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Publication #FCS8319

Preparing Soups for Canning1

United States Department of Agriculture, Extension Service2

Vegetable, dried bean or pea, meat, poultry, or seafood soups can be canned.

Procedure: Select, wash, and prepare vegetables, meat and seafoods as described 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.

Caution: Do not thicken. Salt to taste, if desired. Fill jars halfway with solid mixture. Add remaining liquid, leaving 1-inch headspace.

Adjust lids and process following the recommendations in Table 1 or Table 2 according to the method of canning used.

Tables

Table 1. 

Table 1. Recommended process time for Soups in a dial-gauge pressure canner.

Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes
Style of Pack
 Jar Size
 Process Time
 0-

2,000 ft


 2,001-

4,000 ft


 4,001-

6,000 ft


 6,001-

8,000 ft
Hot
 Pints
 60* min
 11 lb
 12 lb
 13 lb
 14 lb
Quarts
 75*
 11
 12
 13
 14
*Caution: Process 100 minutes if soup contains seafoods.
*After the canner is completely depressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. Wait 10 minutes; then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Lift the lid with the underside away from you so that the steam coming out of the canner does not burn your face.



Table 2. 
Table 2. Recommended process time for Soups in a weighted-gauge pressure canner

Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack
 Jar Size
 Process Time
 0-

1,000 ft


 Above 1,000 ft
Hot
 Pints
 60* min
 10 lb
 15 lb
Quarts
 75*
 10
 15
*Caution: Process 100 minutes if soup contains seafoods.
*After the canner is completely depressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. Wait 10 minutes; then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Lift the lid with the underside away from you so that the steam coming out of the canner does not burn your face.



Footnotes

1. This document is Fact Sheet FCS 8319, one of a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: May 2003. Reviewed: August 2008. This document was extracted from the Complete Guide to Home Canning, Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA. It was originally published on CD-ROM as part of HE 8150, Guide 4: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Vegetables and Vegetable Products. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

2. Reviewed for use in Florida by Amy Simonne, assistant professor, Food Safety and Quality, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.