My sister-in-law made some potato soup and put it in canning jars. She asked me if they would have to be put in the refrigerator or not. I did not know that answer. Can you help?
By Debbie
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If she didn't process them, more than likely they should be refrigerated. In fact it always used to be that when people canned any type of food it was kept in a cool place, like a basement for storage. It was felt that the foods kept better in a cool place.
Pressure canning is a must with foods containing milk. It is controversial and often discouraged for safety reasons
I think a low-acid food, such as milk based soups, need a pressure canner. If not processed in a pressure canner, they should be refrigerated for short-term storage.
When making glass jars full of potato or other soups, you need to sterilize everything and even use a hot water bath seal method. Adding salt and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) getting it up to the right temperature all help to keep it healthy. Making sure seals are still tight and the dent lid has not popped up or loose. Keep stored in a cool dry place where metal rings will not rust, or altered by sunlight.
Some recipes with cornstarch or flour in it have a stability problem when canning as finished soup, but you could probably make a base of potatoes with the salt and herbs. Leave the dry ingredients and butter out till its time to make for eating. Some people have used various methods they swear by for canning, but you must be careful of food poisoning. I do make a potato and corn chowder but I freeze mine. Though canning would be the best choice if the power were to fail I have a lot of food I would have to use up in less than a few days. To get the temperature up high enough for safety reasons, and not damage the ingredients is quite a balancing act. Makes you wonder how commercial soup makers do it but they do add quite a large amount of preservatives including salt.
If she just made it and put it in jars she needs to refrigerate it and use within a week. If she processed it that's different. I wouldn't eat it unless it had been pressure canned.
Debbie,
Thanks for asking this question. It caused me to be curious so I looked it up on my search engine. I found this website. I think you'll like it.
www.pickyourown.org/
I think I'll try canning some soup this year. :-))
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