Can Pumpkin

Canning Prep

• Wash and clean your jars. Fill with hot water or keep them warm in a clean dishwasher or oven.
• Wash your lids with hot soapy water. Rinse and place them in a clean bowl.

Pumpkin Prep

• Wash and dry the pumpkin and then cut it in half, slightly on one side of the stem. Remove the stem from the section that has it.
  1 small pie pumpkin
• Remove the innards using a spoon. It’s ok to not get all the strings out of it; we’ll deal with it later.
• Lay one half of the pumpkin, cavity side down, and slice it like you’re slicing a melon. Repeat with the other half.
• Place the slices onto a plate and microwave for 1 minute. This will soften the pumpkin to make the next step easier.
• Using a paring knife, take one of the slices, and cut the rind off of it, and then the inner side as well. Cut into 1-inch chunks. Repeat with the rest of the pumpkin.
• Bring two pots of water to a boil. In one of the pots, add the pumpkin in batches and cook for 2 minutes.
  10 cups water
• Using a slotted spoon, remove the pumpkin and put them into warm and sanitized canning jars.
• Add 3 quarts of water to your pressure canner and put it on a burner set to high. Make sure there is a canning rack in the bottom of the canner.
• Use boiling water from the second pot and carefully ladle it over the pumpkin chunks, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
• Remove the bubbles from the jar (I use a plastic chopstick).
• Use a wet clean rag and wipe the rim of the jars to make sure it is free of any food.
• Place a clean lid on the jar and tighten the ring to fingertip tight.

Pressure Canning Pumpkin

• Using canning tongs, gently place the jars in the canner. Lock the lid. Soon, steam will start coming through the vent pipe.
• Allow the steam to pass through for about 10 minutes. Then put the pressure regulator on top.
• Pretty soon, the air vent will pop up.

• In a dial-gauge pressure canner, process pints and quarts based on the elevation guide below (see processing chart in post for additional altitude adjustments):

  *0-2,000f ft {PSI: 11 lbs of pressure} = Pints 55 min, Quarts 90 min

  *2,001-4,000k ft {PSI: 12 lbs of pressure} = Pints 55 min, Quarts 90 min

  *4,001-6,000k ft {PSI 13 lbs of pressure} = Pints 55 min, Quarts 90 min

  *6,001-8,000k {PSI 14 lbs of pressure} = Pints 55 min, Quarts 90 min

• When the dial gauge reaches the appropriate PSI, reduce the burner temp to medium, and start your timer. The pressure must stay at the PSI or (a little bit) above for the duration of the cooking time.
• When the time is up, remove the canner from the burner and allow it to sit until you hear a distinctive “click” of the air vent dropping. Remove the pressure regulator and carefully remove the lid of the canner (Pro tip: use oven mitts to take the lid off because the steam is super hot).
• Let the jars sit for 5 minutes in the canner and then lift them out with canning tongs.
• Place on a thick clean towel undisturbed for 12 hours.
• After a few hours, to check for sealing, gently press down in the middle of the lid. If the lid has no give, it’s sealed. If you can press the lid in and it pops a bit, your jars are not sealed.