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Canning Mixed Vegetables and Soup

Source: NDSU Extension Service Nutrition Specialist

You can use a mixture of vegetables, dried beans or peas, meat, poultry or seafood for soups. The blend depends on family tastes.

Select, wash, and prepare vegetables, meat and seafoods as appropriate for the specific foods. Cover meat with water and cook until tender. Cool meat and remove bones. Cook vegetables. For each cup of dried beans or peas, add 3 cups of water, boil 2 minutes, remove from heat, soak 1 hour, and heat to boil. Drain and combine with meat broth, tomatoes, or water to cover. Boil 5 minutes. Add other vegetables and heat to boiling. Caution: DO NOT THICKEN BEFORE CANNING. Salt to taste, if desired. Fill jars halfway with solid mixture. Add remaining liquid, leaving 1-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a pressure canner.

Process soups in a dial gauge pressure canner at 11 to 13 pounds pressure or at 10 or 15 pounds pressure in a weighted gauge canner. Process hot packed pints for 60 minutes and quarts for 75 minutes. If the soup contains seafood, process for 100 minutes. Correct pressure is determind by the altitude.

There are two classes of soups: (1) Those made with stock and (2) Those made without stock such as the vegetable mixture.

The basis for stock can be beef, lamb, veal, fish, poultry or game; either separately or in combination.

When you make soups, use the bony part of the meat. Trim off all extra fat, add water and simmer. Soup stock should never come to a full rolling boil. Skim off any extra fat, or coagulated albumen (al-BYOO-mun), as it rises to the surface of the liquid. If you add salt, put it in after you remove the bones. When soup is almost done, you may add different vegetables and spice to improve flavor.

If you have further questions, contact your county office of the NDSU Extension Service for additional information on canning soups.

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For More Information Contact your North Dakota County Extension Office of the NDSU Extension Service for additional information or see our main NDSU Web Page for publications and articles on Agriculture, Horticulture, Youth and Family, Business and Community and Food and Nutrition at  http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/