I don't know how cold your winters are, but can't you just leave them in the ground and harvest as needed?

I don't know how cold your winters are, but can't you just leave them in the ground and harvest as needed?

Only tried them once when a neighbor canned them and that was years ago. Never canned them myself.

Can't really recall what we didn't like about them - texture maybe - but NCHFP recommends freezing in blanched 1/2" cubes or drying in thin strips rather than canning.

Dave

I leave them in the garden (they're much sweeter after the frosts hit) until the ground is ready to freeze solid so I can't pull them or dig them. Then I either store them in a container of barely damp sand in the root cellar or freeze them. Frankly, I don't bother blanching or cutting them up. I just throw them whole in a bag and vacuum seal them. We use them in stews and soups all winter. Texture is a little soft after freezing, but I'm cooking them anyway so that doesn't bother me.

I just leave mine in the ground all winter, they're the first fresh vegetable in the spring as soon as the ground thaws enough to dig them. A couple of times I've mulched them heavily and managed to dig some up at Christmas, even here in Michigan. They do store just fine in a root cellar as malna mentioned.

I also can rutabaga. I know it isn't "recommended" and that the Ball Blue Book removed instructions for a couple of years. It was not a safety issue, the notes said that they get "strong". However, I like them and apparently a lot of other people do too, because there were enough complaints that the directions are now back. With warnings, of course, about the strong flavor.

Annie

I'm with those who say leave them in the ground or store in earth/sand, etc. or a fridge. I can't imagine anything much more disgusting than a canned parsnip. Same goes for rutabaga, another winter vegetable. Canning them strikes me as a waste of effort, energy and materials for a result which would be inferior to the fresh vegetable. We eat them both all through the winter. The parsnips we mostly eat roasted and the rutabaga mostly mashed or in stews.

annie could you please post canning instructions for parsnips and rutabagas. i don't have the Blue Book and Ball's Home Preserving does not have it.

pattypan- Here's the Ball Blue Book recipe for canned Parsnips, Rutabagas, or Turnips.

1.5-2 pounds vegetables per quart
Salt (optional)
Water

Wash vegetables; drain. Prepare vegetables as for cooking, cutting to desired size. Cover vegetables with cold water in a large sauce pot; boil 3 minutes. Pack hot vegetables into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to each pint jar, 1 teaspoon salt to each quart jar, if desired. Ladle boiling water over vegetables, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 30 minutes, quarts 35 minutes at 10 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner.
Note: Rutabagas usually discolor when canned and also develops a strong flavor.

Hope that helps.

Rodney

thanks rodney, i think i'll try a few pints of each, since the freezer is full.

pattypan, we've emailed so I know you have the directions now, but for any future questions, it's in the Ball Complete Book under "Root Vegetables". It also contains the notation that it is "not advised" because the rutabaga gets strong, although I can them every year and like them.

Annie

thanks again, annie. i hope i harvest enough to get a canner load.