Canning Pressure Question

12 years ago

I'm planning to make and can some chicken soup with tomatoes tonight. My recipe is just one we love, but I found a similar one (more veggies than mine) online, and the woman cans hers att 11 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes. On Ball's website, I found their chicken sou (no tomatoes, but otherwise similar to mine) recipe is canned at 10 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes. I will be using quart jars.

For those of you who can, would you process my soup at 10 or 11 pounds of pressure?

Thanks for you help!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

morz8 - Washington Coast
12 years ago
Alice, the difference in recipes for the pressure usually points at type of canner. The instructions for a dial gauge canner (depending on your altitude) will be 11 #s, while those of us using weighted gauge canners will use 10# as our choices there are 5, 10, 15#s.

Soups give you some flexibility if you follow the general guidelines - half liquid/half solids rule, no thickeners, no pasta etc. NCHFP spells those out for you...But if in doubt, use Ball Blue Book or the NCHFP recipes. So many questionable and dated instructions are available online from such a large number of sources, many of them downright frightening.

As for your recipe, not knowing your altitude, if you are using a dial gauge canner I'd use the 11. Of course if you have weighted, you have no choice and I'm told the actual pressure of the weight is closer to 11 than 10. Has your gauge been calibrated recently, tested for true?

Lots of experienced and safe help available on the Harvest Forum here too, Garden side

Here is a link that might be useful: Nat'l Center for Home Food Preservation soup
Alice_sj
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you!

I have to admit that I have misplaced my Ball canning book. Also, my husband helps me to do the canning, so I've relied on him a lot. I feel silly having asked now (just a little) because we have a weighed gauge canner. My husband bought it for me and really did the first canning. I am mostly here to make the food. I need to get on the ball and let go of my pressure cooker fear, if I am going to be a home canner. Thanks again!!!
Related Discussions
New to pressure canning -- question
Q
Comments (7)
Hmmm, not really sure where to start. Based on the current canning guidelines there were a number of errors/mistakes made and any one of them could make this salsa either 1) maybe ok but inedible or unpalatable 2) unsafe to eat without cooking well after the jar is opened or 3) a botulism bomb waiting to explode. Without seeing the exact recipe and the measurements used we can't even guess as to its safety. Even with the exact recipe it would still be only guesses at best. Salsa is one of the most risky food products to can because it is composed of low acid ingredients and normally eaten fresh from the jar. For those reasons experimenting with it in any way or trying to can your own made up recipe is very strongly discouraged by those in the know. Even very experienced, well trained home canners won't mess with it. Even when pressure canned (which usually makes it nothing but yucky mush), not only is the pH, the acidity, of the mix vital but so is the density and you have no way of knowing either in this case. Plus there are no tested and approved processing times. In fact there are no approved salsa recipes for pressure canning and only very few approved for BWB canning. Freezing is the option of choice unless you use one of the tested recipes. was the time and pressure long enough to kill the botulism spores? There is no way to know because the density and pH is unknown so cold or low-acid pockets might remain insufficiently processed. You sort of just jumped into the pool at the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim - no offense intended. But unfortunately the result is a product that per all the guidelines needs to be disposed of ASAP or if less than 24 hours old - frozen. So should you throw it out? Yes, I would and I wouldn't attempt to make more without learning much more about the how-to first. But it boils down to your choice, your risk to take. Sorry as I know this isn't what you wanted to hear. Dave PS: For future reference: filling the canner "to the line" makes no difference as long as there was a MINIMUM of 3-4" of water in the canner, more is recommended for onlg processing times. Any thing that is processed for more than 10 min does not require pre-sterilized jars. 1" headspace is the norm for salsa. If you have more than that then you had siphoning during the processing and that is not a good sign. Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Burning Issue: Can I can my own salsa recipe?
...See More
Newbie question Re: Pressure Canning Spaghetti Sauce
Q
Comments (10)
The simple easy answer to your questions would be no, you cannot can it because one of the foundation rules of safe home canning is "You cannot safely can your own made-up recipes because you have no idea what the density or the pH is so processing type and time cannot be calculated. Personal recipes should be frozen, not canned." That's the simple answer from the approved guidelines and it is strongly encouraged that new or inexperienced home canners abide by that guideline. Does everyone abide by that guideline? No. As long as you recognize and accept you are moving into a potentially risky area you are free to do as you wish within some limitations. While canning already canned food is not recommended for several reasons, it is possible. The pH with already canned tomato products is usually ok as they add citric acid. But the density is still a possible issue. So my first question would be what is the exact recipe you want to make with specific measurements? Otherwise as already mentioned, yes you can always leave out any low acid ingredients you don't want but you cannot substitute others for them. Sugar (except in jams/jellies) is normally optional and can be left out. In personal recipes oil should be eliminated whenever possible or at least kept to a very bare minimum. Wine helps the acidity level so is no problem. All the pre-cooking isn't relevant to the canning safety and has no effect on the processing time required. So density - the thickness of your sauce when it goes into the jar - is the big concern when it comes to determining the PC processing time. Hope this helps. Dave
...See More
Pressure Canning Question
Q
Comments (4)
Thanks, Dave. I'm so glad. I actually processed this batch twice, because my dh didn't process the full 20 minutes the first time. New lids, etc. Then I started the count at 11 pounds, but was mainly at 12 or above for most of the time. Just learned about the conversion. That's what got me thinking about this question when I was reading some old threads. That certainly will be easier than finding a way to get my gauge tested each year. Now I just have to find where to get the weighted guages from and how to use them. So glad you are here to hold my hand.
...See More
Can Anything Be Pressure Canned & Other PC Questions
Q
Comments (8)
1. Yes you can in those cases for which a pressure canning processing time has been determined. In some cases there is none, only BWB processing time is available, so in those cases you couldn't pressure can as you would only be guessing at the time needed. But many food instructions, including applesauce, provide pressure canning instructions. Further, some people don't like the results obtained from pressure canning some foods that are normally done in a BWB. The texture, taste, and quality may be affected by pressure canning. In some cases it is improved, in some it isn't. So as a very general guideline, pressure canning is usually reserved for the foods that require it. 2. Yes, if it is deep enough. Many of us do it. You just don't lock down the lid nor put on the weight. It has the drawback of being quite heavy - a PC full of jars and water - but it works fine. 3. Is there a benefit? Not really. Some prefer Presto, some All American. Some swear by each brand. Some of us have both the Presto 23 quart and the All American. Some, myself included, prefer working with the Presto, some prefer the All American. The BIG difference is the price between the 2 models/brands. Just stick with one of those 2 brands only. You'll find lots of discussions here about the pros and cons of both brands and it boils down to a matter of personal preference. Dave PS: and in case you aren't familiar with it, be sure to explore all the info at NCHFP Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP
...See More
oldfixer
12 years ago
I just freeze mine, in Ball Jars.
jemdandy
12 years ago
Pressure cookers speeds cooking by raising the temperature. At sea level (about 14.7 psi), water boils at 212 F and will not get any hotter. When a bit of water gets to 212 F, it converts to steam and escapes taking thermal energy with it. If the cooker adds 5 psi, then the pressure inside the pot is the ambient pressure plus the cooker addition. At sea level, a 5psi addition results in 14.7+5 or 19.7 psi. The boiling point of water at 19.7 psi is 227 F. (Within a small range from 212 F. the boiling point of water raises approximately 3 F per each psi of pressure increase.) Cooking is accelerated by both pressure and temperature increase.

The main difference between a 5psi and 10 psi pressure is the boiling point and consequently temperaure. Yep, you do need a good recipe to guide your cooking time.

Here is a handy tip. As you go up in altitude, air pressure dimishes and you would like to know what adjustment to make. Let's say at your altitude, the air pressure is down 2 psi (14.7-2= 12.7 psi) and you wish to use a sea level 5 psi cooker recipe. Adjust the cooker pressure to account for the loss of atmospheric pressure. In this case, the cooker should be adjusted to 7 psi to get the same effect as 5 psi addition at sea level.

Canning Pressure Question

Comments (4)

morz8 - Washington Coast

Alice_sj
Original Author

Related Discussions

oldfixer

jemdandy

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Canning Pressure Question

Comments (4)

morz8 - Washington Coast

Alice_sjOriginal Author

Related Discussions

oldfixer

jemdandy

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Alice_sj
Original Author