People are always telling me that pressure canning scares them. I, in turn, am always telling people how convenient last minute dinners are thanks to my pressure canner! This is a very simple and tasty recipe that is a modified version of the one found in The Ball Blue Book (see note). I love having these in my pantry for a quick side dish; plus they are easy and “quick” enough (not that any PC recipe is particularly speedy) that I usually use this recipe in my pressure canning classes.

Ingredients:

5 pounds carrots

3 1/2 cups water

2 1/2 cups orange juice

3 cups brown sugar

2 t minced ginger (optional)

Yield ~ 8 pints

1) Wash and peel the carrots. Wash again and chop into uniform size pieces. You can do coins, bite-size, whatever floats your boat.

2) Combine water, orange juice, brown sugar, and ginger over medium heat to dissolve sugar.

3) Pack carrots in jars and ladle syrup over carrots, leaving 1-inch headspace.

4) Remove air bubbles and wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a pressure canner for 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure (adjust for altitude as needed).

Note ~ the original recipe calls for 7 pounds of carrots, 2 cups brown sugar, 2 cups water, and 1 cup of orange juice with a yield of 6 pints. Every time I have followed this recipe, I have gotten way more pints and needed much more glaze. Hence the modifications! Also, I’m not one to play around with low acid recipes, but the only ingredient that would be a concern here is the carrots themselves and they are processed according to USDA guidelines.