Being a vegetarian, vegetable broth is a staple in my house. When the recipe calls for chicken or beef broth/stock I use vegetable broth. I also use it to cook with less oil. Instead of using olive oil and seasonings to toss vegetables before roasting, I use vegetable broth and seasonings. It is cheaper to make than a broth or stock made from chicken or beef, and I would argue that the ingredients would be easier to come by in desperate times. Vegetable broth has been my healthy alternative go-to for many years, and canning enough from vegetables found in my garden to last over the winter is my goal every year. Let me show you how I do it.
Although you can use this exact recipe, remember it’s not as critical to follow the exact amounts because the solids will be discarded. However, since we will need to pressure can the broth, you should take into consideration adding your own ingredients. If you add, for example, potatoes make sure you process the broth in your pressure canner for the vegetable with the longest processing time.
Vegetable Broth
40 carrots
1 + 1/3 bunch parsley
4 bell peppers
20 celery stocks
12 cloves garlic
2 onion (you can add more if you like onions)
10 medium tomatoes
4 tablespoons peppercorn
3 teaspoons cloves
2 gallons of water
Place all ingredients in a 21 quart pot (I use my Victorio Canner), cover, and simmer for 6 to 8 hours. Strain broth. The liquid will reduce a bit so you won’t get 2 gallons of broth.
Wash your jars, lids and rings.
Sterilizing jars and lids is not necessary for processing times of 10 minutes or longer, I place them in the oven at 200 degrees to keep them warm.
Now, is a great time to double check your vent pipe to make sure it is clear. This pipe needs to be clear so your canner will function properly and let out the right amount of steam.
Here you can see that I can see light through the top and the bottom.
I have an All American 30 Quart Pressure Canner which has a metal on metal seal. All American recommends that you apply oil to the top around the edges. Use olive oil or petroleum jelly to put a thin layer of oil around the top of the canner. I usually just use my finger to apply the oil.
Place your tops and rims in a pot. Then put the pot over medium heat to loosen the seals. (Update: Ball no longer recommends doing this. So after you’ve washed your lids just place them in a bowl and set them aside until your ready to use them)
Fill the canner with 2 to 3 inches of water. It might be a good idea to actually measure this if you have a large canner because it’s harder to eyeball on cookware that is larger than you normally use in your everyday cooking. I eyeballed it first and then measured. I had to add water. You always want to have enough water in the canner. Letting the canner run dry can ruin it.
This is the bottom rack that should always go on the bottom. Never place your jars directly on the bottom of the canner. Doing so will cause your jars to break. Go ahead a place it in the canner and turn your burner on. You want to place your warm jars into warm liquid.
To fill you jars you will need, a ladle, a jar funnel, a jar grabber, a lid magnet, something to measure headspace and a rag to wipe the rims of your jars.
Fill your jars. I am using a variety of sizes, including 1/2 pint jars. Remember those pre-roasted vegetables I told you about seasoning with vegetable broth, well, nothing irritates me more than having to open an entire quart of vegetable broth when I only need a cup. So I’m canning, quarts, pints and 1/2 pints. Always use the processing time of the largest jar you are canning.
Vegetable soup/broth requires an inch of headspace.
You can remove air bubbles with a spatula, but using the other end of this tool that measures headspace is easier to me.
Wipe your jars so that your lids can get a seal on the jar.
Remove your lids and rings from the stove and place them on your clean jars.
Place your rings on your jars. Place the rings on the jars and tighten “finger tight.” Finger tight means not too tight and not too loose. Just tighten them as far as they will go without forcing them.
Here is a shot of my first layer of jars. You can see I have the rack on the bottom.
If your canner allows you to place a second layer of jars in the canner, go ahead and place the second rack in.
Place the jars on top of the rack. I really didn’t measure my broth or my jars. I just lucked out that I had just enough broth and exactly enough jars. It never works out that way, though, so always prepare a few more jars than you think you will need.
For an All American canner line up the arrows to seal the lid.
Place the top on the canner. When you tighten the lid you always fasten opposite screws with even torque. Never fasten one end and then fasten the other.
After the lid is tightened you must let steam escape from the vent pipe for 10 minutes before you put the weight on the cover. This procedure is called exhausting and is necessary when pressure canning.
Can vegetable broth at 10 lbs pressure for 75 minutes or according your altitude chart. You can find adjustments for altitude here. To look up your altitude go here. Here is a picture of the gauge at 10lbs pressure. All American warns you not to depend on this gauge but that it is only a secondary measure.
The weight is what you should rely on. I’ve got it set at 10lbs pressure. You want to wait until the weight begins the juggle before you start your timer. Then adjust your heat so it jiggles 1 to 4 times per minute. When I first started canning I actually got a stop watch and timed the jiggling – again something you don’t want to estimate because if your temperature is set too high it can be the cause of your jars spewing/losing liquid.
Let the canner cool. Do not remove the weight until the pressure is zero. Then remove the weight. Everything should read zero before removing the lid. Remove the lid away from you. Here it gets a little tricky because everything is still hot but in order for the lid not to form a vacuum seal you want to remove it as soon as it comes to zero pressure. However, you need to be careful that moving around your jars will not cause liquid to spill out. I wait about 30 minutes to open the lid after I take off the weight.
Remove your jars being careful not to tip them. They are not sealed yet so you want to keep them upright in order to keep all the liquid in the jars.
Let your jars sit and cool for at least eight hours. Remove the rings. If the rings stay on and the lid fails (becomes unsealed) while the ring is on, the lid may reseal itself. However, bacteria has already invaded the jar and the food should not be eaten; with the ring left on there is no way you will know about the resealing. If the rings are off the lid has no pressure to reseal itself so if the lid seal fails then you’ll know and you can throw that jar out. Label and put away.
