CANNED SWEET PICKLED CARROTS

I get silly excited about canning and preserving, it fills me with such joy that the natural food I have grown on the farm garden will not only continue to feed my family fresh throughout the season but also by preserving some of the freshest garden bounty it will also provide some prime baby vegetables, pickled cauliflowers, sweet and sour green tomatoes and fruits for those leaner winter months when there is only a selection of fresh garden leafy greens, root vegetables like beetroot, carrots, parsnips, swedes, stored potatoes and squashes available fresh from the garden.

Makes 6 x 490ml Ball Mason Jars / Hands on Time 55 minutes / 3 weeks Standing Time

Ingredients

3lb small fresh home grown carrots 

5 cups white vinegar 5% acidity

2 cups of sugar

3 medium onions finely sliced

2 tbsp mustard seeds

2 tsp celery salt

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp crushed dried chillies

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp black mustard seeds

First Jobs Before You Start Your Preparation

Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees.

Put your canning water bath or deep saucepan 3/4 full of water on the heat, this will need to be at 88 degrees and above for successful canning.

Now You Are Ready To Can

Now to start, for the carrots bring a pan of water up to a gentle boil, peel the carrots and chop off the tops, place in the boiling water for 10 minutes or until just fork tender but not cooked all the way through, drain and run under cold water for a couple of seconds to stop the cooking process, leave to one side.  Meanwhile place your canning jars and lids in the pre heated oven for five minutes to sterilise the jars.

In a saucepan place the vinegar, sugar and all the spices, bring to a simmer and add the onions, cook for one minute then take off the heat, you are now ready to can.

When the jars are ready to come out of the oven, fill them with the carrots, pack in as much as you can, gently without breaking any of the carrots, now fill the jars with the hot pickling liquid leaving 1cm head space at the top of the jars, place on the lids and screw bands then give a 1/4 turn back.

Place the jars in the water bath for 15 minutes at a minimum of 88 degrees and above for 15 minutes, remove from the water bath and leave on the side to cool, remove the screw bands and check that the lids have sealed, place the screw bands back on and place the jars some where cool and out of direct sunlight, these will keep for a year on the side and once opened keep refrigerated and eat within a couple of weeks or so.