Having a pout- I can't can what I want to. Hmf! Or can I? Help!

[luvinlife offthegrid]

So my favorite thing to do is make soup and fresh bread. I make all different kinds of soups and stews just like many of you here. Living off the grid, I don't have tons of freezer space. To preserve food, I have canned a few things. I freeze a few quarts of veggies here and there, but I don't have enough space to put up more than a few quarts at a time.

Hubby and I ate a can of soup the other night, and I just couldn't eat more than a few bites. It was too salty, even the progresso brand with reduced sodium. It was gross. .

I am fairly decent at canning the things I already do, but have never used a pressure canner. Little did I know that I really can't can anything I already have recipes for. I know I can put together a base and can that, then add stuff later. But here's the "pout" part...

If I want to do this for convenience for cracking open a jar at a later date, what's the point if I have to prepare other stuff and add it when I serve it? I work a lot and was hoping to do big batches on the weekend and can them.

Here's what I want to can:

My son's FAVORITE soup, (the biggest canning let-down) is Chicken corn chowder with bacon (can't because of the milk, and it's even worse if I add potatoes)
Italian bean soup (the beans-will disintegrate I've read several places?)
Chili with mean and beans
Any soup with noodles, barley, potatoes, rice or beans, which is basically all my favorite recipes for soup.

I am hoping that someone here can lift my spirits about this. Reading extension publications and other forum threads on the subject has me quite annoyed. . I'm hoping someone here will say, "No you have it all wrong! Here's the recipe".

 

[Beekissed]

Some of those ingredients may be a little overdone after pressure canning, but they still taste the same. I wouldn't can the pasta because that is such an easy thing to add while you are heating up your soups...cooks in mere minutes. As does the rice and barley, for that matter. Beans? Don't precook...just add them as dry and they will cook in the canning process.

And why can't you can milk? People do it all the time...as in canned milk?

 

[Cindlady2]

OK, I am a bit confused...you are saying you don't have a pressure canner but want to can soup without one? Or your wondering how to do it with a pressure canner? Many soups can be done without a pressure canner but you have to use a high acid base like tomatoes and no meat. Soups with meat must be pressure canned. I never tried using a milk based soup for canning, but I would think you could. Rice, pasta and bean you can add raw and it will cook as it processes but remember to leave a little extra room for expansion. Beans you may want to par cook but you'll have to play around with that.

I agree about store bought canned soup I only keep a few cans of "cream of" type soups around for quick cooking.

Good Luck!

 

[Denim Deb]

I can't stand most canned soups any more either. About the only one I can still eat is tomato soup. Nothing else taste right.

I was going to can lentil soup but never got to it. And, I did find the instructions for canning it on line. Try googling for the soups you want. You'll probably find what you're looking for.

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

I haven't bought the pressure canner yet, but I'm looking at ordering one.

It isn't recommended to can soups with milk or butter. Something about the fat making it easy for botulism to hide. It makes only a little sense to me. The other thing is thickeners, like thickening a cream soup with a roux. They say that Processing in a pressure canner for long periods makes everything separate? The same is said with making milk separate. They also say that beans must be hydrated first.

There are tested recipes for spaghetti with meat, so I can try that. Worst case scenario with chili is I make everything else and can it, but throw a can of beans in when I reheat. Or with the chowder add the milk later maybe. But I like a thick chowder, so there goes the roux idea.

The problem was my expectations. I already plan on canning just vegetables, and clear soups aren't a problem.

I admit I am being juvenile (pouting and complaining) and naive about being able to have the simple convenience of being able to pull a jar of homemade soup off the shelf and heating it up in a pan in one fell swoop just like a can or jar from the grocery store.

 

[Denim Deb]

The way I figure it, if big companies can can soups w/pasta, rice, etc, there must be a way to do it. It's just a matter of finding out how to do it. And, w/a bit of searching hopefully someone else has figured it out and has shared that info w/the rest of the world.

 

[FarmerJamie]

The way I figure it, if big companies can can soups w/pasta, rice, etc, there must be a way to do it. It's just a matter of finding out how to do it. And, w/a bit of searching hopefully someone else has figured it out and has shared that info w/the rest of the world.

and you wonder why the commercial soups don't "taste right" or are "too salty"?

If the "quick" part means heating a jar of soup in a microwave, then the milk/pasta soups may not suffice. If the heating in done in pan on the stove, you only need a short amount of time to cook pasta, etc. and the homemade soup will still be awesome.

 

[luvinlife offthegrid]

That's what I figure, FJ, I always heat it on the stove, so I can just toss orzo or alphabet or other quick-cooking pasta in there. After a little more research, the beans aren't as big a deal as I first thought. I will get the dried variety and try it.

The recipe I have calls for cans of beans (garbanzo and white kidney), cans of tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, oregano, and other mixed veggies like onions (green) and carrots. Chicken stock or veggie stock base. I sometimes add sweet sausage, and sometimes pasta. It's a family favorite soup,mother than DS's corn chowder. I make it I huge batches, but since we don't have freezer space, we eat for several days. I've never tried it with dried beans.

 

[cheepo]

rice pasta milk oil...no no's ...yes...
but barley cans lovely(just make sure to use the pot not the pearl more processed one)
and spoon in each jar, so equal
beans can fine..
can add potatoes(just use bigger chunks)
and it only takes a sec after to make a rue for cream of soups...
the other thing to bear in mind is some spices get stronger over time canned...
but I love love love my pressure canner well worth the investment..

 

[Beekissed]

So canning fats is a no-no? Gee, we've been canning deer meat and chicken for a long, long time.

So what if the milk separates? A good stir of the spoon while reheating will put it right back where it belongs. Many things separate during the canning process....particularly if they sit on the shelf long enough.

It always amazes me when city folks give their fearful advice about canning and country folk have been doing it for decades without problems. If they can can it in a can at a cannery, you can can it in a jar with a pressure cooker. Meats, dairy, butter, lard, acidic foods, non-acidic foods.