Pressure Cooker Canning?

Question

I don't quite understand how this whole Pressure Cooker thing works....so I need help. I am trying to find out how to safely can soups, and I was told I need a pressure cooker and cannot just use a water bath canner. So, how does the process work? Do I cook in the pressure cooker, then put my food (ie soup) in the jars, then water bath can it? I'm trying to get myself organized as I have baby #2 on the way and want to have some quick and easy meals available on demand for the days that I'm not feeling up to cooking. Any help anyone can give would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

I would suggest getting a Blue Ball Canning book, check online. Their recipes include directions for canning and which vegies need to be pressure canned. Your 4H extension agent would also be a good resource. It is very important to pressure can low acid vegies or meats, or you could be canning soups that are unsafe to eat.

I like to freeze ziplock bags of enchiladas, refried beans, meatballs, cookies, mashed potatoes, and browned ground meats. These things really help get supper on the table quickly.  

Answer 2

Your pressure canner should have come with instructions. If it didn't then you need to go to the manufacturers web page to get them. The instructions will tell you what pressure and for how long it will take for your soups. You need to make the soup first, then put it into jars, then process them.

Answer 3

I have never done soup because it is just as easy to open a can and just add to it but We have canned lots of vegetables and meats, chicken, beef, rabbit etc.  Especially tomatoes so you have them for stews, sauces, spaghetti and it's already done.  The pressure cooker recipe book does have a lot of recipes in it.

Answer 4

First, a pressure cooker (which is for cooking meals) is not a safe or recommended substitute for a large pressure canner, which is used to process food for long term storage. These are two separate types of equipment, and they are not interchangeable.

Even more importantly, you CANNOT can any homemade recipe because there is no way to determine the correct processing times without lab testing the ingredients for their pH values. This is a health and safety issue, and the consequences of ignoring proper canning techniques are well documented and too dangerous a health and safety risk to to the lives of your family.

Always use a safe and tested, current canning recipe. When canning combinations of high and low acid foods, like a recipe for soup -- you must use a pressure canner and follow the directions exactly, and use the timing directions appropriate to your altitude.

If there isn't a safe canning recipe that suits your taste preferences, then the correct procedure is to process the main ingredients for your soup separately, again using safe and tested canning recipes; like a tomato sauce, or meat with broth, or the separate vegetables for example.

Then use those canned products as the basis for preparing your favorite dish at serving time, adding all the other ingredients that make it special to you.

Canning is a science and there’s more to it than just putting a lid on a jar and boiling it to get it to seal. The processing times are scientifically determined and tested to give you adequate safeguards against any variables encountered during home canning to kill micro-organisms and ensure you have a product that is safe to eat.

If you want to learn how to can, learn from a reliable and trusted source that uses current, tested and safe canning directions. There is a LOT of really bad -- and outrageously dangerous -- canning info on the web. Most of it is slap-dash junk someone just made up, or outdated stuff that their granny used 80 years ago.

Thankfully we've learned a lot since the 'good old days", and canning is safer than it ever was... as long as you follow the current canning guidelines which are tested and proven safe by the USDA.