New to canning..... question about recipes!

[mylittlezoo]

I am an enthusiastic and prolific cook, but I've only just started canning this year. I have both a boiling water and a pressure canner.

My husband is crazy about my chicken and vegetable soup with pearl barley and also my spaghetti sauce recipe.

I can find recipes in books for both of these, but I'd like to make him my own special version that he loves so much... but how do I know how long to can them for?

Scuse me if this is a dumb question, like I said, I'm a newbie!!

Thanks for any advice

 

[Opa]

I've been canning for close to 60 years and can a lot of soups and meat. I would suggest that you get a Ball Blue Book and follow the cooking times in that. You just find a recipe that closely resembles yours and you'll be all set.

 

[chseeads]

Generally the rule is to can them for the length of time required for whatever single ingredient requires the longest.


Just for example, if you have vegetable soup with corn, green beans, carrots, etc., and corn requires the longest time, then you use that amount of time.

So if you have info that tells you how long each individual ingredient would take to can if you were doing that by itself, you should be able to reference that.

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Quote:

. And post those recipes! I had out the ball blue book yesterday, swear by it!

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Quote:
IMO you need to be careful. Some things may get mushy if you go that route. I would do like Opa say's, find one that resembles yours and go from there. I've canned many years but never soup. I'm doing homework on that right now to get ready to make.

 

[mylittlezoo]

I saw that book at Wal-Mart when I was buying some jars the other day, I'll go back and get it. My hubby is supportive about my canning, but he is quite neurotic about botulism and other problems associated with canning, so he's made me paranoid about poisoning him!!

My chicken soup is more of a feeling than a recipe

But what I do is:

I buy a raw whole chicken from Wholefoods or wherever and roast it. When it's done, I let it cool a bit, then i pick all the meat off it and put the rest (bones / skin etc) in a stock pot. I cover it well with water and add some spices, depending on the look I'm going for. Sometimes it's hot (chili peppers, cayenne), sometimes it's warm (coriander, cumin etc), other's it's country (basil, thyme etc). While the stock is making, I make the pearl barley.

When the stock is done, I add veggies: potatoes, carrots, rutabagas whatever you like. Then I add the chicken and the pearl barley and make up a little thickener with cornflour. Mix it all up and there you go.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Quote:
That sounds great! If you plan on canning that recipe, I would check about the pearl barley being pressure cooked. The barley and starch may need to be added after canning-before serving the soup. Not sure how long barley takes to cook but just check it out on google or something. I would hate for you to go through all that trouble and it turns out real mushy during the canning process.
Just a thought. Good luck!

 

[AhBee01]

You can not can barley, noodles, rice,eggs or dairy, also canning with oil, you need to be very careful and use recipes that are tested and safe.
Recipes from our grandparents that were once considered safe may no longer be considered safe.
Please use approved recipes from the http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/, ball blue book, and use an up to date book!
If you love your sauce recipe freezing it might be a better choice.
Also following the recipe with exact amounts and measurements is important for the safety of the approved recipe.
Most people say that my grandma did this for years with no ill effects, that may be true, but I don't want to be the one to feed someone a jar of food that can potentially cause food poisoning or death. Most people call me paranoid, but I don't care! LOL!

You can also read the approved sauce recipes and see if one is a close comparison use that recipe to can, and then when heating up the approved recipe you can add in your tweaks !

Also most canning recipes are for things you will cook before serving, you need to cook them for ten minutes before eating, to make sure anyharmful bacteria is killed.
That is why if you make something like salsa which you most likely would not heat first, you need to make sure your recipe is safe before attempting to can it.
Just my opinion, but I was a newbie, and I still consider myself a newbie, and I have learned a lot.
Gardenweb.com (harvest forum) has a lot of people on there that have, or still work for extension offices and know what they are doing.
It is a great place for newbie canners to learn.
All I'm saying is learn before you just go and can any old thing, it may save a life!!!

 

[chseeads]

Henry'schickens :

IMO you need to be careful. Some things may get mushy if you go that route. I would do like Opa say's, find one that resembles yours and go from there. I've canned many years but never soup. I'm doing homework on that right now to get ready to make.

That is true. Some mixtures of things are not very complimentary to one another to be canned together....

I think I read the 'can it as long as it takes whatever takes the longest' rule in a canning book of some sort though....​

 

[Dragonfly Ranch]

Before buying the smaller Ball canning book at WalMart you might want to check this one out instead. A lot more recipes and very good instructions for all kinds of canning ie: water bath, pressure and even vinegars and chutneys. This is my main book and this is my 2nd year canning - so it has gotten me through some tight spots on what and how to do.

http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Complete-Book-Home-Preserving/dp/0778801314

Happy canning

Sandee