Canning Sweet Carrots

By AuntieLo

Canning carrots ready to add to a stew or soup. Or just heat, add some butter and sprinkle on a bit of cinnamon.

Use a crinkle cutter for a fun look to your jars.

And use the optional sweet syrup to make sweet carrots for a treat.

Carrots are a low acid vegetable and must be processed in a pressure canner.

Ingredients

• Gather your canning supplies
• pressure canner
• canning jars
• canning seals and rings
• jar lifter and canning funnel
• large pot or blancher
• bowls
• large spoons
• sharp knife
• towels and dish cloths
• Ingredients
• Carrots
• Canning Salt - optional
• Sweet Carrots**
• brown sugar
• orange juice

Preparation

Step 1

Wash carrots remove tops. Peel carrots.

Cut carrots to desired size. Carrots can be cut into lengths with small carrots left whole, or they may be cut cross ways.

My suggestion is to not cut them too small. Carrots are cooked well in the pressure canner and they will get mushy if they are too small. Using a crinkle cutter makes your jars look very professional. Just for fun.

***** Do I really need to peel?

All official directions I find say to peel carrots. None of them mention just scrubbing without peeling. (official meaning from state extension services) I can not find a safety reason listed. I believe that it is because carrots are a root crop. The bacteria that can cause botulism can be found in the soil so it may be a higher risk.

You'll need to make your own decision as to peeling or not. I used to just scrub my carrots real good.... but I made the decision to start peeling my carrots. Love that peace of mind. :) *****

Canning Carrots: Hot pack or Raw pack??

Carrots can be raw packed or hot packed. I prefer canning carrots raw. I simply pack raw carrots tightly into hot jars leaving 1 inch head space. For a hot pack simmer carrots gently for 5 minutes then pack hot into hot jars leaving 1 inch head space.

Add salt if desired. 1/2 tsp per pint, and 1 tsp per quart.

Add boiling water to jars covering carrots and leaving 1 inch head space. Use a small plastic utensil or a bubble tool to release any air bubbles that might be trapped in your jars. Just run the tool down each jar moving things around gently so air will release.

Optional sweet syrup.
I used to can just plain carrots, but since I've tried this sweet variety... this is what I do most of the time now. Instead of plain boiling water add this syrup to your jars.

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups water
1 cup orange juice
Heat ingredients until heated through and melted. Pour over your carrots to one inch headspace. Careful it is hot! Oh goodness is it good. Processing instructions are the same. Simply substitute this for the plain water. (and you can choose to add salt or not.)

Wipe the rims clean with a paper towel or lint free cloth and place your lids. Which just means center the metal flat lid and screw your band down finger tight.

For more details follow pressure canning instructions.

Processing instructions

pints - process for 25 minutes

quarts - process for 30 minutes

Be sure to adjust processing according to your altitude. For more information see this altitude adjustments page.


Adjustments for Pressure Canner
Altitude in Feet Dial Gauge Canner Weighted Gauge Canner
0-1000 11 10
1001-2000 11 15
2001-4000 12 15
4001-6000 13 15
6001-8000 14 15
8000-10,000 15 15