A pressure canner should be used to can low-acid foods.
Refried beans are mashed cooked beans that are often served in Mexican dishes. The beans are baked with lard or vegetable stock and seasoned with various spices including cumin and chili pepper. Refried beans can be made with cooked pinto beans, black beans or red beans. If you are interested in canning and storing homemade refried beans, the process is relatively simple with a few necessary tools. Beans are considered a low-acid vegetable, and therefore must be canned with a pressure canner that can heat the jars to very high temperatures. This helps prevent bacteria and spoilage during the storing process.
Instructions
1. Cook the refried beans according to your favorite recipe.
2. Sterilize your jars and lids by placing them in the rack in the pressure cooker and covering them completely with water. Turn on the stove top and allow the pressure cooker to pressurize. Cook jars and lids for 10 minutes before turning off the stove top and allowing the pressure cooker to release pressure and cool down. Remove jars and lids with tongs and place them on a clean kitchen towel.
3. Place the cooked refried beans into your sterilized jars. Leave a half inch of space at the top of the jar. Cover the jars with the seals and close the lids.
4. Place the lidded jars into the canning rack in the pressure cooker and cover with two to three inches of water. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and turn the stove top on. Allow the pressure cooker to pressurize to 10 or 11 lbs of pressure. Cook the jars for 40 minutes. Turn off the stove top and allow the pressure to release from the pressure cooker. Once cooled, carefully open lid and remove the jars with tongs. Place on clean kitchen towels until the jars have cooled down.
5. Tap the lid of the jars once they have cooled down completely. If they are sealed, you should not be able to press up and down on the lid and no noise will be made when you tap the top of the jar. If the seal appears to pop, the jars were not sealed properly and the pressure canning process must be repeated.
6. Store refried beans in a cool pantry area. They should last for six months to one year.
Tags: pressure cooker, jars lids, refried beans, allow pressure, clean kitchen
