Lettuce!

My Canning Cellar

Welcome to my canning cellar!
What I used for equipment was a dutch oven pot, my Presto digital canner, a cutting board, a serrated lettuce knife, a canning funnel.

What I used for the product was romaine lettuce, I can’t remember how much I had, but am thinking at least three bunches. I used 6 cups of apple cider vinegar, 2 cups water and 1/2 cup of pickling salt.

I mixed the brine mixture together and let it come to a boil, then let it cool down. Then I packed the lettuce very tightly into 6 pint jars and poured the brine into each jar to the inch head space. I wiped each rim with a vinegar cloth, put on the lids and finger tightened the rings. I don’t boil the lids, but I do wash and rinse them and then keep them in clean hot water until I’m ready to use them. I’ve seen many different approaches to lid readiness and I feel this is what I’m comfortable doing.

I processed the pints using the water bath cycle and let them process for ten minutes. Processing time starts after the water comes to a boil, and with the digital canner, I don’t need to keep an eye on it as the processing starts automatically when ready.

The lettuce of course is a green, and greens wilt. I was however surprised at how much it wilted because I had the jars really well jam packed.

Now this was 6 months ago, but my husband just opened a jar to try. He said it tasted like lettuce but in a vinegary greens way. He ate it plain like one would spinach. He likes a lot of vinegar taste so it was good to him, but I found it too tart for my liking. And even though the lettuce wilted up to about 1/2 way in each jar, I definitely would do this again.
https://nchfp.uga.edu/
https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/varieties-and-types-of-lettuce-article
https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/school-nutrition/pdf/fact-sheet-lettuce.pdf