It's a density issue for safety purposes. Noodles, homemade or not, are dense (homemade ones even more so) and as such do "thicken" the contents of the jar. Density prevents proper distribution of the heat so...

It's your choice of course as only you can determine the amount of risk you are comfortable with but the approved guidelines are pretty clear - no noodles.

Why not freeze it instead?

Dave

I'd can the soup and freeze homemade noodles in packets of a compatible size.

It's easy to combine them when heating.

Also, you might be surprised what pressure canning does to homemade noodles.

Carol

Sorry, no noodles, rice, barley, etc. It is a thickener, plus it will change the ph level of the foods.
Think of it, noodles are flour, so same as adding flour.

So I just spent two days canning chicken noodle and chicken rice soup. Although the noodles and rice did absorb a lot of the liquid, the seals seem good. Should I assume they are unsafe and toss them? I am totally bummed. How is it that Campbells can do it? What if I used more pressure or longer times?

Professional canning companies use substantially different canning equipment than we have access to at home. There really is no comparison. So, many things that are safe for company processing are not safe to do at home.

Your soups, per the approved regulations would not be considered safe, because, as explained above not only has the pH of the product been changed but there is no approved or tested processing time for soups with these thickeners added. You have no way of knowing if the heat penetrated deeply enough or reached the required temperatures internally to kill any possible contaminants. But it is your choice, your level or risk to determine.

Personally, I would be inclined to use at least some of the soup, say within the next 30 days max. but I would first do a hard boil of it for 15-20 minutes before eating. I am NOT recommending that as it isn't approved, just telling you what I would do if I had made this mistake. I would NOT gift it.

For what it is worth, this is why using only approved recipes/guidelines is so strongly recommended. It saves you the work and the heartache of the decision you now have to make.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Canning Soup Guidelines

jpstormy ...did you have a recipe...how did you know the processing time etc without a recipe?

maybe the soup could still go in the freezer if there is space to save it from being tossed

I could not find a recipe for soup anywhere, so I used the recipe and processing time for stock. I will stick it in the fridge and boil it before I eat it. I am afraid the jars will break if I freeze it. Any suggestions on what to store it in if I want to freeze it? I hate having to take the time to thaw it when I am sick and want soup. I guess I could just can everything but the noodles or rice, but then it takes as long as thawing it. My noodles and rice take from 30 to 45 min to cook (I use brown rice.) Well pooh. I bought all the stuff so I could have my homemade soup on hand. I don't know if it is worth the work without the noodles and rice. I am glad I looked into it though. Don't want to make anyone sick. Thanks for your feedback and expertise. I sure wish I could have found this info before I bought everything. They should put it in the canning instruction book. Thanks again everyone. If I decide to continue my pursuit of canning I will be back to pick your brains some more.

I am afraid the jars will break if I freeze it. Any suggestions on what to store it in if I want to freeze it?

Just open the jars and dump it into individual plastic freezer containers. The cheap ones come in pints and quarts and are square so they stack easily and don't take up much room. Or you can recycle plastic butter tubs for storage. But if you are going that route, you need to do it now rather than wait a week or so.

Dave

I know that I am new to this science, but the student in me wants to understand. How could rice be more dense than chicken? Or is it just that the rice adds starch to the broth itself and makes the broth more dense? Could it actually be more dense than spaghetti sauce? Or does the acid in the tomatoes keep it from needing to get as hot. Sorry if I ask too many questions. Is there somewhere I could find the research published? Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.

Actually there are recipes or actually rules for canning soup. No thickeners, dry beans or peas need to be completely re-hydrated before canning and only 1/2 the jar gets filled with solids and the remaining space must be liquid. No cream or pureed soups.

Unfortunately, if you processed the soup for only as long as you would for stock, that is not long enough for even correctly canned soup without the noodles or rice. Pints of soup generally need to be processed for 60 minutes at the correct pressure. Best to Freeze immediately if you still want to save it. If it has been a while since it was canned, you might want to cook it again before freezing it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soup rules

Please do not think that I do not believe you, I am just curious as to why. I read the document published by the USDA that this cite refers to. It only says not to thicken the soup, it does not say why. I suppose it would be impossible to test for such varying thicknesses of soup. Do you have any direction on where I might find more research that might tell me why? I have not been successful in my searching. Thanks again.

Well it is explained in part above.

The why is because adding it changes the pH of the soup, makes it more alkaline and soup is already a low-acid product so considered more risky than acidic foods. The pH of the product is a vital consideration in the safety of home processed food since it is the pH that prevents the growth of bacteria.

And it changes the density of the soup. That retards the heat penetration and creates cooler spots in the interior where the bacteria are not killed.

Now IF the food science lab had ever done testing on your particular recipe they would be able to tell you exactly how long and at what temperature that particular recipe would have to be processed to be safe or exactly how your recipe would have to be modified to make it safe. But clearly that isn't fesible - testing each and every recipe.

So, since they can't test every recipe and adjust accordingly to exactly how much rice or how many noodles or flour etc. each of us might add, all they can do is test and approve a basic recipe (linked above) that is acidic enough to be safe and processed for enough time to be safe and then allow each of us to add prior to serving all the other things we might want.

NCHFP is the authority and source of approved recipes and guidelines. In their extensive list of publication linked in their index you can read all about this and much more. Check out, for example the link below. It is the search results of their publications on safety in soups. They are long pdf docs but you can browser search through them for 'soup'.

Dave

I have to revamp my info above on freezing without re-heating and using if boiled first.

As TC says above, if you only processed using the time for stock then, no this is definitely not safe. I mistakenly assumed you had processed for soup recipe times. Stock is pure liquid. Rice and noodles aside, adding anything to stock changes the density and heat penetration and increases the required processing time. Stocks are 20-25 mins. Soups are 60-75 mins.

If it has been less than 24 hours you can reheat it to boiling and then freeze it but it cannot be safely canned. Or pitch it. Sorry.

Dave

PS: There are several great books available for safe home canning recipes. The Ball Blue Book is a readily available, inexpensive, safe and approved book of home canning recipes if you prefer a book rather than the NCHFP website.

Make and can the soup without noodles and then while its heating add some of the quick cooking types in those Raman noodle packs. They soften and are ready in about a minute or two. The dried noodles are also sold plain, without any seasoning packets.

If it has been longer than 24 hours there may be botulism in the jars. Botulism grows that quickly. Plus, you cannot see, taste or smell it. I would toss those jars, and use this as a learning experience. The ph of that soup, even if it had been processed for the proper time for soup, would be higher due to the rice and pasta. It is not possible to safely can any food with rice, pasta, barley, milk, cheese, butter. (Well, technically one recipe with butter for a lemon curd, but that is the only exception that I know of. It is a specially tested recipe and must be followed exactly. Then, the 1/4 tsp. butter to keep jams from foaming.)
There is a free online home canning course at the University of Georgia, same site as listed above. Sorry, I don't know of any more documentation to read. You can always contact Elizabeth Andress at the NCFHFP, the same link for home canning at Univ. of Georgia.
The home canning course may give more information, I am not sure.
I learned all of this stuff when I took Master Food Preserver/ Food Safety Advisor training. I really wish there was more published information for the consumer at home.

Another of the reasons I have read that says why oils, thickeners, rice, noodles, flour, etc are not safe for canning is that during processing they may tend to "climb" the inside of the jar and get under the seal which can ruin the seal on the jar over time.

The more immediate concern is that the jars were not processed long enough though. And there is no tested processing time for soup with thickeners. The whole heat penetration thing.

Sorry, I know it's a real bummer.