The Amish are an intriguing group of people. They are infamous for their wisdom and simple lifestyle. The Amish live according to their religious values and beliefs that it pleases God to see His creation working in harmony with nature. This is one of the reasons why they grow their own food. While they are well-known for their extraordinary baking capabilities, the Amish also love to can food. One of the main reasons for this is that it allows them to preserve seasonal produce so they have it readily available all year round. If you want some traditional Amish canning recipes, keep reading.
Basic Information About Amish People
The Amish originate from southern Germany and Switzerland. They emigrated to the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries and made their home in eastern Pennsylvania. They later settled in Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, and Canada. The Amish avoid using electricity, they rarely use cars except in an emergency. Instead, they are transported in horse-drawn buggies and ride bicycles. They are well-respected for their farming capabilities. They grow the majority of their food and only purchase items such as flour and sugar from stores.
10 Amish Canning Recipes
You can use the water bath canning method or the pressure canner method to can the recipes below. Please note that process times will vary depending on the size of the jar you’re using. Check the National Center for Home Food Preservation website for exact times for these recipes.
1. Amish Canned Pepper Relish
This pepper relish recipe tastes delightful with any kind of meat.
Ingredients
- 12 seeded and finely chopped sweet green peppers
- 12 seeded and finely chopped sweet red peppers
- 8 finely chopped small onions
- 1 ½ cups of sugar
- 1 quart of vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of salt
Directions
- Combine the green peppers, red peppers, and onions in a bowl full of boiling water. Cover and leave the ingredients to sit for 5 minutes.
- Drain the water, add some more boiling water, cover and leave the ingredients to sit for 10 minutes.
- Tip the ingredients into a cheesecloth bag or a colander and leave it to drain overnight.
- The next day, add the salt, vinegar, and sugar, stir to combine, and boil for 20 minutes.
- Transfer the ingredients into jars and boil.
Related: Cheap Recipes To Keep You Well Fed In The Next Crisis
2. Amish Canned Chow Chow
This delicious combination of vegetables makes the perfect dipping sauce.
- 3 tablespoons of white mustard seeds
- ½ a tablespoon of ginger
- 1 ½ tablespoon of celery seeds
- 3 deseeded and chopped sweet red peppers
- 6 chopped large onions
- 1-quart green tomatoes, chopped
- 2 quarts of cabbage, chopped
- Salt
- 2 pounds of sugar
- 8 cups of vinegar
Directions
- Put all the vegetables into separate bowls.
- Sprinkle some salt over them and leave the vegetables to sit for 4 hours.
- Use a vegetable presser to squeeze the juice out of the of the vegetables until they’re completely dry.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large saucepan and keep adding vinegar while stirring until a paste is formed.
- Add the rest of the vinegar and bring the ingredients to a boil.
- Turn the temperature down to low, and slow cook for 20 minutes.
- Transfer the ingredients into jars and boil.
3. Amish Canned Pickled Red Beets
Pickled red beets taste fantastic on a sandwich, or in a salad. You can even eat them on their own as a snack.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds of beets
- 1 teaspoon of allspice
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- ½ a cup of water
- 1 pint of vinegar
- 6 whole cloves
- ½ a cup of sugar
Directions
- Soften the beets by boiling them, take the beets out and remove the skins.
- Add the spices to a cheesecloth and tie it.
- Add the spices, vinegar, sugar, and water to the boiling water.
- Add the beets and boil for another 5 minutes.
- Transfer the beets into jars and boil.
4. Amish Canned Pickled Pears
There are a thousand reasons to can pears, most importantly, they taste absolutely delightful!
Ingredients
- 14 pounds of pears, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1 teaspoon of whole cloves
- 6 pounds of sugar
- 1 quart of cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon sticks broken into pieces
Directions
- Put the spices into a cheesecloth bag.
- Combine the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan.
- Add the bag of spices and bring the ingredients to a boil.
- Add the pears and keep boiling until they become tender.
- Scoop out the pears and add them to jars.
- Keep boiling the syrup until it thickens.
- Spoon the syrup onto the pears and boil.
Related: Recipes I Made From The Lost Super Foods Book: Canned Hamburger Meat
5. Amish Canned Spiced Gooseberries
Add some flavor to your gooseberries by infusing them with spices, trust me…you won’t be disappointed.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds of ripe gooseberries
- 3 teaspoons of allspice
- 3 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons of cloves
- 2 cups of vinegar
- 4 pounds of brown sugar
Directions
- Combine the gooseberries, vinegar, and sugar into a saucepan and cook on a low. temperature until the ingredients turn into a thick mixture.
- Transfer the mixture into jars and can.
6. Amish Canned Ginger Pears
Give your pears an additional kick by adding some ginger.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds of hard pears, peeled, cored, and diced
- ½ a cup of chopped preserved ginger
- The juice and rind of 3 lemons
- 5 pounds of sugar
- 3 cups of water
Directions
- Put the pears into a saucepan and cover them with water.
- Cook the pears at a low temperature until they become tender.
- Add the lime rind, lime juice, ginger, and sugar and stir to combine.
- Leave the mixture to simmer until the ingredients become thick and the pear is transparent.
- Transfer the pear mixture into jars and can.
7. Amish Canned Ketchup
You’ll never need to worry about wasting tomatoes when you know how to make your own ketchup.
Ingredients
- 1 pint of apple cider vinegar
- 3 quarts of tomato juice
- 5 cups of sugar
- 4 tablespoons of dry, ground mustard
- 5 drops of cinnamon oil
- 3 drops of clove oil
- ¼ teaspoon of pepper
- 1 teaspoon of salt
Directions
- Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and boil until a thick mixture is formed, this will take around 2 ½ hours.
- Pour the ketchup into jars and boil.
8. Amish Canned Meatloaf
With this canned meatloaf recipe, you’ll always have a good hearty meal on standby.
Ingredients
- 2 diced onions
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups of milk
- 1 cup of oatmeal
- 36 saltine crackers
- 4 slices of bread
- ½ a cup of salt
- 15 pounds of ground beef
Directions
- Combine the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix together thoroughly.
- Pack the mixture into canning jars and boil.
9. Amish Canned Apple Pie Filling
Enjoy your apple harvest no matter what time of the year it is with this Amish apple pie filling recipe.
Ingredients
- 7 pounds of fresh apples, sliced and peeled
- ½ a teaspoon of nutmeg
- 4 ½ cups of sugar
- 1 cup of cornstarch
- 10 cups of water
- 1 ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
Directions
- Fill your canning jars with apple slices.
- In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 10 cups of water, stir and boil until the ingredients become thick and bubbly.
- Take the saucepan off the stove, add the lemon juice and stir to combine.
- Pour the syrup on top of the apples leaving one inch of space at the top and then boil.
10. Amish Canned Coleslaw
It’s always good to have some coleslaw to hand, it goes well with any dish.
Ingredients
- 1 finely chopped medium onion
- 2 bags of 16-ounce cabbage coleslaw mixture
- ¾ cup of vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon of prepared mustard
- 1 teaspoon of white sugar
- 1 teaspoon of celery seed
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup of vinegar
Directions
- Combine the onion, cabbage coleslaw mixture, and ¾ cup of sugar in a large bowl and toss to combine.
- In a small saucepan combine the oil, mustard, 1 teaspoon of sugar, celery seed, salt, and vinegar and bring the ingredients to a boil for three minutes.
- Leave the mixture to completely cool down, and then pour it over the coleslaw.
- Transfer the mixture into jars and boil.
Final Thought
Not only is canning a great way to preserve food, you’ll always have a ready supply of meals available to you. These ten recipes are just the beginning of your canning journey… Bon appetite!
You may also like:
20 Foods That Can Last 20 Years
10 Things Cowboys Carried with Them in the Wild West to Survive (Video)
My Day As A Homesteader During Winter
Canning Mistakes Even The Most Advanced Homesteaders Make
How To Make Your Own Vertical Onion Planter
Recipes sound great, but without canning instructions they’re useless.
The recipes need to be rechecked. One recipe calls for lemons then tells you to add limes not lemons. An other one calls for 1tes. sugar but tells you to add 3/4 cup sugar. Plus without proper canning instructions people coould die or at the very least get extremely ill. An example of this is boiling jars of meatloaf. They must be pressure canned not boiled.
Amish use water bath for everything 3 hours including meat once the water is boiling timing starts and will lower to keep a low but constant boil
Soooo much sugar!!
“ The Amish are an intriguing group of people. They are infamous for their wisdom and simple lifestyle.”
The use of INFAMOUS as a word to describe the Amish is a mistake, yes?
I think that with this much sugar, the final product would be unpalatable; and give you diabetes as well.
Loads of sugar, for sure.
And that canned meat recipe should not be hot water bathed – it should be pressure canned.
As for wisdom, etc… Around here, most of the Amish look down on us English, although they aren’t above asking for rides in our cars. To be sure, there are some exceptions, but most of them are sure that the rest of us are going to hell, and they are very smug about it.
My goodness. Leave these people alone! If you can do better get your own website and recipes and move along. They have been water bath canning for centuries, even meat! Also, lets not judge all by the actions of a few. God is the only one who knows what is in our hearts. Shame on you with the negative comments. Do better people!!
I agree with you, we’ll said
Well said, thank you
How long do you hwb the ketchup & apple pie filling please
The Bible tells us we will be forgiven or judged by the same measure that we forgive or judge others! Wheeeewweeeee there r a bunch of ya going to be shocked on judgement day. “DEPART FROM ME FOR I NEVER KNEW YOU!!! And God said that to those that had healed in Jesus’ name!! There sure r a lot of self claiming Christian’s that will never see the kingdom! And for whoever called them smug…. They speak when they have something important, encouraging, or comforting to say. Gossip is forbidden. Seems as though some of ya should shut ur mouth or stay off their sites!!!!!!