How-to: Canning Green Beans

Right now is canning season for me. Unfortunately it comes at the hottest time of the year and I don't have AC. It can be a little miserable, but I consider it worth the sweat.

I learned how to can from my in-laws. Ironically, my mom does can as well, but I guess in my teens I never had the patience to learn. The most important thing to know in canning is that you have to follow the instructions to the letter. If you don't, the best that can happen is your stuff doesn't seal right, the worst that can happen is you get very very sick eating what you canned.

Now that I've totally freaked you out about canning, I'm here to tell you that I've canned for 6 years now and I've never gotten sick. Or any of my family. If I can do it, you can do it.

So, without further ado, here's a look at canning green beans.

First of all, you'll need a pressure canner (the big pot to the right that has a pressure gauge lid, it's pictured below in its entirety if you have no clue what I'm talking about), a big stock pot, a little pot for lids, jars, lids, a funnel, a ladle, salt, and of course green beans.

Fill your stock pot full of water and turn it on high so it will be boiling by the time you need it. Also fill the pressure canner with water until it's a couple inches deep. I add a little vinegar to the water as well because we have hard water. This prevents my jars from being covered in a white film that you can get from canning with hard water. Turn this burner on high as well.

Now onto the beans. Start out by snapping both ends of your green beans. You'll also need to snap them into about 2-in pieces so they fit better in the jars and so you can eat them easily of course. Then wash your green beans well. I wash them at least twice. These lovely green beans came straight from our garden.

After they are washed, fill your jars with the beans. Make sure you shake the jars while you're filling them so you can get as many green beans in there as possible. When they cook they shrink a little and you don't want your canned jars to be half-water.

Fill the jars to the bottom ring with the green beans. Then add 1 tsp. salt per jar (if you're using quart jars. If they are pint jars you'll need 1/2 tsp salt per jar). Now would be a good time to fill your little pot halfway with water and put your jar lids in it. Turn it on medium heat to get your lids hot and ready.

Using a funnel, fill your jars with boiling water, leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between the top of the water and the very top of the jar.

Now take a knife and run it down periodically around the jar's insides. This helps get any air bubbles out so the greens beans fit in the jar better. After you do that, make sure you wipe the lip of your jar with a paper towel to get off any water or salt you may have gotten on it (if you don't, there's a possibility your jars won't seal).

Now grab one of your hot lids (I love my little canning magnet!), put it on and then tighten your ring on. Interesting enough, it's better if you don't tighten it the tightest it can go. My husband helped me once by doing the tightening part and half of those jars didn't seal. We figured out it's because he tightened them so tight that there wasn't room for the lid to pop. So from now on, weak sauce here is the one who tightens the rings. :)

Put your jars in the pressure canner and put on the lid, making sure to twist it so it's completely closed and tight. By the way, my canner is big enough that if I'm canning pints, I can stack them on top of each other and fit 20 pints. If I'm doing quarts, only 7 fits like in the picture above. So just so you know, if your canner is big enough, it's okay to stack them on top of each other.

The weight

Now you wait and watch carefully. The thing circled above is the steam valve. Note that there is no weight on it yet. Once steam has been coming out of this valve steadily for a few minutes, put the weight on. Then the pressure inside the canner will start to rise.

Now this is important: The pressure you process your jars by depends on your altitude. The chart above shows you what pressure to keep it at for your altitude and for how long (depends on the size of jar). For my altitude, we process everything at 13 lbs of pressure.

**It's good to get your canner pressure gauge checked every few years at least. Gauges can become slightly off over time. I've had mine for 4 years now and it's about 1/2 lb off now. Not too big of a deal, I just process my stuff 1/2-1 lb. higher than 13 lbs.

Almost there

 Once your gauge is up to pressure for your altitude (this will take 5-10 minutes to achieve), turn the heat down until it remains steady at that pressure and start your timer for 20 or 25 minutes (depending on whether you're using pints or quarts). YOU MUST WATCH YOUR GAUGE THE ENTIRE TIME YOU ARE PROCESSING. If you don't, your pressure could rise to a dangerous level and your canner could explode. With that said, if it gets 1 or even 2 lbs over what you're supposed to process it at, it's okay. It's better to go 1 lb over than 1 lb under (because your jars may not seal if you go under). But that doesn't mean you can just walk away. It can change pressure quickly if you're not watching and monitoring the heat.

When your timer goes off after 20-25 minutes, pick the canner off the burner and move to a cold burner. DO NOT OPEN THE LID OR TAKE OFF THE WEIGHT. Let your canner sit until all the way down from pressure (gauge is at 0) AND the pressure pop up falls down.

The pressure pop up... I'm sure there's a technical word for it, but that's what I call it. :)

 Then open your lid away from you (so the steam and water doesn't burn you) and pull out your jars with your canning gripper (again, I don't know the technical word for it). Put your jars on a towel to cool so your counter won't be ruined and let them sit for at least 12 hours (if you move them within this time, they could not seal). Within an hour of taking them out of the canner, you should hear them pop which means they sealed! If after 5 hours they still haven't sealed, put them in your fridge and eat them within a week. If you do it right, you shouldn't have very many or any at all that don't seal.

And you're done! It's hard work, but believe me, there's nothing more rewarding than seeing those finished jars. You feel like the domestic superwoman. :) Even if you're a sweaty mess afterwards like me...