There are a few vegetables that always make their way into my garden because of their storage potential. Some of the vegetables that are excellent for storage include certain varieties of: Pumpkin, Squash, Rutabaga, Green Beans, Carrots, and Turnip. Now, some of these are great when stored in their original form. Turnip can be stored whole in a root cellar or other similar environment for several months (or even longer). But, for the most part, I prefer to can my Turnip. I highly recommend that you do yourself a favor, and pressure can Turnip Roots for storage. It is a great way to use up the last of those root vegetables in your garden before the ground freezes up.
Since I homeschool during the winter, I like to eliminate as much of my meal prep time as possible. Taking a jar of canned Turnip out of the cupboard, and heating it up is quick and easy. While going to the root cellar, picking out a turnip, washing it, peeling it, cutting it, and cooking it is much more time consuming. (Although, it is definitely possible that both the nutrition and flavor are better with this second option).
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9 Easy Steps to Pressure Can Turnip Root for Storage
- Wash
- Peel
- Chop
- Blanch
- Pack Jars
- Add Water and Prepare Jars for Canner
- Load Canner
- Pressure Can
- Remove Jars and wait for them to Seal
Tools and Materials Needed to Pressure Can Turnip Roots
Canning Tools (including jar lifter, bubble remover, extra wide mouth funnel, bubble popper, headspace measurer).
Mason Jars, Lids, and Bands. The lids need to be new to help ensure a proper seal.
Now, Let’s Look at a Few of the Details for How to Pressure Can Turnip Roots
Prepare the Turnip Roots
- Wash the Turnip Root (after trimming the greens off). The greens are edible, so feel free to use them. I like them blanched and tossed in a vinaigrette dressing. If you are not a fan of Turnip Greens, I can assure you that your chickens are!
- Peel the Turnip Root. I use a sharp knife to cut the top and tail off the Turnip, and then cut off the thick outer skin.
- Chop the Turnip Root up into chunks. Around 1 inch squares usually work best, but you can do slightly bigger or smaller. It is just hard to pack them into the jars if you get much bigger than this.
Blanch and Pack the Jars Before You Pressure Can the Turnip Roots
- Heat a large pot of boiling water to blanch the Turnip Chunks. I will often just use my canning pot for this so that I I do not have to wash another pot. Blanch the Turnip chunks in boiling water for 5 minutes.
Pack the Jars and Prepare Them for Pressure Canning
- Pack the jars with the Turnip Chunks. You do not want to add water yet, so use a slotted spoon to take the chunks out of the pot. You could also just drain the water off, but then you would have to completely reheat water again for the next step.
2. Return the pot of water to a rolling boil (a boil that cannot be stirred down). Using a extra wide mouth funnel and ladle, fill the jars with water.
- Leave 1 inch of headspace
- Remove any bubbles with a bubble popper.
- Wipe the jar rims
- Firmly screw the lids and bands onto the jars (make sure you are using new flats). I tighten the lids a little bit tighter for pressure canning than I do for things like jam. I hate taking a jar out of the canner only to find that the lid cam loose and I lost half my fluid into the canner.
- NOTE: You can add salt as well, I just choose to season when I use it instead. But, if you want to add salt, use pickling or canning salt. A half teaspoon per pint or 1 teaspoon per quart will give it a little added flavor.
3. Load your pressure canner with the jars. The water in your pressure canner should be heated to 180 degrees Fahrenheit before placing the hot jars into it. Make sure your canning rack is in the bottom of the canner to prevent any jars from breaking during the canning process.
Pressure Canning Process for Turnip Root
- Follow the current recommended procedure for pressure canning. If you are unfamiliar with the basic process for pressure canning, here is a great guide from a respected source. When you pressure can turnip roots:
- If your canner has a weighted gauge, process at 10 pounds of pressure. If you have a dial gauge (like mine in the photo above), the process at 11 pounds.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are using a weighted gauge and live above 1000 feet of elevation, or 2000 feet of elevation with a dial gauge, then you will need to adjust your pressure accordingly. You can easily find the appropriate pressure by checking the table here.
- Process Pints for 30 minutes and Quarts for 35 minutes.
2. Remove the jars from the canner using a jar lifter. Place them on a safe, flat surface and leave them alone for 12-24 hours to allow them to properly seal. Once the jars are cool and the button in the center of the lid has been “sucked down”, then remove the rings. Check each jar’s seal by gently lifting the jar by the flat lid.
- If the lid comes off, then a proper seal was not achieved. Put the jar in the fridge and consume within the next few days.
- If the seal is good, then store the jars in a cool dark place. They are safe to consume as long as the vacuum seal remains good. But, for optimum color and flavor, try to consume them within a year.
Enjoy!
Final Thoughts:
Ways to use your canned Turnip Roots:
- Mashed with butter, salt, and pepper.
- Mashed with butter and either honey or maple syrup.
- Ready-to-Go soup ingredient.
- When cooking a Roast in the oven, add a jar of these to the pan for the last 30 minutes of the cooking process. They make a great vegetable side.
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my water bath canning method for Sweet Pickled Jalapeños and Banana Peppers.
In the comments below, let me know what your favorite “canning-friendly” fruit or vegetable is!
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