Canning Squash to Later Fry

This recipe calls for you to PREP squash in order to can it and it preserves it in a way that you can pull it out months later, rinse it off and batter and fry it as if it was fresh! Fried squash is my personal favorite way to eat delicious home grown yellow crookneck squash so I had to try this method of preserving it via canning!

If you prefer to learn by watching you can check out my video on this entire process HERE!

You can use this recipe and can/prep as many squash as you want so you can just double or triple the water mixture if you need to make more.

My all time FAVORITE canning Book is The Ball Complete Book of Home Canning

This recipe makes enough liquid to fill and pack 6 Quarts!

Tools:
-Mason jars (size & quantity you desire)
-Lids and rings
-Hot Water Bath Canner
-Ladle
-Canner grabber
-Rubber spatula utensil
-Clean clothes

Ingredients:
-9 cups of water
-1/2 cup of Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
-1/2 cup of white sugar
-1/2 tsp of pickling salt into each individual jar

Directions:
1. Combine your water, apple cider vinegar and white sugar together in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Once it boils for about 2-4 minutes turn the heat off under the pan.
2. While your mixture is boiling you can be cutting up your squash into thin chip like slices. Go ahead and pack these into your jars as you go. Leave 1/2 inch head space in the top of the jar and you can also use your rubber ended spatula utensil to push your squash slices down into the jar to get out any excess air pockets.

3. After your jars are full and your liquid mixture has come down from a boil, use your ladle and fill each with up to 1/4 inch head space with the liquid. If you run out of a bit of the mixture at the end spread what is left evenly amongst your last 2 jars and then fill the rest of the way with boiling hot water.
4. Put 1/2 teaspoon of pickling salt into each of your jars before you put the lids and rings on. Place lids on top with magnetic wand, screw rings on "finger tip tight" (which means screw just passed the point of resistance but not too far beyond that or your jars can break in the canning process).
5. Place jars in hot water bath canner, make sure all jars are evenly spread out on rack in canning pot and then insure that there is an inch of water OVER all of your cans after they're all added. If there isn't add enough water to cover all the jars by 1 inch.

6. Then put the lid back on your hot water bath canner and bring to a boil. Once it gets to a boil you can the jars the amount of time required by YOUR elevation. This varies all over the world so Google it and see how long you need to hot water bath can squash for your specific location!
7. Once canning process is done, carefully use jar holder to remove jars onto a clean dish towel on the counter and let them sit out overnight to come down to room temperature. After this point you can move them to long term store.

Tip: Once you're ready to have your fried squash just open the jar, wash off your squash thoroughly with water (to get the salt and ACV off) and then batter and fry just like normal! Enjoy!!!

Xoxo,
Elizabeth

I hope you loved this canning recipe! You can check out how to can pickle relish HERE!
You can see how to make the full recipe for the Pickle Relish HERE!
And if you prefer videos you can find the video on how to can Dill Pickles I filmed with my Mom a couple of years ago HERE!

How To : Canning Pickle Relish

We start out with the full recipe on how to PUT TOGETHER your pickle relish and you can find that HERE. But now we move into the canning process! You can see the full video on the canning process HERE if you're more of a visual learner!

Required tools:

Hot water bath canner

Mason jars (however many or whatever size you want)

Lids and rings for all your jars

Ladle

Clean hand towel to clean jar rims

Jar funnel

Jar lifter

Magnetic lid wand

Non-metalic spatula

Dry cloth or mat to set finished jars on overnight

This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite recipes in the Ball Canning Cookbook and if you don't have that one yet I HIGHLY recommend it. You can find it here

Directions:

1. You start the whole process by filling your canner 1/2 to 3/4 full of hot water and get it on the stove to start to boil because this can take some time, put the lid on.

2. You have to clean, sanitize and warm your mason jars. You can do this by hand washing them and then filling them with boiling water and sitting them on the counter OR you can run them through the dishwasher on the heated dry setting and leave them in the dishwasher and pull a couple out at a time as you begin to fill them.

3. Clean and prep your mason jar lids and rims by putting in a pot of boiling water on the stove for 10 minutes, then you'll transfer that pot over to the counter to your prep station.

4. Once you pickling mixture is done on the stove you want to setup your canning area by moving a few jars, your mixture, your tools and everything to one place.You also want to make sure that at this time your canning pot has come to a boil or is very close.

5. You ladle your mixture into a prepared jar using a canning funnel (I didn't in this video because I couldn't find mine but it makes everything MUCH less messy), you fill it up to 1/2 head from the top of the jar. This is called leaving "head space" and the jar needs that space inside the can to properly can. If your jar is too full it could crack and bust from pressure in the canner. (Again, you can SEE this whole process in THIS VIDEO )

6. Once you have filled your jar use your non-metalic spatula to push down into the jar and around the edges, you're trying to push any air pockets out.

7. Then wipe the rime of your jar to make sure it is clean all around, I do the outside too just in case I made any messes.

8. Use your magnetic wand to pick up a lid that is still in your pot of hot water, place it on the jar and then pick up a rim and put it on the jar. You want to turn it "finger tip tight" and this means don't do it super tight, don't force it, you push until you feel resistance and then just a tiny bit passed that and you're good.

9. Use your jar lifter to put the (now) warm/hot filled jars directly into your hot water bath canner. Leave the lid off from now on until your canner is full, place each jar in it as soon as you have the mixture in that way the mixture and jars do not come down in temperature.

10. Once you hot water bath canner is full then drop them down in the water (if you're using a tray) and put your lid on it. Make sure that once your jars are down in the water that the lids are COVERED with water, so if they aren't just go ahead and add more water until they are. Then put the lid on to start bringing it up to a boil.

11. Now you will "process" (means cooking at a rolling boil constantly) for however long your elevation requires. You can google this and find exactly the amount of time you need; some places it's 10 minutes and others it's 20 so make sure to do what is required of YOUR area.

12. Once the timer goes off, I turn the stove off and remove the lid and let everything come down in temperature for just about 5 minutes.

13. Use the jar lifter to take jars out of canner and place on the towel you have laid out on the counter. This is where they will sit overnight. Some jars will "pop" right away or within 5-10 minutes and that is a good thing, that means the lid has sealed. Some may take longer, which is why it is safe to wait overnight to be safe. Also within this time the jars come down to room temperature and are easier, safer to store.

14. The next morning you move your cans of gloriously home canned goodies to a shelf for long tern storage, preferably out of direct sunlight or exposure to much heat, including general cooking heat (don't store in a cabinet over your stove). 

Yay! Now you've canned something!!! Congratulations!!!

xoxo,

Elizabeth

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