Quick Pickled Asparagus - Easy recipe, no canning required! (2024)

FAQs

How do you can asparagus without a canner? ›

If you want to can asparagus and don't have a pressure canner you can pickle it. That will raise the acidity sufficiently so that it's safe to process in a normal canner.

While blanching the asparagus is not strictly necessary, it's worth the time investment to allow that tasty brine to fully permeate the stalks. Blanching should be brief to soften the flesh enough to allow the brine to fully penetrate the firm stalks without cooking the vegetable to mush.

Asparagus is a low acid vegetable and must be processed in a pressure canner to be safe. To can asparagus, prepare the asparagus as described above and follow guidelines from the National Center for Home Food Preservation for hot or raw packing.

Boil 2 or 3 minutes. Pack hot asparagus into hot jars, fill jars with boiling hot cooking liquid or water leaving 1-inch headspace. Add ½ teaspoon salt to pints, 1 teaspoon to quarts, if desired. Remove air bubbles; adjust headspace if needed.

You can use a hot water bath for acidic foods like pickles, but you MUST use a pressure canner for animal protein and plain or lightly salted vegetables. For a hot water bath, I use a large stock pot with a pasta insert. First, I boil the jars and lid rings, then I take them out but keep the water in the pot.

A boiling water bath is simply a large pot (you can use a stockpot) with a rack on the bottom. Canning jars filled with food and with special canning lids secured are completely immersed in boiling water for an amount of time specified in the canning recipe. After processing, as the jars cool, a vacuum seal is formed.

Like most vegetables, if frozen raw, the texture, taste, colour and nutritional value of asparagus deteriorates. Make sure you blanch or cook the veg first to preserve these elements.

One easy way to cook asparagus is to blanch it. Not only is it quick, but blanching also helps retain the vegetable's vibrant green color. Plus, blanched asparagus results in a crisp-tender texture, perfect for recipes like Asparagus Salad with Eggs & Jambon de Bayonne and Tarragon Scallops on Asparagus Spears.

If you're using green vegetables — to make, for example, green bean pickles or zucchini pickles — you can blanch vegetables first in boiling water for two to three minutes and then shock them in an ice bath to preserve their color, but this step is purely optional.

Water bath canning is a popular and straightforward method of preserving high-acid foods such as fruits, jams, jellies, pickles, and salsas. By submerging the filled jars in boiling water, this method effectively kills bacteria and creates a vacuum seal, keeping your food fresh and safe for an extended period.

What is the best way to preserve asparagus? ›

Small spears should be water blanched for 2 minutes, medium spears for 3 minutes, and large spears for 4 minutes. After blanching, cool the spears quickly in cool water, drain them and package the product into a container for freezing—being sure to leave no headspace after the container is sealed.

Don't worry—it's not as bad as it looks. The acidic brine can pull out the liquid inside your asparagus, making it appear shriveled.

If you ever find yourself with too many bundles, you can and should freeze asparagus to use it later. In fact, it's handy to have some asparagus in the freezer at all times. You can pop some into stir-fries, mix a few spears into a casserole, or spruce up a pasta dish with a handful of frozen pieces.

I recommend using a wide-mouth glass jar (like a Mason jar or Weck jar), particularly if the asparagus has thick stems. Place the trimmed asparagus in the jar, in an upright position. Step 3: Fill the jar with water, about 1 inch of water.

To can asparagus without a pressure canner, you must pickle the asparagus first. You'll need to combine a vinegar brine to pour over fresh asparagus in your canning jars. Then you can easily boil the jars to create secure seals. Store your pickled asparagus in a clean and dry place.

Asparagus tastes best when cooked the day you buy it. If that's not in the cards, store them as you would store cut flowers: Trim the bottoms and stand the spears up in a glass or jar with about an inch of water. Cover with a plastic bag then refrigerate them for up to 4 days.