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Publication #FCS8314

 

Preparing Peas: Green or English, Shelled for Canning1

United States Department of Agriculture, Extension Service2

It is recommended that sugar snap and Chinese edible pods be frozen for best quality.

Quantity: An average of 31-1/2 pounds (in pods) is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 20 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 30 pounds and yields 5 to 10 quarts -- an average of 4-1/2 pounds per quart.

Quality: Select filled pods containing young, tender, sweet seeds. Discard diseased pods.

Procedure: Shell and wash peas. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart to the jar, if desired.

Hot pack -- Cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil in a saucepan, and boil 2 minutes. Fill jars loosely with hot peas, and add cooking liquid, leaving 1-inch headspace.

Raw pack -- Fill jars with raw peas, add boiling water, leaving 1-inch headspace. Do not shake or press down peas.

Adjust lids and process following the recommendations in Table 1 or Table 2 according to the method of canning used.

Tables

Table 1. 
Table 1. Recommended process time for Peas in a dial-gauge pressure canner.
  Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Jar Size Process Time

0-

2,000 ft

2,001-

4,000 ft

4,001-

6,000 ft

6,001-

8,000 ft

Hot and Raw

Pints or Quarts

 40 min 11 lb 12 lb 13 lb 14 lb

*After the canner is completely depressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. Wait 10 minutes; then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Lift the lid with the underside away from you so that the steam coming out of the canner does not burn your face.
Table 2. 
Table 2. Recommended process time for Peas in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
  Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Jar Size Process Time

0-

1,000 ft

 Above 1,000 ft

Hot and Raw

Pints or Quarts

 40 min 10 lb 15 lb

*After the canner is completely depressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. Wait 10 minutes; then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Lift the lid with the underside away from you so that the steam coming out of the canner does not burn your face.

Footnotes

1.

This document is Fact Sheet FCS 8314, a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: May 2003. Revised: July 2005. Reviewed: August 2008. This document was extracted from the Complete Guide to Home Canning, Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA. It was originally published on CD-ROM as part of HE 8150, Guide 4: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Vegetables and Vegetable Products. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

2.

Reviewed for use in Florida by Amy Simonne, assistant professor, Food Safety and Quality, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.