Learn how to preserve garden peas fresh for an extended period of time by canning them in glass jars. Canned garden peas are great to use in cooking and salads. Even though preserving vegetables in your freezer is much easier, thermally preserved vegetables are believed to be healthier because they release more antioxidants and bad bacteria are destroyed completely.

In the Balkans, we use canned garden peas in many dishes. Some of the most popular local recipes with garden peas are Garden Pea Stew and Russian salad.

BENEFITS OF CANNING.

Canning food has several main benefits:

Potentially, it can help us deal with food waste, which we all know is a serious problem in our modern society. Instead of throwing away fruit and vegetables, they can be preserved that way.

Canning vegetables can also save us frequent trips to the shop and that is very convenient. Especially for people who do not have a shop nearby.

Most importantly, canning food at home is healthier. You know exactly what goes inside your food.

Many are cautious of using store-bought canned fruits and vegetables because of their high content of sugar or salt and the use of synthetic preservatives. Canning fruits and vegetables at home without salt and sugar or with controlled use of these ingredients is a better alternative to buying ready-made cans.

WHAT FRUITS AND VEGETABLES CAN BE CANNED?

All vegetables can be canned. Most vegetables are suitable for canning in a water brine, but some of them taste so much better marinated or pickled. 

So far, I have shared recipes for Easy Marinated Peppers, Perfect Pickled Gherkins, Easy Homemade Sauerkraut and Bulgarian Royal Pickle Torshi which you may want to try.

HISTORY OF GARDEN PEAS.

Garden peas (Pisum sativum) are grown virtually worldwide for their edible seeds. Only a few other peas varieties, like sugar peas and snow peas, produce edible pods. They are popular in East Asian cuisines and can be consumed raw or cooked like green beans.

While the origins of domesticated peas have not been definitely determined, the pea is one of the oldest cultivated crops. The wild plant is native to the Mediterranean region, and ancient remains dating to the late Neolithic Period have been found in the Middle East and on the plateau and mountains of Ethiopia.

Garden peas are a good source of vitamins and minerals. In particular, they are rich in vitamin B and iron which are important for making new red blood cells and transporting oxygen around the body. They are high in protein and fibre and low in fat and sugars making them a good dietary option.

HOW TO CAN GARDEN PEAS?

Always choose fresh and healthy vegetables for canning. If you have not grown the vegetables yourself, start canning them as soon as you have bought them in the store.

Step 1: Prepare for canning

Always wash your hands well before canning. That will prevent bad bacteria from spreading. Use clean utensils, towels, bowls and pots. 

Sterilise jars and lids prior to use. It’s best to sterilise the jars just before you start canning.

Step 2: Sterilise the jars prior to canning

I recently learned that when using a pressure canner, you do not have to sterilise jars prior to packing the vegetables in them. They get sterilised together with the food in the pressure canner. But, if like me, you do not own a presser canner, it is most important to sterilise the jars beforehand.

I use the water bath method for sterilisation and canning. Although there are a lot of controversies about the efficiency of this sterilisation method, in the Balkans, water bath canning has been used since the 1960s and is still the most popular way of preserving vegetables and meat in most households today.

How to sterilise jars by the water bath method?

Start by washing the jars in warm soapy water, then rinse them in warm water.

You can use any large pot, as long as it is deep enough to have the jars fully submerged in water inside. I use a large inexpensive stock pot.

Pour boiled water from your kitchen kettle into your pot. Using canning tongs, place the jars carefully in the hot water with their opening facing down. Later, this will make it easier to take the jars out of the pot without water left inside them. Pour more hot water into your pot, if needed, to cover the jars with at least one inch of water on top.

Bring the water in the pot to a full boil. Cover the pot with a lid and set a timer for 10 minutes. The timing must start from the moment the water reaches a full boil. If the water is boiling too vigorously, reduce the heat to bring it down to a more gentle but still full boil. Place the jar lids in the boiling water to sterilise them as well. Be careful, the water in the pot will be very hot, always use tongs. Remove the pot from the heat after 10 minutes.

Fish the empty jars and lids with your tongs out of the hot water. Place all jars upside down in a tray covered with a clean tea towel. Cover the jars with another clean towel to prevent dust or dirt from landing on them.

Start canning while the jars are still warm. If the jars are too hot to handle, wait for 10-15 minutes before you pack them.

If you are doing the canning with a pressure canner, you do not need to sterilise the jars prior to packing. But, you still need to wash them well in warm soapy water.

Step 3: Prepare the garden peas for canning

Remove the peas from their pods. Discharge any damaged peas. Soak the peas in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes. You can add 3-4 cubes of ice to the water to keep it cold.

Step 4: Choose your preferred method of canning peas

There are two methods for canning garden peas:

The raw pack method is when you pack raw garden peas into jars, cover them with water and process the jars hermetically.

The hot pack is when the garden peas are first blanched, then packed in jars and processed. This method results in higher quality peas naturally because by blanching the peas the air pockets in the peas are removed. The peas will also release more antioxidants, natural sweetness and fibre when processed thermally. This is the method I use when canning peas.

Step 5: Blanch the garden peas in boiling water

Transfer the peas to a pot and pour just enough water to cover the peas. Place the pot on the hob at a high temperature and bring the water to the boil. Reduce the heat and let the peas simmer for 5 minutes. 

Fish the peas out of the boiling water with a sieve. Shake excess water, then transfer the peas to a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking process.

Step 6: Pack the garden peas in jars

Pack the blanched peas in warm sterilised jars.

Fill the jars with hot boiled water from your kitchen kettle and leave 1 inch (3cm) headspace in the jars.

Wipe the jar rims to remove air bubbles and place the lids on. Finger-tighten the lids but not too tight, because the air inside the jars needs to find a way to escape at a high temperature for the jars to seal hermetically.

Step 7: Process the Packed jars of garden peas

How to process the packed jars in a water bath?

Pour hot boiled water from your kitchen kettle into your canning pot. Lower the packed jars into the boiling water using jar tongs. Be careful, the pot and the water will be very hot. If necessary, add more boiling water to cover the jars with at least 1 inch (3 cm) of water on the top.

Place the pot with the packed jars on the hob and bring the water to a full boil. Cover the pot with a lid and boil for 80 minutes. Set the timer from the moment the water has returned to a full boil. If the water is boiling too vigorously, reduce the heat until it comes down to a more gentle but still full boil. After 80 minutes turn the heat off.

How to process jars of garden peas in a pressure canner?

Pressure canners are scientifically proven to kill Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that is commonly found in soil, on raw fruits and vegetables, etc. Understandably, more people put their trust in them than in the water bath method.

The processing guidelines for hot packs in a weighted-gauge pressure canner are below. For dial-gauge pressure canner, find instructions here: Dial-gauge pressures.

Carefully take the jars out of the hot water with your jar tongs. Arrange the jars of garden peas upside down on a tray lined with a tea towel. Leave the jars of the garden peas to cool overnight.

Store the processed jars of garden peas in a cool dark place.

Note: Be aware that some canned vegetables like corn, dry beans and garden peas can get cloudy in storage, due to the starch in them. This does not affect their taste or goodness.