We had our first mild frost last week and I’ve started the final harvesting.  I’ve decided to pickle the last of the carrots and beans.  The first order of business is to scrub them good with the vegetable brush and trim the ends.  Cut into sticks and cubes, or slices if you prefer them that way.

Straight from the garden

After their bath

I got pretty tired of boiling water, blanching and ice baths and I thought “why am I doing this” when I have a perfectly good microwave oven.  It works great.  Well, I haven’t tried it with tomatoes so I can’t recommend it for those.

Cover with plastic and one minute in the microwave

Set up the water bath and pull the hot jars out of the dishwasher (sanitize cycle).

Pickling Solution

This is the same basic solution I used for pickling beets.  I like the sweetened mix for carrots, but you could “dill” them.

• 4 cups white distilled vinegar (5%)
• 2 cup of distilled water (no chemicals)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons canning salt
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 12 whole cloves
• 12 whole allspice

Combine all ingredients into a non-reactive pot (not aluminum) and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.

Pack the carrots into the jars.  I made cubes this year, along with some carrots sticks.  Pack the jars tightly and add 1 slice of fresh ginger to each jar.   Using a strainer, pour the hot pickling liquid over the carrots, making sure they are covered but leaving about 1 inch of space in the top of the jar.  Put the lids on and tighten the bands finger tight, but not tight, tight.

When the water bath reaches boiling, turn down to a simmer and process the jars in the water bath for 15 minutes.   Remove the jars and set on a kitchen towel.  Listen for the “ping” which means the jars have sealed.  Let the jars sit for 24 hours, then you can tighten the bands to finger tight again, or remove them and use just the lids.

Pickled Carrots Cubes or Sticks

Enjoy!