Canning Asparagus: Easy, Fully Illustrated Step-by-Step Directions and Recipe to Make Home Canned Asparagus!

Asparagus is easy to can! All you need is a pressure canner (it is a very low acid food, so a plain water bath canner won't work). If a water bath canner is all you have, you can still make pickled asparagus (see this page). Here are the directions to can your own asparagus, so you can eat better, save money and have better tasting canned asparagus!

 

Ingredients

  • Asparagus - raw, fresh. Use tender, tight-tipped spears, 4 to 6 inches long.

    An average of 24½ pounds makes a canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 16 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pint jars. A crate of fresh asparagus weighs 31 pounds and yields 7 to 12 quarts - that's an average of 3½ pounds per quart.

Equipment

  • Large pot - for blanching
  • Large spoons and ladles
  • Ball jars (Publix, Kroger, other grocery stores and some "big box" stores carry them - about $8 per dozen quart jars including the lids and rings)
  • Salt (optional - I don't use any)

Step by Step Directions

Step 1 - Get your equipment ready

This is a good time to start a large pot of water boiling on low heat (to fill your jars, around the asparagus; and also to start your canner heating up (with the lid off and a few inches of water in the bottom - leave the heat very low so you don't let it boil dry!).  You can also get your canning jars cleaning in your dishwasher.  The pressure canner will ensure they contents and the jars, lids, etc. are sterile, so you don't need to pre-sterilize, but you certainly want to start with a jar that is clean!  Lids can start softening in a pot of hot, but not quite boiling water.

Step 2 - Wash the asparagus

Wash asparagus and trim off tough scales. Break off the bottom tough part of the stems (when you bend the stems in your hands, they tend to naturally break off when the stem starts to become tender) and wash again.

Step 3 - Cut to fit your jars

You can cut the spears to fit your jars (leaving room for 1 inch of headspace) or you can cut them into smaller sized peices, as you prefer! Some people like whole spears, some like 1 inch pieces and some in between..

Step 4 - Pack the jars

We're using the raw pack method here, since the jars will spend plenty of time in the pressure canner at higher temperatures anyway! Fill jars with raw asparagus, packing as tightly as possible without crushing, being sure to leave 1-inch headspace at the top of the jar.

Step 5 - Add salt, if desired

Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart to the jars, if desired. It is only to suit your taste; it does not add any preservative properties here.

Step 6 - Add the boiling water

A vacuum-sealed FoodSaver bag is on top at left. You can see how the FoodSaver really sucks out all the air, so the corn won't dry out or get freezer burn. That means the food inside will last many times longer.  I've been using them (and their pre December essor in the marketplace, Seal-a-Meal) for many years. If you're interested, here's where you can get one.

If you don't have one, Ziploc bags work, too, but it is hard to get as much air out of the bags.  remove the air to prevent drying and freezer burn. One person wrote to tell me that she uses a straw and seals the Ziploc around the straw to suck the air out of the bag, then pinches the straw and quickly removes it while pressing the seal.  It works fairly well, but I'll stick to the Foodsaver, since the bags are microwaveable and much thicker than a Ziploc bag (even the Ziploc "freezer bags")

Step 8 - Label the bags!

"Sharpie" marking pens work well on plastic and won't rub off.

 

Step 7 - Done!

Pop them into the freezer, on the quick freeze shelf, if you have one!

Later, when you are ready to serve the corn, it just takes about 3 or 4 minutes in the microwave (from frozen) or in the top of a double boiler.  It doesn't need to be "cooked", just heated up!

 

 

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