Instructions on Canning Homemade Soups

Can your own soups for easy heat-and-serve meals in the months ahead.

Homemade soups often take a lot of time to prepare and cook but unfortunately, do not keep for very long in the refrigerator. Even when frozen, soups will only last 6 months or so, and take up valuable space in small freezers. Learn how to easily can homemade soups using a pressure canner so that you can store jars of the good stuff for up to a year on pantry or basement shelving. Pressure canners usually cost between $100 and $200, but the extreme pressure and temperature they produce ensures safe canning free of the dangerous C. Botulism bacteria. Does this Spark an idea?

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Jars with lids and lid rings
Pressure canner
Wooden cutting board

Instructions

- 1
  
  Place the pressure canner on the stove top. Put the rack in the bottom of the pressure canner and fill it with hot water to the depth outlined in the instruction manual, usually 4". Heat it over low heat with the lid off.
- 2
  
  Fill jars halfway with the soup solids and then pour in the liquid, leaving a 1" space from the top of the jar. Tightly seal the jars with the lids and rings. Place the jars in the pressure canner.
- 3
  
  Turn the heat under the pressure canner to high, put the lid on and let the steam escape through the vent hole for 10 minutes.
- 4
  
  Close any ventilation openings and let the pressure gauge rise until it reaches 11 lbs per square inch (PSI).
- 5
  
  Set your kitchen timer for 60, 75 or 100 minutes, according to the instruction manual's recommended processing times. Keep your eye on the pressure gauge and adjust the heat as necessary to maintain it.
- 6
  
  Turn the heat off and let the pressure canner cool down. After the pressure drops to zero, open the vent, remove the lid and let the steam escape.
- 7
  
  Carefully remove the rack and allow jars to cool on the cutting board. Press down on the lids to ensure they are sealed. If the lids give way or pop inward when pressed, the jars are not properly sealed and you must repeat the process.

Tips & Warnings

Sanitize your jars and lids before canning by boiling for ten minutes.
Store canned soups on a shelf in a cool, dark place for up to 12 months.
Do not can soups containing pasta, noodles, rice, flour, milk, cream, starches, dehydrated foods or other thickening agents. Doing so can cause the jars to explode.