Canning Pumpkin (& Other Winter Squash)

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Canning Pumpkin (& Other Winter Squash)

Canning pumpkin can be a bit tricky, but don’t worry—I’m here to walk you through it step by step. There’s currently only one safe method for pressure canning pumpkin, approved by the National Center for Food Preservation, and I’ll walk you through it step by step.

Prep Time45

Cook Time15

Additional Time1 30

Total Time2 30

Author: Ashley Adamant

Ingredients

Pumpkin
Water or Syrup see notes

Instructions

Preheat a pressure canner to simmering, and prepare jars and lids.
Cut pumpkin in half, scoop out seeds, cut into 1-inch-wide slices, and peel. Cut flesh into 1-inch cubes. Be sure to remove all the peel and stringy inside bits.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the pumpkin cubes for 2 minutes.
Fill jars with blanched pumpkin cubes and cooking liquid, leaving 1-inch headspace.
Wipe rims, apply lids, and tighten bands to fingertip tight.
Load jars into a pre-heated pressure canner and screw down the lid. Vent steam for 10 minutes, then add the canning weight and bring the canner up to pressure. Once at pressure, process pint jars for 55 minutes and quart jars for 90 minutes. The times are the same at every altitude, but pressure increases at higher elevations. See the notes below.
Allow the canner to cool naturally, then remove jars and let cool completely.
Once the jars are cooled completely, check seals, label and store the jars on your pantry shelf. (Remove the rings for storage.) Any unsealed jars can be re-processed or stored in the refrigerator for immediate use.

Notes

Shelf Life

Properly pressure-canned and sealed jars of pumpkin will keep indefinitely on the pantry shelf so long as they’re sealed. However, after 12-18 months you’ll start to see a drop in quality inside the jars. They’re still safe to eat so long as they’re sealed, but it’s still best to use them within a year.

Refrigerate after opening.

Yield

The actual amount of pumpkin needed for a canner batch can vary widely by pumpkin variety, but generally:

An average of 16 pounds is needed for a canner load of 7 quarts.
An average of 10 pounds is needed for a canner load of 9 pints.

This averages out to about 2¼ pounds of whole pumpkin per quart. When I prepared and canned pumpkin at home I was able to fit 1 ½ pounds of prepared pumpkin cubes into a quart jar, so you do lose quite a bit of weight peeling and seeding the pumpkins.

Altitude Adjustments For Canning Pumpkin

With pressure canning, the processing times stay the same at higher altitudes, but the pressures change. The canning times for pressure canning pumpkin should always be 55 minutes for pints, and 90 minutes for quarts. Do not can in jars larger than a quart. (And for smaller jars, use pint canning times).

Here is how you adjust the pressure for canning pumpkin:

For dial gauge pressure canners:

0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure

For weighted gauge pressure canners:

0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure

Canning Liquids

These instructions allow you to use water or syrup as a canning liquid, and I’d recommend water for savory uses. Light or extra light syrup works well for sweet recipes like pumpkin pie.

Here’s where you can find the sugar/water ratios for various canning syrups.

For a 9-Pint Canner Batch, you’ll need the following amounts:

Extra-light syrup: 3/4 cups sugar to 6 1/2 cups water
Light syrup: 1 1/2 cups sugar to 5 3/4 cups water

For a 7-Quart Canner Batch, you’ll need the following amounts:

Extra-light syrup: 1 1/4 cups sugar to 10 1/2 cups water
Light syrup: 2 1/4 cups sugar to 9 cups water

If you want to can this as a soup base with broth or stock, that’s allowed, but you have to follow the university of Alaska’s Hearty Soup Canning Guidelines. With broth/stock, the canning times are 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts.