Every so often, our local Salvation Army receives a plethora of a single food item that gets rejects by our local Walmart distribution center. A few years ago, they had so many strawberries that they couldn’t give them all away and I ended up making more jam than we could use. We sold some and donated the proceeds back to the Salvation Army.
This week, they ended up with an incredible amount of mushrooms. My neighbor, bless her heart, always brings us a few things when they have an overabundance. She brought us a flat of mushrooms and let me know they had an unlimited supply. So I took a short trip across town and brought home 7 more flats.
We have yet to purchase our deep freeze, so the only other option to preserve was to can them. I only had time for 2 batches, so we ended up with 10 pints and 12 half-pints which is the max load that the pressure canner can hold at one time. I’ve never canned anything that needed a pressure canner, so I borrowed one from my dear friend (and also took her a flat of mushrooms and a few cucumbers).
In the three trusted places that I looked, Ball Canning, Presto Pressure Canner & Cooker Guide, and The National Center for Home Food Preservation, the directions for canning mushrooms are basically the same.
Canned Mushrooms
Equipment
- Pressure Canner
- Pint or Half-pint canning jars
Ingredients
- Mushrooms approximately 2 lbs. per pint jar
- Salt (optional)
- Water
Instructions
Prepare
- Pull off stems and cut off any brown spots. Discard or add to compost pile.
- Soak in cold water for 10 minutes to loosen any dirt then wash mushrooms in clean, cold water.
- Cut large mushrooms in halves, quarters, or slices. Leave small mushrooms whole, if desired.
Cook
- Put mushrooms in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
Can
- Pack hot mushrooms into hot pint or half-pint jars leaving 1-inch of headspace. Add salt (optional) ¼ tsp. per half-pint, ½ tsp. per pint. Top off with liquid from pot leaving 1-inch headspace.
- Remove bubbles from jars and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe jar rings and add lids and jar rings.
- Process in a pressure canner at 10 lbs weighted gauge or 11 lbs dial gauge for 45 minutes. Adjust pressure for altitude if necessary.
- Check lids and allow jars to fully cool before storing.
Notes
References:
- National Center for Home Food Preservation
- Fresh Preserving: Ball & Kerr Mason Jars & Home Canning
- Presto Pressure Canner & Cooker Guide
Tell us how it went! Leave a comment below.