Are the carrots in your garden ready now? If you want to start canning carrots here are some things to remember.

It takes 2 to 3 lbs of carrots, without tops, to make a quart of canned carrots. So be sure to dig enough carrots for only one canner load at a time.

For a raw pack: wash, peel, and rewash carrots. Slice or dice them. Baby carrots can be left whole. Pack tightly, leaving 1-inchheadspace. Cover with boiling water, maintaining 1-inch headspace.

For a hot pack: wash, peel, and rewash carrots. Cover with boiling water; bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes. Fill jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Cover with boiling cooking liquid, maintaining 1-inch headspace.

Remember to check your altitude. As altitude increases, water boils at a lower temperature (below 212° F). Lower temperatures are not as effective for destroying organisms. Therefore, when using a pressure canner, the pressure must be increased as altitude increases. Refer to the map below to check the altitude of your county, then follow the altitude adjustments in the above table

Altitudes of Iowa Counties

Shaded areas are less than 1,000 feet • Unshaded areas are 1,000 to 2,000 feet

Liz Meimann

I received both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in Food Science at Iowa State University. I love to quilt, sew, cook, and bake. I spent many years gardening, canning, and preserving food for my family when my children were at home.

More Posts - Website