Canning Kale and Other Greens

We've had kale growing all winter in our garden. I've made kale chips, eaten steamed kale, fed kale to the chickens regularly... and it just keeps growing...

Now that spring has arrived, we needed to make room in our garden for our summer crops, so I chopped down all the kale and ended up with a wheelbarrow full and overflowing... so I decided to can some of it... whatever didn't get canned could go to the chickens... they love the stuff... it's like chicken candy to them!

The following method of canning works for kale and any other greens (spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens, collards, etc.)

I chopped the kale into  bite-sized pieces and removed all the tough stems and yellow pieces. Then I rinsed it several times to remove any dirt and sand and bugs... sand seems to cling to greens so it takes several rinses!

Then I filled my two biggest stockpots to the brim with kale and covered it with water to blanch... over medium heat I brought it to a boil until the greens were wilted down nicely... you don't want to raw pack greens, they cook down too much, you'd end up with  two bites of greens and a whole lot of water!

Meanwhile I boiled my pint jars and lids and kept them hot until I was ready for them.

Once the kale had wilted down, I began filling my jars with the greens using a slotted spoon.

I added liquid from the cooking pot whenever necessary to cover the greens, leaving a one inch headspace. I removed any air bubbles and adjusted the liquid as needed. I added a half teaspoon of canning salt to each pint (this is optional).

I wiped the jar rims with a damp cloth and tightened on my hot lids and rings to fingertip tightness.

I processed my jars of kale in my pressure canner at 10-11 pounds pressure for 70 minutes (quarts would be 90 minutes). After processing, I turned off the heat and let the canner cool down naturally (don't rush it or you might get broken jars!) Once the pressure in the canner reached zero, I took off the lid and removed the jars using my jar lifter and set them on a folded dish towel on the counter to cool... and to listen for the PING! of each successfully sealed jar!

I ended up canning 16 pints of kale... still had quite a mountain of greens left in my wheelbarrow... the chickens enjoyed some as a treat... and the rest went into the compost bin... I still have one more row of kale to harvest... I think I'll dehydrate the rest... Love me some kale chips as a snack!

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