Extension ServiceCanning soup
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Vegetable, dried bean or pea, meat, poultry, or seafood soup can be canned.
Caution: Do not add noodles or other pasta, rice, flour, cream, milk or other thickeners to home canned soups. If dried beans or peas are used, they must be fully rehydrated before canning. Soups containing seafood have a longer processing time.
Procedure
Select, wash, and prepare vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood as described for the specific foods in their own canning instructions.
Cover meat with water and cook until tender. Cool meat and remove bones.
Cook vegetables as described for hot pack. 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 boiling, then drain.
Combine solid ingredients with broth, water or tomato juice or cooked crushed or diced tomatoes to cover. Boil 5 minutes. Salt to taste, if desired.
Caution: Do not thicken. 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 type of canner used.
After processing, remove canner from heat and wait until pressure returns to zero. Remove weight or slowly open petcock. Wait 10 minutes. Unfasten canner lid and remove it carefully.
Table 1: Recommended process time for soups in a dial-gauge pressure canner.
Style of pack: hot
Caution: If the soup contains seafood, process 100 minutes for pints and quarts.
Pint jars - process time 60 minutes
Pounds of canner pressure at altitudes shown:
- 0 - 2,000 feet – 11 lbs.
- 2,001 – 4,000 ft. – 12 lbs
- 4,001 – 6,000 ft. – 13 lbs
- 6,001 – 8,000 ft. – 14 lbs.
Quart jars – process time 75 minutes
Pounds of canner pressure at altitudes shown:
- 0 -2,000 feet – 11 lbs.
- 2,001 – 4,000 ft. – 12 lbs
- 4,001 – 6,000 ft. – 13 lbs
- 6,001 – 8,000 ft. – 14 lbs.
Table 2. Recommended processing time for soups in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
Style of pack: hot
Caution: If the soup contains seafood, process 100 minutes for pints and quarts.
Pint jars – process time 60 minutes
Pounds of canner pressure at altitudes shown
- 0 -1,000 feet – 10 lbs.
- Above 1,000 ft. – 15 lbs.
Quart jars – process time 75 minutes
Pounds of canner pressure at altitudes shown
- 0 -1,000 feet – 10 lbs.
- Above 1,000 ft. – 15 lbs.
Adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA. Revised 2009.
Clam chowder base
Yield: about 20 half-pints or 10 pints
- ½ pound diced salt pork (optional)
- 2 quarts diced and peeled potatoes (about 12 medium)
- 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 large)
- 3 to 4 quarts cleaned, chopped clams with juice
- 2 quarts boiling water
- Salt and pepper
Prep
Cut salt pork into small, uniform pieces.
Peel onion. Chop onion, measure 1 cup chopped onion.
Peel potatoes. Dice potatoes into medium uniform cubes; measure 2 quarts diced potatoes.
Cook
Brown salt pork in a large saucepan. Drain off excess fat.
Add onion and cook slowly until onion is tender but not browned.
Add clams with juice, potatoes, and boiling water. Boil 10 minutes.
Season clam chowder base with salt and pepper to taste.
Fill
Ladle hot chowder base into a hot jar, leaving 1-inch head space. Remove air bubbles.
Clean jar rim. Center lid on jar and adjust band to fingertip tight.
Place jar on the rack in pressure canner containing 2 inches of simmering water (180⁰F).
Repeat until all jars are filled.
Process
Place lid on canner and turn to lock position. Adjust heat to medium high. Vent a steady steam of steam for 10 minutes.
Process half-pints and pints 100 minutes in a pressure canner (10 pounds with a weighted gauge; 11 pounds with a dial gauge). Adjust pressure for altitude using the canner pressure at elevations information below.
At end of processing time turn off heat and cool canner to 0 pressure. After 5 minutes, remove lid. Let jars cool 10 minutes.
Remove jars from canner: do not retighten bands if loose. Cool 12 hours. Check seal. Label and store jars.
Dial gauge canner
Style of pack: hot
½ pints and pint size jars. Process time: 100 minutes
Canner pressure (PSI) at elevations
- 0 - 2,000 feet – 11 lbs.
- 2,001 – 4,000 ft. – 12 lbs.
- 4,001 – 6,000 ft. – 13 lbs.
- 6,001 – 8,000 ft. – 14 lbs.
Weighted gauge: 0 -1,000 ft – 10 lbs.; 1,001 ft. and above – 15 lbs.
Note: This is the base recipe for making clam chowder. Butter and milk are added to the base when reheating for serving, see recipe below. Do not add butter or milk before processing, as it may have an adverse effect on heat penetration, resulting in under processed food.
To serve
For New England Chowder, add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 cups milk to each 1/2-pint jar of clam chowder base (double this amount for pint jar). Cook the chowder until hot throughout before serving.
Recipe variation: For Manhattan Chowder, add the following ingredients, removing the bay leaf before canning:
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes with juice
- ½ cup chopped celery (about 1 stalk)
- ½ bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon thyme
Clam Chowder Base recipe used with permission. Source: Newell Brands Inc. Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. 38th ed., Hearthmark, LLC, 2024.
Meat and poultry stock or (broth)
Beef
Saw or crack fresh trimmed beef bones (with meat removed) to enhance extraction of flavor. Rinse bones and place in a large stockpot, cover bones with water. Place cover on pot and simmer 3 to 4 hours.
Remove bones and cool broth, skim off excess fat and discard. If desired, remove any tiny amount of meat tidbits still clinging to bones and add back to the broth.
Reheat broth to boiling and fill jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel.
Chicken or turkey
Place large carcass bones (with meat removed) in a large stockpot. Add enough water to cover bones. Cover pot and simmer 30 to 45 minutes or until any remaining tidbits of meat on bones easily fall off.
Remove bones, cool broth and discard excess fat. If desired, remove any tiny amount of meat trimmings still clinging to bones and add back to the broth.
Reheat broth to boiling and fill jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel.
Process in a pressure canner following recommendations in table below for type of canner used.
Please note: We do not have recommended processing times for vegetable, fish or other seafood-based broth or stock. These products freeze well.
Recommended process time for meat and poultry broth
Style of pack: hot
Altitude weighed gauge: 0 -1,000 ft. – 10 lbs.; 1,001 ft. and above – 15 lb.
Pint jars – Process time 20 minutes
Dial gauge canner – pounds of canner pressure at altitudes shown
- 0 - 2,000 feet – 11 lbs.
- 2,001 – 4,000 ft. – 12 lbs.
- 4,001 – 6,000 ft. – 13 lbs.
- 6,001 – 8,000 ft. – 14 lbs.
Quart jars – Process time 25 minutes
Dial gauge canner – pounds of canner pressure at altitudes shown
- 0 -2,000 feet – 11 lbs.
- 2,001 – 4,000 ft. – 12 lbs.
- 4,001 – 6,000 ft. – 13 lbs.
- 6,001 – 8,000 ft. – 14 lbs.
Source: This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA. Revised 2009.
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