More Canning help...

I am hoping there is some canning expert out there that can give me advice...

My wife really does a lot of canning, done it all her life out of necessity where she grew up. But, she is refusing to assist me with this mainly because we have a different mindset on how to handle it. Let me explain.

My wife makes this wonderful Chicken Soup. It's thick and has loads of vegetables with homemade noodles made by hand. I had her put up 7 quarts of it and she told me that it would not keep and the way to do it is to can it without the noodles then when you open to make the noodles fresh and throw them in. BUT, being stubborn man and wanting a 'ready to eat' soup I went to the internet and saw that others can soup with noodles and one certainly can purchase soup in the store so..."put the noodles in the jar!" Yeah, well...

And, you guess it. ALL 7 quarts are rotten...and I am getting a big "Okay, smartass, I told you so" from the wife (who will not admit that she is also as stubborn as me, in fact more so)

So, what the hell did I do wrong? Is there a special way one must can soup with noodles. Everything else is keeping well, borsche, green beans, tomatoes, jam, etc., water melon...

I understand that it's the fat in the noodle (they are egg noodles) but there must be a way to do it, right?

Rick

 

My wife and I tried a similar recipe with noodles, only not homemade and it kind of worked. Some were ok after a year some not. The problem we had was the noodles were really soggy. The next time we did it without the noodles then added them when we heated up the soup. I would tell you to reaseach it more, but I tried and you get so many different answers. I know this dont help much, but you could do it her way (happy wife happy life) then store you noodles in another jar, then add them.

 

Sorry @RickR but I agree with your wife. I wouldn't can noodles because of the probability that they would turn to mush. Seems easier to cook a few noodles on the side vs. ruining 7 quarts of soup.

 

AAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEE! But, this means she WINS...AGAIN!!!!!
Oh well...eat crow, egg on my face...but in the case, slurp my rotten noodles. YECH!

Thanks all! - Rick

 

LOL!

I did wonder if the noodles were less then al dente if they would hold up better. My thinking is you put the noodles in hot soup then a water bath or pressure coooker? Not sure how you seal your jars. The canning process would add more cooking. But then sitting in fluid adds to the breakdown of the noodle.

 

Do you pressure can, or waterbath can? It does make a difference. I would only pressure can soup / n stew / or chili

 

Waterbath can....wait don't tell me. I need to pressure can, right? You do realize that if I do this, Tac, and I fail - again - that I will never, ever, EVER be able to live this down, right? But, if I win...hmmm, might be worth the risk to regain my honor.

I will have to look up pressure canning...never did it. How does that help, higher temperature?

Rick

 

yes about 240F vice no more than 212. you should always pressure can low acid foods. all meats, poultry, pork, fish, seafood. most noodles have raw eggs in them. so in my opinion you would have to treat it like meat or poultry (pressure can). I don't know if your noodles will not dissolve when pressure canning, but I am pretty sure you will get a seal and they won't rot. I considered having you add the noodles dry to the soup prior to pressure canning, but noodle swell just like dry beans do (dry beans swell about 4 to 1)
I have no idea to what ratio dry noodles will swell but using dry noodles when canning is not advised. cook them with the soup first.

 

Well, it helps by keeping you from getting botulism. Any low acid food must be canned at a far higher temp to kill the spores and other stuff. In a true emergency, you don't want to chance eating canned food that is potentially dangerous. I say you give in gracefully.

 

So it seems this is something I would want to learn anyway...Okay, I will look into. I bet I need a pressure cooker.

Thanks @Seepalaces. Thanks @tacmotusn.

Rick

 

Hey, you can get a cheap combination canner/cooker, and you'll never buy canned beans again. You can use a pressure cooker to rehydrate beans in an hour. Also, pressure canning is a fun science experiment. And, fyi, my husband is a genius, I mean his iq is just under 160, so, he's a genius. I do a lot of graceful giving in.

 

Hi Seepalaces!
Well, my wife is no genius (thank goodness!) but she has the skills and common sense that comes from growing up in the Soviet Union in a third-world country. She's ethic Russian but was born in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, her mother was Russian and father was from Ukraine...their families came to Central Asia running from the Nazis like many others.

No this pressure canning is a good idea and we need to learn it. I will look into this "combination canner/cooker." She normally freezes the green beans as the garden did really well with them last year. - Rick

 

I have this one: Presto 16-Quart Aluminum Pressure Canner - Walmart.com I also have a small pressure cooker for everyday use. This is the only canner that fits between my stove and the vent thing. You want to consider your space and your stove before you buy. I prefer the green beans frozen, too. They seem to taste better.

 

So, that's what they look like...looks like a normal pressure cooker to me. We have a Walmart not too far away that we go to a lot and will look the next time we are there. I will also look on Amazon today if I have time. Thanks much! - Rick

 

@Seepalaces,
So was talking to wife and we will try this summer (want to do chicken and beef, maybe my soup) and looking on Amazon... but I thought I would ask you, is there anything specifically I should look for in a Pressure Canner/Cooker or something which would be handy and you wish you had... Lots of people seem to like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000BYCFU/?tag=survivalmonke-20

It supposedly will handle 7 quart jars which is a plus... What do you think? - Rick

 

People who know me very well, think I am a canner junkie. I have three All Amarican canners. Two large ones and one medium sized. I love them. You can use them alot, and they will still last a life time, (and they don't need gaskets). Spendy but worth it. I got two of my three canners at yard sales. Thats the way to go if you can find one. I can quite a bit as it is, but if the grid goes down for very long they will be worth their weight in gold. Three canners and a couple of propane stoves, and I can convert the meat in my freezers to can goods in a couple of days.

 

As long as you are experimenting with pressure canning. Might consider putting noodles in uncooked and then pressure canning. worth a try for less soggy noodles. I don't think this would work with fresh pasta but might be worth a try with dried noodles @RickR so would you be willing to share the recipe for the 'wonderful' soup recipe? bragging rights are only good if we can make it too

 

I've pressure canned soup with noodles and rice. You have to use dried, uncooked rice/noodles and make SURE they're covered with liquid, otherwise they don't cook. Put them on the bottom, then everything else on top, then pour in the liquid. And yes, you have to pressure can them. I use All American canners. Whenever you see one of those photos of the exploded pressure canner/cooker, it's a gasket type one like Presto. All Americans are more expensive but worth every penny. They're the sherman tanks of pressure canners.

The rice and noodles tend to be on the mush side but they'll hold up. Frankly after doing it a few times I decided it was just easier, and better, to put the rice/noodles in the soup when I dumped the can into the pot to heat up and cooked them that way.

 

@BlueDuck, I will look for an "All American' canner. I don't mind paying for quality.

@Ganado , Sure, I will share recipe! I promise. But, first I need to be sure it works using this pressure canning. It costed me 7 quarts of soup last time that I got cocky. Why is all knowledge so expensive in either time or money or both. - Rick