Canning Vegetable Broth
Canning Vegetable Broth gives you a rich base for your meals, right off your pantry shelf.
Ingredients
- 3 cups 384 grams sliced carrots
- 2 lbs 907 grams quartered onions
- 3 cups 303 grams celery
- 2 chopped rell bed peppers
- 2 large tomatoes chopped and seeded
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tsp dried thyme you can substitute 2-3 fresh sprigs
- 1 tsp dried rosemary you can substitute 1-2 fresh sprigs
- 1 tsp dried parsley or a small fresh bunch
- 10 whole peppercorns
- 2 gallons 7.6 L water
Instructions
- Start by washing and rinsing all of your vegetables and herbs.
- Combine all of your ingredients in a large stockpot.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for two hours.
- Prepare your pressure canner by washing it and its rack. Then, place the bottom rack inside the canner and fill it with a few inches (8 cm) of water.
- Put the pressure canner on the stove over low heat while you prepare the broth and jars. Make sure the water in the canner is about 180 degrees Fahrenheit (or 82 degrees Celsius) before you load your jars and start canning.
- Wash the jars in hot, soapy water and examine each one for any nicks or cracks. Place the jars in the canner so they stay hot. Do the same for the lids, washing them in hot, soapy water, then setting them aside.
- Returning to your broth, carefully strain the solids from the liquid. To do this, place a colander lined with cheesecloth over a second stockpot. Ladle the broth into the colander. Allow four minutes for it to completely drain - don't mash it, or this will cause the broth to become cloudy. Discard the solids.
- Reheat the broth until it's boiling, then remove the stockpot from the heat.
- Ladle the broth into prepared jars, leaving an inch (2.5 cm) of headspace.
- Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp cloth. Then, place the lids and bands on the jars and tighten them until they are fingertip-tight before you load them into the pressure canner.
- Process the jars according to the manufacturer's instructions at 10 lbs pressure for 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts. Adjust for altitude if necessary, see notes.
- Let the canner depressurize naturally. Remove the jars and allow them to cool on the counter for 12 hours. Check the seals, label, and store for one year.
Notes
Recipe Changes
You can, in fact, can any recipe for vegetable broth that you can think up. Really, all that's required is that you simmer vegetables until their rich flavors infuse into the broth, and then completely strain before canning. The only real exception to this is that you shouldn't use starchy vegetables (like potatoes) as they can add lots of soluble starch to the mix...which not only clouds your broth, but also could affect canning times. Few people put starchy vegetables in broth anyway, so it's not really an issue, but it's still worth mentioning. This particular recipe for vegetable broth is one that I've tested, and it's adapted from the The Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. A very similar recipe can also be found in Angi Schneider's Pressure Canning for Beginners and Beyond.Altitude Adjustments for Canning Vegetable Broth
Canning time remains the same regardless of altitude. However, the processing pressure increases as altitude increase. Use the following table to determine the correct processing pressure if you’re above 1,000 feet in elevation.For dial gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure
For weighted gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
- Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure