What kind of preservatives would I use when canning vegetable soup in jars? How long can I keep them before they spoil? I am using all natural straight from the ground vegetables for this soup.
As the other feedback says,you need a pressure cooker but you will also need to add a teaspoon of salt to each jar of soup. That is a preservative in its self. Look up Ball.com and ask for their blue book. It tells you what you need to know about canning. Be especially careful about sterilizing your jars and rings, for they can carry germs that will cause your soup etc to spoil. I've canned Moose meat with gravy and it's the best I've ever eaten.
By
12/04/2009
Find Ball.com, they have a "Blue Book" with instructions for all sorts of canning! It is great. And you really need to use a pressure cooker. Have fun, good luck.
By
12/03/2009
It is critical that vegetables - or vegetables and meat - be canned in a pressure cooker (not just boiling water). The CDC says "A pressure cooker must be used to can vegetables at home because it can reach temperatures above boiling, which is necessary to kill botulism spores. Instructions on safe home canning can be obtained from county extension services or from the US Department of Agriculture." http://extension.usu.edu/files/publ ... ion/FN_Food_Preservation_2009-04.pdf
By
12/02/2009
You don't need to add preservatives to your soup. Process the jars in a canning pressure cooker and make sure they have a tight seal. I suggest that you do a Google search to find a canning website and read how long their shelf-life would be.