Beans beans the musical fruit

Welp, I had this brilliant idea that I would can rainbow beans this week since my experience with my smokey baked pinto beans went so well last week. I soaked three bags of beans; one of black beans, one pinto, and one navy. They ended up being a large amount of beans. I was able to can 9 quart jars and 6 pint ja

rs. It wound up being days worth of work since I could only fit 6 jars in at a time and I need to set aside 2 and a half to 3 hours for pressure canning each batch. It was a big undertaking, but probably worth it. I filled the jars about 1/2 to 2/3 full with beans; topped th

em with a TBPS of brown sugar, 2 TBPS barbeque sauce, salt and celery leaves, then boiling water. I put them into the pressure cooker which I had warmed to almost a boil, you never want to put cool with hot. So, if your jar is full of hot, the water should be hot, or if the jar is full with cool, the water should be too. Otherwise it might explode in the cook

er. I added a smidge of vinegar to the water in the cooker to help with the jars getting cloudy. I put on the lid without the weight and let it get going. The vent streamed steam consistently for ten minutes before I put on the weight. Then I waited for it to reach the desired pressure for my altitude, which is 11. You can find out the appropriate pressure for your altitude at www.healthycanning.com/altitude-adjustments-for-pressure-canning/. The idea is for it to stay at that pressure for the entire processing time. I processed them for 75 minutes. After putting the weight on I lowered the dial to about 5 until it reached the desired pressure of 11. Usually I can keep it leveled off at 11 (ish) if I keep it at 2 or 3 after th

at. It was a process to find that perfect setting for me. It will differ depending on your stove. When the processing time is done I just turn off the burner and let them sit, often over night, to slowly cool. I haven't tried them yet, but the last batch I made everyone loved and couldn't believe they were home made. Have fun canning! Remember it's a science, so get yourself a book or a great resource online.

National Center for Home Food Preservation

https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html