When I first posted this, I should have asked if anyone ever canned rutabaga.

Annie cans rutabaga. She's the only one I remember mentioning it on this Forum.

You can see her comment on this thread from last year.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Turnips and Rutabagas

Have always just blanched and frozen mine or stored them with the other root crops in the basement. But your canning idea sounds like it would be worth a try. Thanks for posting about it. ;)

Dave

Carol and Dave,
Thanks for the response. The canned rutabaga look great. A nice orangey color that I like in my soup. As I mentioned before I did freeze some after blanching 5 minutes. They were still very firm. I couldn't even put a finger nail through a piece after blanching. Frozen or canned, I'm sure they will be fine in my vegetable soup this winter.

Yes, I can rutabagas. I notice that the newest Ball Blue Book doesn't have canning instructions anymore, nor does the Michigan State University website.

A check with my Extension Service got me the information that they don't advise canning because of the "quality" issues, too many people think rutabaga and turnip get strong when canned.

I like it, personally, and can eat it right out of the jar, warmed with some butter, salt and pepper. To each their own, I suppose.

At any rate, it wasn't a safety issue, it was a quality issue, apparently. I intend to keep canning them because I didn't find them to be strong, although they did turn a little darker than I expected. (shrug)

Annie

Annie
I have the latest Ball Blue Book and the canning instructions for rutabaga are on page 66.