How to Can FRESH Kidney Beans
Learn how to can fresh kidney beans when they’re in the shelling stage! Homegrown canned beans have an amazing taste and texture.
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Equipment
- a pot, for boiling the beans
- a second pot, for boiling water
- a heatproof strainer
- a pressure CANNER (not a cooker)
- pint or quart jars, with lids & rings
- a jar lifter, for handling hot jars
- a canning funnel, for filling the jar
- a chopstick or skewer, for air bubbles
- damp paper towel, for cleaning jar rims
- a towel to place the cooling jars on
Ingredients
- shelled, fresh kidney beans
- salt (1/2 tsp for pints, 1 tsp for quarts)
Instructions
- When you're ready to can, prepare your pressure canner. Add the recommended amount of water according to the manufacturer (usually 2 to 3 inches of water). Place the canner on a medium heat burner, to start heating up.
- Fill your clean jars about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way with water & place in the pressure canner (to help them heat up and stay hot), or keep the jars hot in a dishwasher.
- Rinse the shelled beans with cool water, then dump them into a pot of boiling water.
- Boil a pot of water, then add the beans to the pot. Return to a full boil, then boil for 3 minutes. At this point, IF you'd like to, you can remove from heat, cover, and soak for 30 minutes to one hour. The way I initially learned to can fresh beans the "old timer way", we didn't soak after boiling, but if you're concerned that pressure canning won't destroy all of the phytic acid/lectins, then this is the place to soak your beans. (I've done both ways and either method results in very tender, digestible beans.)
- Place the canner on a burner and turn to medium, so it and the jars can start heating up. It doesn’t need to come to a boil, but should be nice and hot.
- Drain the beans, and discard the cooking/soaking water. Rinse the beans lightly with fresh water.
- Remove the hot jars from the canner, (pouring the extra water in each jar down into the sink), or from your dishwasher. Fill each jar up to the shoulder area with beans. (Don't overfill!)
- Put salt in each jar. (rate is 1/2 teaspoon for pint jars; or 1 teaspoon for quart jars)
- Pour boiling water into the jars, to a 1 inch headspace. (This is just below the bottom line at the top of the canning jar.)
- Use a chopstick or skewer to remove air bubbles. If you need to, add a little more water at this time to maintain the 1 inch headspace.
- Wipe the rims of the jar clean with a soft cloth or damp paper towel, then apply the lid and ring.
- Set the filled jars down into your pressure canner, tighten the lid, place over high heat until a steady stream of steam comes out of the vent pipe for 10 minutes, or however long the manufacturer suggests.
- Check the notes below for specific processing times and pressures.
Notes
For a very rough estimate of how many jars you'll need - figure about 1 pint jar for every 1 1/3 cup of shelled beans. (Double amounts for quart jars.)
For a weighted gauge canner, process pints for 75 minutes, or quarts for 90 minutes, at 10 pounds of pressure. (If you’re above 1,000′ sea level, process at 15 lbs of pressure for the same amount of time.)
If you have a dial-gauge pressure canner, process pints for 75 minutes, or quarts for 90 minutes, at 11 pounds of pressure. (For higher elevation/altitude folks: if you’re 2,001 – 4,000 ft above sea level use 12 lbs pressure, 4,001 to 6,000′ use 13 lbs pressure, and 6,001 to 8,000′ use 14 lbs pressure.)