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Thread: Canning SOup question

  1. #1
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    Default Canning SOup question

    Hi All, I want to make and can some bean soup. Do I need to do this in 2 steps--- make the soup then can it, or can I put the ingredients in the jar and can it and *presto!* soup? TIA

    back to my applesauce I'm canning today gee this is fun!
    ~Kate

    Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of us even though it was Christ alone who reposed on her knees… If he is ours, we ought to be in his situation; there where he is, we ought also to be and all that he has ought to be ours, and his mother is also our mother. —Martin Luther, Christmas Sermon, 1529.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hermantribe View Post
    Hi All, I want to make and can some bean soup. Do I need to do this in 2 steps--- make the soup then can it, or can I put the ingredients in the jar and can it and *presto!* soup? TIA

    back to my applesauce I'm canning today gee this is fun!
    I don't know if I'm doing it right but I always cooked it first then canned it...Alpine

  3. #3
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    I always make the soup first. Especially with beans... if you're talking "dry beans", you can't really be sure they'll heat all the way through in the canning process, hence you can't guarantee they're safely processed.

    However... I DO make some adjustments when making soup just for canning. I'll even pull out a couple of quarts to continue simmering on the stove for the evening meal when making a large kettle, so I can put the "not quite finished" soup into jars.

    I basically get the soup to the "heated through" stage. That MAY mean adjusting the usual way you make soup... for example, if you're making a bean soup and you usually simmer most of the vegetables right along with the beans for the 2-4 hours necessary to cook them through, unless you want the veggies to be basically unrecognizable (and in some soups, that's fine), you'll probably want to cook the beans by themselves (adding your herbs and flavorings with the beans) and then add the vegetables just 30 minutes or so before you plan on putting the soup into jars.

    That will let the vegetables get heated through, which is important, but the 90 minutes of canning time (quarts) won't cook them into complete mush.

    The ONLY thing I add "raw" to the jars (and it's NOT USDA approved... please realize that) is rice and/or noodles. I've found that I can put them into the jars "raw" (dry) amd then *immediately* add the BOILING hot soup, put the lids on and put directly into the canning kettle, which I've heated to just boiling, they'll cook through, but without completely falling apart.

    (The above method isn't valid anymore!! - at least, I don't use it now. Please read post#6 below to see the better method I discovered!)

    (also please realize they expand like CRAZY... if you put any more than 1/4 cup of rice or noodles into a quart jar, you'll end up with something like a savory pudding, and very little broth!)

    This has been the only way I can make "chicken noodle soup" for hubby (his comfort food when he's not feeling well) which works.

    Barley isn't quite as touchy; when I make beef- barley soup, I add the barley to the soup and simmer for 5 minutes or so, then put in the jars and process. The biggest problem with trying to can anything with those "starchy" ingredients is their tendency to "glue" themselves together if they aren't stirred for the minute or so until the starch sort of "seals" itself in the boiling process. Since it's obviously impossible to stir soup in sealed jars, you have to let the boiling process do it for you... which means it must be boiling when you add the noodles or rice, and must CONTINUE to boil with as little interruption as possible- otherwise they'll sink to the bottom and you'll have a gigantic lump of noodles or rice. BTDT... been working on the process to prevent it and get acceptable noodle soup for years.

    Summerthyme
    Last edited by Summerthyme; 02-13-2012 at 04:33 PM.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hermantribe View Post
    Hi All, I want to make and can some bean soup. Do I need to do this in 2 steps--- make the soup then can it, or can I put the ingredients in the jar and can it and *presto!* soup? TIA

    back to my applesauce I'm canning today gee this is fun!
    I canned bean soup many times. I make the broth, usually ham, first. Then I soak the beans the night before (I prefer small white or black eyed beans for soup). When I'm ready to can the soup make sure the broth is hot again, cut/dice up some carrots, celery and onion. Add about 1/4 c beans, handful of veges, cover with broth. I process according to standard practices. It's an easy tasty bowl of soup for lunch and dinner.

  5. #5
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    Default

    I haven't canned a lot of soups yet, but I did make a test run on some chicken noodle soup last year on a whim...
    I pretty much follow SummerThyme's process with one exception: I put the noodles in boiling water for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Then I quickly gathered up about 1/3 of a pint jar's using tongs, and put them in my hot pint jar.
    Then I covered the noodles with the simmering chicken stock and dropped in a couple spoonfuls of diced chicken, then processed the usual time for meats.

    Let the pint sit for a couple of days, then opened it and tried it out. Noodles were cooked perfectly. I think that precooking/blanching the noodles first helped to release that first burst of starch, and keep them from sticking together.

    Whatever it did, it was good eating.
    "I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace.
    Thomas Payne

  6. #6
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    I'm going to now edit this, because I've experimented more over the past year, and found that adding the noodles or rice TO THE BOILING SOUP, just before putting it in the jars, works MUCH better!

    I now bring the soup to a boil, having clean jars, lids, etc ready to go, and the canner on the stove. I toss in the noodles, and let it all boil for ONE MINUTE... just long enough to "seal" the starch. This prevents the development of a large lump of starchy, clumpy noodles or rice on the bottom of the jars.

    When one minute is up, I turn off the heat, put the soup in the jars and get them into the canner immediately. This isn't a frantic race with time, but it needs to be done steadily and immediately... don't go off and do something else, and make sure you have your jars ready to go. If the noodles spend much time cooking before you get them into the jars and canner, you're likely to have badly overcooked noodles (or rice) in the end.

    Also, brown rice holds it's shape much better than white rice, and is worth experimenting with (it also has a lot better nutritional profile)

    Liteluvr- we seem to have come to the same conclusion separately! Great minds.. or something

    I didn't see your post... never came back to this thread...

    I'll see if I can come up with some recipes... I was sure I posted a bunch here. They probably got lost in that purge thanks to those Righthaven morons... darn...

    Summerthyme

  7. #7
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    Default There are a lot of things I'd can, before I canned any soup...

    It's mostly water, after all. Dishes that have a lower water content will in effect contain more actual food when opened. (Compare the weight and volume of a can of consomme to a pair of bouillon cubes. ) Given that the capability to can, available storage space, etc. are nearly always quite finite, I would advise a prepper to can other things.

  8. #8
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    Compare the nutrition of home canned consomme (esp. from home raised livestock) to a bullion cube.

    Fortunately, we don't have to follow your advice.

  9. #9
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    Default Fine, Faroe...

    Quote Originally Posted by Faroe View Post
    Compare the nutrition of home canned consomme (esp. from home raised livestock) to a bullion cube.

    Fortunately, we don't have to follow your advice.
    If you don't care for bouillon, don't have it either. Broth is a stupid thing to can, being nearly all water. (Now, a thick stew could be a fine choice...) As the saying goes, when confronted with a choice between two evils, choose neither.

  10. #10
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    How much of a nutrition background do you have? You could start by reading Sally Fallon, and Weston Price. Adelle Davis might be useful too. These authorities are hardly outliers.

    Stupid thing to can? You are showing your ignorance in this area. Not to mention pervasive arrogance.

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