Canning Vegetable Soup

I have always wanted to learn how to can foods but had made it more difficult in my mind than it really is, so I put it off (for years actually I am sad to say).  Last weekend I was inspired.  I saw Patty Tatum at the Saturday morning Oxford Farmer's Market.  She was picking out lots of okra, so I asked her what she was doing.  She said, "Today is vegetable soup day."  She explained that every summer she picks a day at the market to get what she needs to make homemade vegetable soup, makes a large quantity, and then freezes it for the winter.  

I figured if I went ahead and bought everything there would be no turning back..........  I do not have enough freezer space, so I knew canning would be my best option.  I welcomed the challenge and made my purchases - tomatoes, corn, okra, peas, green beans, lima beans, onion, red bell peppers, garlic, and new potatoes.

 

I pureed my tomatoes in the food processor and poured them into a large stock pot.  I chopped my onion, garlic, and bell peppers in the food processor as well and added them.  I let this simmer while I was washing and chopping the rest of the vegetables.  I added them to the tomatoes and added filtered water and seasonings as well.

Then I cooked the vegetable soup until the vegetables were all tender.  It looked to beautiful in the pot and smelled and tasted wonderful.

Thanks to Jo Ruth Pruett in Tula, I was able to borrow a pressure canner that would hold 7 quarts at a time.  The manual that came with the pressure canner explained how to can different kinds of food.  This was very helpful.  I knew I needed to can in quarts to allow more for my family of 5!  I had always been intimidated by a pressure canner and yes, I read the instructions at least 5 times before I started.  But as usual, once I did it, it did not turn out being as hard as it seemed beforehand!

The most challenging part was investing the time to wash and cut up all the vegetables.  But when I think about how much time in the fall I invest in just one smaller pot of soup it makes perfect sense to go ahead and make a large quantity one time and then have it available to just open up and serve.

The main reason I wanted to can vegetable soup was that I wanted the advantage of having all ingredients that were vine ripened and grown locally to maximize the nutrition for my family.  They are in glass jars which will not leach anything into the final product and there are absolutely NO additives or preservatives.

It was so much easier than I expected, and I value being able to do large quantities at a time in order to maximize my efforts.  No doubt I am looking for my next canning project.........