I know this has been discussed here in more detail in the past but I can't find the threads on it right now so it never hurts to repeat it. Basically you need to research info on growing and harvesting potatoes to understand their nature rather than canning sites. That is where the relevant info comes from. Curing and conditioning prior to use and/or storage is a standard part of post-harvest care of potatoes. If they are not to be consumed as new potatoes immediately after digging then they need to cure, to mature, before use so that some of the moisture they contain can evaporate, the CO2 they contain can be slowly released, and the starch content can stabilize. Fresh potatoes that are exposed to heat will usually burst because the heat causes a rapid expelling of the CO2 gas and water. A minimum of 2 weeks curing time is the standard recommendation following a 24 hour drying time. Longer when possible is preferred. This applies regardless of if one plans to dry store, can, freeze or dehydrate the potatoes. NCHFP attempts to cover all this in the phrase "mature potatoes of ideal quality for cooking" when it discusses canning them. Hope this helps. Dave Lesuko - Based on the first post here, I called Presto about adding the pressure canner weights/regulator to their 23Qt and was told that the company cannot recommend this as it is has not been tested using the weights. I thought this might be a solution but has anyone been doing this for a while and if so, have you had any problems with sealing? It works fine on the Presto and its use has been approved by both USDA and NCHFP and used by many here for a number of years - myself included. You'll find many discussions here about just this question. :) Unfortunately Presto Customer Service can't seem to get with the program despite numerous attempts to correct the problem. That is why whenever this question comes up we advise NOT using Presto Customer Service as a resource. They only create, not resolve problems. The Presto 23 qt canner with the additional 3 piece weight set (Part 50332) is an excellent canning set up and one you can be completely confident in using. I have both it and An All American canner and actually prefer using my Presto. Dave

I'm not quite clear if you wish to add the few vegetables to your stock when canning or if you're concerned that making stock with added vegetables is an issue. Generally when canning stock you can add a few bits of meat from the bones to the jars and that's it. The processing time is relatively short because the stock is pure liquid. If you add meat or veggies it's more dense; hence, a longer processing time. Practically speaking, by the time you've cooked the bones and veggies several hours any "goodness" has been extracted. The bits of meat and veggies generally are rather flat in flavor and not worth bothering with anyway. Just strain and can plain as ksrogers suggested. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Preparing and Canning Stock

Squash is low-acid, high water activity and high density, all issues in canning. Notice the processing time for a quart of squash is greater than the processing time for a quart of vegetable soup (90 minutes vs. 75 minutes). That's largely because of the density with all those cubes of squash as opposed to a 50/50 mixture of veggies and broth. I'm no food scientist, but I would surmise that if you canned squash and carrots in vegetable broth per the canned squash time, you should be fine. Water has a pH of 7.0 while vegetable broth is in the neighborhood of 5.0, so pH isn't an issue and both are similarly liquid. Carrots are less problematic than squash so subbing some slices for squash cubes should not be a problem. But keep in mind I'm rendering an opinion, no more than that. Personally I'd stick with the soup formula. Carol

Jim writes: The other option is to use an approved recipe and substitute the vinegar, or a portion of it, with citric acid (which has no flavor). Didn't know could do that. Have any recipes? John, The rule is as follows: 2 Tbsp of bottled 5% vinegar is equivalent to, 1 Tbsp of bottled commercial lemon or lime juice, and that is equivalent to, 1/4 tsp food grade citric acid. So, if you are putting up quarts of tomatoes, and acidification is recommended, you can use any one of the following: 4 Tbsp of 5% vinegar, or 2 Tbsp of bottled lemon or lime juice, or 1/2 tsp citric acid. Citric acid is readily available, cheap, and in France it is called "sour salt". If you have a child that likes Gummy Bears or other such similar sweet/sour product, citric acid is what creates the "pucker response" in those candies. Hope this helps. I use citric acid where I don't want the flavor of the other things. If I want tomatoes for soup, I would never put either vinegar or lemon juice in the tomatoes. I would rather use the citric acid and then flavor the soup to my own sense of proper flavoring - rather than trying to cover the flavor of vinegar or lime juice. Jim in So Calif