SWEET POTATOES

I love sweet potatoes, but I am the only one in my family that does, so I did a few pints today just for myself.  Here's how I did them.

Fill your canner with about 3 inches of water.  Place your jars in the canner and turn on the heat to keep them warm until you are ready to fill them. 

First I washed the potatoes

Then put them in a stainless steel pot and covered in water.  Boiled for about 20 minutes or until they are easy to peel.

You can also steam them if you prefer. 

I then put them in a strainer in the sink to cool for a little bit until I was able to handle them enough to take a paring knife and peel them.  

Next, I cut them into chucks and filled my jars leaving 1 inch headspace.  "Tidbit"  Starchy foods absorb water so you can leave a little more head space here but make sure when you cover them that you leave the proper "1 inch head space".

I made a medium syrup using 5 cups of water, 1 1/2 cup of white sugar and 1 1/2 cup of brown sugar.  I covered my potatoes with the syrup.  

Now, I removed all air bubbles and added more syrup to leave the 1 inch headspace.  I wiped the rims of my jars with a paper towel dipped in white vinegar making sure not to leave behind any sticky syrup so I would get a good seal. 

Put on my lids and rings.  Tightened down finger tight and put them in the canner.

I vented my steams for 7 minutes (All American) If you have a different canner then vent for the time your manual says to.   The presto says to vent for 10 minutes. 

Process at 10 pounds pressure for 65 minutes for pints or if you do quarts then it would be 90 minutes.

My finished Jars.

My leftovers...I ate and they were so good.

Don't forget to adjust pressure for your own elevation.

Click Here for Elevation Charts

Let pressure drop naturally.  Open canner and wait 10 minutes.  Place jars on counter to cool for 24 hours.

Lable and Store.

FYI

The only safe way to can Sweet Potatoes is in cubes or chunks. If you puree them, they will be to dense for the heat to penetrate to the center of the jars and you may not kill all the bacteria that can cause botulism.