Canning Potatoes
Canning potatoes in a pressure canner is a simple way to preserve potatoes at home for long term storage. Home-canned potatoes will keep for years at room temperature, without the electricity required for a freezer.
Equipment
Ingredients
- Potatoes see notes for quantity
- Canning Salt optional ~ 1 tsp per quart, see note
Instructions
- Place two large pots of water on the stove and bring them to a boil. One is to pre-cook the potatoes, and the other is fresh, clean water that will be used as canning liquid in the jars. Important: Do not re-use cooking liquid from the potatoes for packing.
- While the water is coming to a boil, prepare your potatoes. Peel the potatoes, and chop any large spuds into 1 to 2'' pieces. Smaller potatoes under 2'' in diameter can be left whole, but still must be peeled. Place the potatoes in a bowl of water and keep them submerged to prevent browning while you work.
- Once the water is boiling, place the potatoes into the water and pre-cook for 2 minutes (for 1'' cubes) or 10 minutes (for whole potatoes about 2'' in diameter). Strain the potatoes after cooking and discard the cooking liquid.
- Pack the cooked potatoes into canning jars (pints or quarts, quarts recommended for efficiency). Leave 1'' headspace.
- Cover with clean, boiling water and add 1 tsp salt per quart (optional).
- Wipe rims and apply 2 part canning lids, tightening to just finger tight.
- Place your pressure canner on the stove and add about 2'' of boiling water to the bottom from the clean boiling water pot. Insert the canning rack that came with the canner, and then load in the hot jars into the pressure canner.
- Close the pressure canner and allow the steam to vent for 10 minutes before fully sealing with a canning weight.
- Allow the pressure canner to come up to pressure, and begin timing once the required pressure is shown on the gauge. When canning potatoes under 1000 feet in elevation, set the pressure canner to 10 pounds pressure and process for 35 minutes (pints) or 40 minutes (quarts). For other altitudes and when using a dial gauge pressure canner, see the table above for the appropriate times/pressures for canning potatoes.
Notes
The yield will vary based on the size of your potatoes and how efficient you are with peeling, as well as how efficient you are at packing the jars. Potatoes in a small dice mean more pounds per jar, while whole 2'' potatoes mean less pounds per jar. For diced potatoes, it takes just under 3 pounds to fill a quart jar, and for small whole potatoes, it's more like 2 pounds per jar.
My 30 quart All American pressure canner holds 14 quarts, while many smaller models hold 7. Adjust the total quantity of potatoes to your batch size and cutting methods. If you'd like to check ahead of time, pack the jars with raw potatoes to measure, knowing that they'll shrink a bit in the blanching, so be sure to have a bit extra too.
Do not use iodized table salt for canning, it contains other anti-caking agents. Only use canning salt or kosher salt. The salt is optional in this recipe, and not necessary for preservation. It is recommended for flavor, and maintaining the texture of the potatoes during canning.