# On canning potatoes?



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

What's your experience on canning potatoes. Use lemon juice bath? Peel them? How long in the pressure canner? Any tips? 

We have a bumper crop this year ( 6 baskets = about 125 pounds) and need to can some to go with the carrots for soup next winter.


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

They look great. Never canned them. Good job! Thinking about picking mine along with my onions manana.


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

Excellent looking spuds Lark. I've never done it, but I don't think that you would have to use a lemon juice if you get them in the pressure cooker soon after skinning. The acid wouldn't be need for preservation and they wouldn't have time to discolor. I think that I would try leaving the skins on a bunch of them if they are all reds. 
Be sure to get the time and pressure correct or else you will have mashed potatoes. Especially with reds.

Try some variations... Maybe put some roasted garlic in some of the jars. Mixing carrots and spuds would be interesting too. We will be looking forward to your report if you give this a try.

Interesting tidbit.... I just planted my potatoes today! Yukon Golds and Reds.


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

There is a woman we hunt with that cans them with some spam using a pressure cooker, they are GREAT, I'll see if I can find out what she does...they were awesome


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

I have some books on canning one is from ball, one from american pressure cooker-canner and another. They have recipes on potatoes but none for new potatoes go figure.
I'm sure you've already googled it. Anywhoo, I did and they have some recipes for new taters. Just a thought. Let us know what you come up with?


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Thanks for the comments.

Our canning book (and backed up by google) says to peel them to reduce any chance of botulism. I like the skins on...but don't like botulism. 

The thing I really question is time. My book says 35 minutes in the pressure cooker and backed up by google. 

That just seems to be too much. I guess they are on the safe side. I know I'm always hesitant to recommend times to other folks because of the risks but I'm not going with 35 minutes. 

Good idea on carrots...but canned all of mine yesterday already...we had a carrot cake also yesterday, yumm.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

I don't think in my 100's of years on this earth have I ever heard of anyone canning potatoes.What a great way to get them out of the way not having to store them in a shed like we always did.A cat I use to hunt with cooked store bought canned new potatoes,battered and deep fried them.Pretty dang good.


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Meadowlark said:


> Thanks for the comments.
> 
> Our canning book (and backed up by google) says to peel them to reduce any chance of botulism. I like the skins on...but don't like botulism.
> 
> ...


Lawrdy, I love carrot cake. Lucky you. I need to pull my carrots. Right now its onion time. Let us know how you do your taters. How did you do your carrots ? I've only canned them with japs. I will have some carrots, my best crop ever.:dance:


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## Paul Marx (Nov 13, 2009)

I think my potatoes drown . Your's look great .


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Paul Marx said:


> I think my potatoes drown . Your's look great .


Sounds like you haven't looked?


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## Paul Marx (Nov 13, 2009)

You're right , I need to look . Working full time , and then working around the place , doesn't leave enough time .


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Paul Marx said:


> You're right , I need to look . Working full time , and then working around the place , doesn't leave enough time .


I understand. I'm just hoping you get some.


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## cwhitney (Sep 9, 2014)

I have canned potatoes, but did not remove the skins. I use a pressure canner and use the times listed in my Ball canning book.. I like to can a 50/50 mix of small potatoes and green beans in a quart jar.


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

cwhitney said:


> I have canned potatoes, but did not remove the skins. I use a pressure canner and use the times listed in my Ball canning book.. I like to can a 50/50 mix of small potatoes and green beans in a quart jar.


In the ball book did you use the sweet potatoe recipe? I did not see a recipe for new potatos.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Did someone say carrots? 

Here's my 9 jars ready for soups this winter. Hope to get about the same number of new potatoes canned...and then green beans. 

By the way, carrot bread made like banana nut bread except with carrots is to die for as well as carrot cake which is just out of this world great tasting.


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## cwhitney (Sep 9, 2014)

Rubberback said:


> In the ball book did you use the sweet potatoe recipe? I did not see a recipe for new potatos.


I'll check tonight and let you know. Here are the potatoes (Yukon Gold and Red Pontiac) I dug last weekend. This was what I got from 3 rows at 10 feet per row.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Here's the first batch...if it doesn't kill us, we'll do some more. I went ahead and peeled them, yielding to the books that say the skin is where you might pick up any bacteria...but would rather have the skins on the new potatoes. 

Excited to try them out!


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Look good, you will be fine. Wake up get a can of taters make french fries & eggs or hash browns Sweet! Plus, onions, maters etc. Great breakfast food. I love this time of year. You can't beat May, Onion harvest & taters then comes maters. I love it all. Screw HEB! That stuff taste so bland. You can't beat farm raised whatever.


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## cwhitney (Sep 9, 2014)

I took a picture of the instructions out of my Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. The second pic is what I like to do with the Yukon Gold potatoes - home made potato soup.


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## cwhitney (Sep 9, 2014)

Here is a picture of how I put up my potatoes in pints jars and green beans with potatoes in quarts. I left the skin on mine and have not had any problems.


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

cwhitney said:


> I took a picture of the instructions out of my Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. The second pic is what I like to do with the Yukon Gold potatoes - home made potato soup.


 That potato soup looks really good. Will you share the recipe?


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## cwhitney (Sep 9, 2014)

Dick Hanks said:


> That potato soup looks really good. Will you share the recipe?


This is my Grandma's recipe that was published her church cookbook. For the seasoned salt, I use Tex-Joy steak seasoning.


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## The Driver. (May 20, 2004)

Looks great on the carrots and potatoes ML.

If you ever have any doubts on canning timing you can refer to this website as a backup.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

cwhitney said:


> This is my Grandma's recipe that was published her church cookbook. For the seasoned salt, I use Tex-Joy steak seasoning.


 Hey thanks CW. That looks like a great recipe. I'll definitely give it a try when my Yukon Golds are ready.


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Here's half of my crop. I'll get 4 -5 gallon buckets filled to the top. Those suckers were deep this year. I'm wore out. Got a bunch more onions to hang. I need to build a table. Its on the list. LMAO! Man, I got some fricking onions.
I still need to pick my carrots plant my peas & okra. On the list but that is priority.
Need to hatch about 500 quail. Anyone wanna buy a farm?


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Let me tell you something about my tater harvest. I grew them in my planter boxes. Well these boxes are headed down hill, from the first one you see to the last one you see. The other picture is where a culvert drains the water from my driveway.
Here's what I found out. The first planter box's of taters suxed not to many. Then it got better, then a little better. But the last box's was the honey hole. I was getting 10 to 12 spuds per plant.
Disregard the box's with the black plastic, that box's is watermelons.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

They do like and need a lot of water just not any standing water and probably a lot of your fertilizers flowed downhill also. Good, healthy looking spuds.


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Meadowlark said:


> They do like and need a lot of water just not any standing water and probably a lot of your fertilizers flowed downhill also. Good, healthy looking spuds.


Yes, they do need a lot of water. I've watered my garden here & there but the good lord above has been helping a lot. Thank you lord.
I planted my taters on flat ground and was worried about pimples are rot. Had a few with pimples but over all they did really good. Another yee haw. Hope the rest of this season goes well. My cucs are pumping. I'll say it bring on some rain. Seems the more water I get the better yield. My ground is dry.
Cucs love water.


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

Final tater harvest!


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## txjustin (Jun 3, 2009)

Heck of a nice harvest Rubber!


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

txjustin said:


> Heck of a nice harvest Rubber!


Thanks, I was impressed. I'm getting better but it not only takes my care but the good lord above.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

When I was growing up,my Grandpa,Dad,and his 4 brothers planted what I'd guess was maybe an acre of potatoes every Feb.14,and that acre would produce enough for everyone most years.The ground was worked all summer because it was(is) blackland and tighter than ***** hat band(no offence Mr. Hanks).When it was time to harvest,they would run a turning plow down next to the plants to roll the taters to the top.Some got cut with the plow and were used first,but it did a pretty good job.It was helll getting the mud off if it was a little wet.Us and Grandpa had tables with chicken wire tops to lay the spuds out on,but a couple uncles that lived in town put theirs under their house.We didn't dare do that because of copperheads and rattlesnakes that like the mice that liked taters.My most memorable planting was one year just as we started dropping eyes,it started sleeting.It sleeted so hard you could hardly see the cat on the next row over and it was loud.If the rows weren't sunken down,we would have to called it off.I though "man this is the craziest shmitt I ever seen for a cotton-picken potater".I reckon if they didn't get planted the 14th,Grandpa wouldn't have planted.I know Dad would've though.We relied way too much on what we grew and canned to take a chance on superstitions.Sorry to be so long,but you fellers jar loose many of my coming up memories.Funny how I do things now for a hobby that was a matter of having something to eat 50 years ago.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

Guess I should have said Richards hat band!


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## jm423 (Sep 18, 2011)

How well I remember those years, Peckerwood, during and after WW-2 when what you grew, caught, or shot was what you had to live on. Don't guess there are too many around that remember Ration Stamps for flour, sugar, and other staples, and the women having stamp-swap sessions. But gardening is addictive, I guess. Been at it ever since, location and other job situation permitting


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

It just never ceases to amaze me how much produce can be grown in small space. 1 acre of potatoes would be a huge amount to dig and store. 

If you grow both onions and potatoes like several of us, storage can become the limiting factor. 

When I think of the old days, I recall huge pressure caners that would be processing something from the garden what seemed like every summer day from dawn to dark. Never realized how much work my Mother did to keep the family fed all winter. She would fill the shelves of the root cellar with jars and jars and jars of canned garden produce. Hunger was never an issue....and Government hand-outs never an option. 

Those kitchens were hot, really hot, with those caners going full steam ahead. 

Much of the knowledge and skills of those days has been lost....thanks PW for reminding us.


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## Rubberback (Sep 9, 2008)

My father was raised in Houston & every summer he would get sent to Grandmas for the summer to avoid yellow fever. Grandma lived in Wheelock on a farm. No one had any money it was the depression era. They had to can everything & eat from their farm.
He told me he would take the dog & go hunting for dinner everyday. He said he would get a rabbit, squirrel, some quail just whatever he could find.
No one whined they just did what they had to do.
Most folks today have no idea about how they could fiend for themselves if need be. They just no HEB or Kroger.


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## Dick Hanks (Aug 16, 2007)

The values, traditions, and work ethics of our parents and grandparents are reflected in a lot of the gardeners on this Home Gardening forum. It's a big part of why I enjoy it so much.


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