Pressure canning times for vegetables: the USDA chart
How long to pressure can green beans, corn, potatoes, carrots and every vegetable in the USDA guide, with headspace and the pressure for your altitude.
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Headspace for canning: a chart by food
Short answer
Leave the headspace the guide gives for each food. In the USDA guide it's 1/4 inch for fruit juices and standard tomato sauce, 1/2 inch for most fruit and for whole or crushed tomatoes, 1 inch for vegetables and meat, and 1 1/4 inches for chicken. The charts below list every food.
Too little or too much headspace can stop a jar sealing. Remove air bubbles, then adjust the headspace before wiping the rim (Guide 1, page 1-13).
Fruit, juices and tomatoes
| Food | Headspace | Canner | Guide page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple juice | 1/4 in | Water bath | 2-6 |
| Apples, sliced | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 2-7 |
| Applesauce | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 2-7 |
| Berries, whole | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 2-10 |
| Cherries, whole (sour or sweet) | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 2-12 |
| Figs | 1/2 in | Water bath | 2-14 |
| Fruit purees | 1/4 in | Water bath or Pressure | 2-14 |
| Grapefruit and orange sections | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 2-15 |
| Grape juice | 1/4 in | Water bath | 2-15 |
| Grapes, whole | 1 in | Water bath | 2-16 |
| Mango sauce (guide's recipe) | 1/4 in | Water bath | 2-17 |
| Mixed fruit cocktail (guide's recipe) | 1/2 in | Water bath | 2-18 |
| Peaches, halved or sliced | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 2-19 |
| Pears, halved | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 2-19 |
| Asian pears, halved or sliced | 1/2 in | Water bath | 2-20 |
| Pineapple | 1/2 in | Water bath | 2-21 |
| Plums, halved or whole | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 2-21 |
| Rhubarb, stewed | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 2-22 |
| Zucchini-pineapple (guide's recipe) | 1/2 in | Water bath | 2-22 |
| Tomato juice | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 3-5 |
| Tomato and vegetable juice blend (guide's recipe) | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 3-6 |
| Tomatoes, crushed (no added liquid) | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 3-7 |
| Standard tomato sauce | 1/4 in | Water bath or Pressure | 3-8 |
| Tomatoes, whole or halved (packed in water) | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 3-9 |
| Tomatoes, whole or halved (packed in tomato juice) | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 3-10 |
| Tomatoes, whole or halved (raw, no added liquid) | 1/2 in | Water bath or Pressure | 3-11 |
| Tomatoes with okra or zucchini | 1 in | Pressure | 3-12 |
| Spaghetti sauce without meat (guide's recipe) | 1 in | Pressure | 3-13 |
| Spaghetti sauce with meat (guide's recipe) | 1 in | Pressure | 3-14 |
| Mexican tomato sauce (guide's recipe) | 1 in | Pressure | 3-15 |
| Easy hot sauce (guide's recipe) | 1/4 in | Water bath | 3-16 |
| Cayenne pepper sauce (guide's recipe) | 1/2 in | Water bath | 3-17 |
| Tomato ketchup (guide's recipe) | 1/8 in | Water bath | 3-17 |
| Tomato taco sauce (guide's recipe) | 1/2 in | Water bath | 3-26 |
From the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015). "Guide's recipe": the headspace goes with that exact recipe.
Vegetables and soups
| Food | Headspace | Canner | Guide page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asparagus, spears or pieces | 1 in | Pressure | 4-5 |
| Beans or peas, shelled, dried | 1 in | Pressure | 4-5 |
| Beans, dry, with tomato or molasses sauce (guide's recipe) | 1 in | Pressure | 4-6 |
| Beans, fresh lima, shelled | 1 in | Pressure | 4-7 |
| Beans, snap and Italian, pieces | 1 in | Pressure | 4-8 |
| Beets, whole, cubed, or sliced | 1 in | Pressure | 4-9 |
| Carrots, sliced or diced | 1 in | Pressure | 4-10 |
| Corn, cream style | 1 in | Pressure | 4-10 |
| Corn, whole kernel | 1 in | Pressure | 4-11 |
| Mixed vegetables (guide's recipe) | 1 in | Pressure | 4-12 |
| Mushrooms, whole or sliced | 1 in | Pressure | 4-13 |
| Okra | 1 in | Pressure | 4-14 |
| Peas, green or English, shelled | 1 in | Pressure | 4-14 |
| Peppers | 1 in | Pressure | 4-15 |
| Potatoes, sweet, pieces or whole | 1 in | Pressure | 4-16 |
| Potatoes, white, cubed or whole | 1 in | Pressure | 4-17 |
| Pumpkins and winter squash, cubed | 1 in | Pressure | 4-18 |
| Soups (vegetable, dried bean or pea, meat, poultry) (guide's recipe) | 1 in | Pressure | 4-18 |
| Soups containing seafood (guide's recipe) | 1 in | Pressure | 4-18 |
| Spinach and other greens | 1 in | Pressure | 4-19 |
| Succotash (guide's recipe) | 1 in | Pressure | 4-20 |
From the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015). "Guide's recipe": the headspace goes with that exact recipe.
Meat, poultry and seafood
| Food | Headspace | Canner | Guide page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken or rabbit, without bones | 1 1/4 in | Pressure | 5-5 |
| Chicken or rabbit, with bones | 1 1/4 in | Pressure | 5-5 |
| Ground or chopped meat | 1 in | Pressure | 5-6 |
| Meat strips, cubes, or chunks | 1 in | Pressure | 5-6 |
| Meat stock (broth) | 1 in | Pressure | 5-7 |
| Chile con carne (guide's recipe) | 1 in | Pressure | 5-8 |
| Clams | 1 in | Pressure | 5-9 |
| King and Dungeness crab meat | 1 in | Pressure | 5-9 |
| Fish in pint jars | 1 in | Pressure | 5-10 |
| Fish in quart jars | 1 in | Pressure | 5-11 |
| Oysters | 1 in | Pressure | 5-12 |
| Smoked fish | 1 in | Pressure | 5-13 |
| Tuna | 1 in | Pressure | 5-14 |
From the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015). "Guide's recipe": the headspace goes with that exact recipe.
Getting headspace right
- Fill the jar, then run a non-metal spatula between the food and the jar to release air bubbles.
- Measure from the top of the food or liquid to the top of the jar, and add or remove liquid to reach the headspace.
- Wipe the rim clean before putting on the lid.
- For foods marked "guide's recipe", the headspace belongs to that recipe: follow the recipe exactly. (From Guide 1, page 1-13.)
Questions
What is headspace in canning?
The empty space between the top of the food and the lid. The USDA guide gives the right amount for each food, from 1/4 inch to 1 1/4 inches.
What headspace for tomato sauce?
1/4 inch for standard tomato sauce. Whole, halved and crushed tomatoes and tomato juice take 1/2 inch.
What headspace for green beans?
1 inch, hot or raw pack, like most vegetables.
What headspace for peaches and applesauce?
1/2 inch for both, in pints or quarts, whether you use a water bath or the guide's pressure-canner option.
What happens if you leave too much or too little headspace?
Either can keep the jar from sealing. Measure it and adjust before wiping the rim.
Jarwise: Canning Timer & Log
Canning app: USDA-tested times for your altitude, canner timer, jar log.
Jarwise has every tested food in the USDA guide. Set your altitude once and it shows the right time and pressure for your canner, with your altitude band highlighted; combinations the guide doesn't test get no time. A step-by-step timer covers venting, processing and cool-down, and a batch log and pantry keep track of your jars, offline and with no account.
Coming to Google Play
Sources
- USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015), Guide 1: Principles of home canning (pages 1-8, 1-10, 1-13, 1-18 to 1-22) Guide 1 (PDF)
- USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015), Guide 2: Fruit and fruit products Guide 2 (PDF)
- USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015), Guide 3: Tomatoes and tomato products (acidification, page 3-5) Guide 3 (PDF)
- USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015), Guide 4: Vegetables and vegetable products Guide 4 (PDF)
- USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015), Guide 5: Poultry, red meats and seafoods Guide 5 (PDF)
- National Center for Home Food Preservation: the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2015 revision (current edition) nchfp.uga.edu
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