 1 inch headspace. Do not shake or press down. Add salt.* Cover with fresh boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Corn, whole kernel	Hot	Husk, remove silk, wash ears. Blanch 3 minutes in boiling water. Cut from cob about 2/3 the depth of kernel. Do not scrape cob. To each 4 cups of corn in a saucepan add 1 cup hot water. Heat to boiling and simmer 5 minutes. Fill jars with corn, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with cooking liquid or fresh boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Greens (beet, Swiss chard, spinach)	Hot	Can only freshly picked, tender greens. Wash thoroughly, remove tough stems and midribs. Place 1 pound greens in blancher or cheesecloth bag, steam 3 to 5 minutes or until well wilted. Pack hot greens loosely, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Peas, fresh green	Raw	Shell and wash peas. Fill jars with raw peas, leaving 1 inch headspace. Do not shake or press down. Add salt.* Cover with boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
	Hot	Shell and wash peas. Cover with boiling water. Bring to boil. Pack hot peas loosely, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Peas (sugar snap and Chinese edible pods)	-	Do not can; freezing gives better quality.
Peppers (hot or sweet	Hot	Select firm yellow, green, or red peppers. Do not use soft or diseased peppers. If you are using hot peppers, wear plastic gloves while handling them or wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your face. Small peppers may be left whole. Large peppers may be quartered. Remove cores and seeds. Slash two to four slits in each pepper and either blanch in boiling water or blister using one of the following methods: Oven or broiler—Place peppers in a hot oven (400° F) or broiler for 6 to 8 minutes until skins blister. Range-top—Cover hot burner, either gas or electric, with heavy wire mesh. Place peppers on burner for several minutes until skins blister. Allow peppers to cool. Place in a pan and cover with a damp cloth to make peeling the peppers easier. After several minutes, peel each pepper. Flatten whole peppers. Add salt.* Fill pint or half-pint jars loosely with peppers. Add fresh boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Potatotes, white	Hot	Wash, peel, and cook small, whole potatoes (1- to 21/2-inches in diameter) in boiling water for 10 minutes. Larger potatoes can be cut into 1/2-inch cubes and cooked for 2 minutes in boiling water. Drain and pack hot, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with fresh boiling water, maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Pumpkin	Hot	Wash, remove seeds, cut into 1-inch wide slices and pare. Cut flesh into 1-inch cubes. Add enough water to prevent scorching and boil 2 minutes. DO NOT MASH OR PUREE. Fill jars with cubes and cooking liquid, leaving 1 inch headspace.
Sweet potatoes	Hot	Wash potatoes and boil or steam until partially soft (15 to 20 minutes). Remove skins. Cut potatoes, if necessary, so pieces are uniform in size. DO NOT MASH OR PUREE. Fill jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Add salt.* Cover with fresh boiling water or boiling sugar syrup (1/2 to 1 cup sugar per quart of water heated until sugar dissolves), maintaining 1 inch headspace.
Winter squash (acorn, banana, buttercup, butternut, hubbard)	Hot	Prepare and process according to instructions for pumpkin. NOTE: Spaghetti squash should not be canned because its flesh does not stay cubed during heating.

• NOTE: Salt does not effect keeping quality, but may be added as a flavoring. Use 1⁄2 teaspoon for pints and 1 teaspoon for quarts.

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