Pressure Canning Green Beans

One thing I've found myself doing this summer is canning. I've canned more this summer than I've ever canned before. One reason for this is that we purchased a pressure canner and our next door neighbor gave us bags upon bags of green beans. (We have great neighbors!) While canning green beans isn't hard it is time consuming.

I used the green bean recipe in So Easy To Preserve by the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. If you live in Georgia, you can pick these up at your county Coop office. If you do not live in Georgia, you can order your copy online. UGA is also home to the National Center for Home Food Preservation. They have a very informative website http://nchfp.uga.edu/.

I used the hot pack method and processed the beans for 20 minutes (pint size jar) or 25 minutes (quart size jar) at 10 pounds of pressure. Here are some pictures of the process. Please, for safety reasons, always follow canning directions!!

Our neighbor's green beans have finally exhausted themselves but we are left with 14 quarts and 3 pints that we put up. Not to mention the 3 quarts and 1 pint we've already eaten. :)

And here's my little helper who thinks he always has to be under his Mama's feet. Especially if she's in the kitchen...