I have a pal, who cans her own homemade soups. She'll prepare a big batch of soups and home can them. You can walk in her pantry right now and see a whole shelf of her canned homemade soups. She said it really comes in handy when she's not feeling well or when she needs a meal to prepare in a hurry. None of those canned, overly salted soups for them!
To me, it seems to be an old time necessity gone awry, that not many folks do anymore. In my household, it's so easy to make a large pan of soup. I don't know that I could even make a small pan of homemade soup, it always turns out to be enough to feed the neighborhood. So instead of my usual freezing of soup, I'm going to start canning my own, too.
By Terri from NV
Please! Read a canning guide book from Kerr or Ball. Any food that is not highly acidic (and who at home can measure?) MUST be canned in a pressure cooker and only use regular canning jars for pressure cookers. (Pickle and mayonnaise jars will work okay for water bath canning of acidic foods or jams or jellies), but expect a broken jar now and then. They are designed for commercial canning. Plus any non acidic food that is home canned should be boiled at a rolling boil for 15 minutes. Botulism grows in an oxygen free environment and even though a food is home canned at the proper temperature and time it should be boiled. We aren't talking sick here, we are talking death. (08/12/2008)
By Sally
I currently make a large pot (6 quarts) of soup or stew and put it in Reynold's Handi Vac Bags. Yes, I know they are more expensive that standard Ziploc freezer bags, but my food stays fresher and doesn't get freezer burn. I can make enough soup to last for 2 weeks of lunches and it only cost around $10.00. Wow. (08/14/2008)
By crazyliblady
One important thing to always remember is that anything that is mostly "tomato-based" holds the possibility of breaking its seal, once in storage. I always keep the rings on my jars for salsa, BBQ, sauce, stewed tomatoes, etc. It sure saves a huge mess. (08/25/2008)
By Becca
I can vegetable beef stew for my daughter to take to college every fall. My mom did it with me. She taught me to look in the Ball Blue Book and look up the ingredient that required the greatest amount of time to process and that was the time to use. So, I process pint jars at 12# (because of our altitude) for 75 minutes. Don't ever can meat without pressuring it. The pressuring kills the spores, etc. lurking in there. (09/13/2008)
Home canning soup is a great idea, but please do not take advice from unknown people on the internet. Well, except from me, perhaps, and my advice is to find a reliable source.
Go to uga.edu, or the Ball site freshpreserving.com or some other site with a .gov or .edu domain and take advice that is SAFE. Go to the library and find the Ball Blue Book, it's the Bible of home canners.
A jar will seal if you get it significantly hotter than room temperature and then cool it back down. This does NOT mean that the food is safe to keep. It just means that the jar has sealed. In order to ensure that the food is safe, it needs to be held at a temperature high enough to kill off organisms that might grow in the sealed jar.
The time and temperature needed will vary according to the type of food. For example, pickles or jellies may be safe to keep after being held at 212 degrees F. for 20 minutes or so, but meats and most vegetables cannot be canned at 212 (the temperature of a water bath canner). DON'T guess.
My grandma canned for many years, and she was smart enough to count on the county extension service to clue her in on safe methods. She knew that using safe methods was important.
It is true that you might follow unsafe practices several times and "no-one dies", but it is also true that you might be unlucky one day. Don't risk it when there are good, safe instructions available, and they are even easier than guessing.
Also, please plan to bring your home-canned goods to a boil and boil them for 15 minutes after opening. It is easy to do and will help ensure that your good food is actually good.
I started a web search for some specific information, and found good info at the .edu and .gov sites. Clicking on some other sites and seeing the bad advice that is out there actually scares me!
Canning is fun, and economical . Do it safely. I have 25 years experience with home canning, and I'd like you all to be able to say that too some day. (10/12/2008)
By Deb
These are links to canning, recipes, proper methods, timing, and proper preparation of foods and jars and sealing them. Sterilization of canning jars and proper sealing of the jars is very important, if not properly sealed they will spoil no matter how long you cook them.
The jar top where the lid goes must be totally cleaned before placing the lid and band on. Then you process. Proper ways are explained very clearly and methods of canning and times as well as recipes.
Also included is freezing, drying methods of food preservation.
National Center for Home Food Preservation uga.edu
National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Can Vegetables soups with meatsuga.edu
Freshpreserving.com -|- Your complete source for all fresh preserving needs.
! Canning Recipes for Preserving Food canning-food-recipes.com
Good luck, you can save lots of money and time canning foods.
Darlene (02/22/2010)
By BD
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