Cloudy liquid causes are starch in vegetables, minerals in water (hard water), additives in salts (use pure canning salt only), or spoilage.

Since this is less than 24 hours old, right, spoilage is out. And you used no starchy vegetables, right? Then best bet is hard water or wrong salt. Possible?

You can re-process if less than 24 hours old but if it was the water or the salt it won't help (unless it allows for more fat skimming). It should still be safe, just strange looking.

Dave

It is safe, just a visual thing. It is from the proteins. You know how it foams when you boil bones. I would leave it alone and just skim or strain that off when you open the jars later.

I agree, I'd leave it. I get much clearer stock when I make the stock then filter it through a coffee filter, but most times mine is intended for addition to other recipes and so the clarity isn't an issue for me.

Annie

Arghh I forgot to use canning salt, and used Diamond Crystal kosher salt. As this stock is from my old laying hens, I really don't want to waste it. The second load is in the pressure canner now.

Thanks everyone, this forum really rocks. THIS is the best and highest use of the internet.

Diamond Crystal Kosher should have been fine. It's as pure as canning and pickling salt. I have used it happily for these sorts of things. (For taste, not for fermentation.)

If the chicken stock was boiled then it will be cloudy and no amount of straining is going to fully correct the problem. To make a clear stock it has to bubble gently, not boil, during the cooking process. The higher the temp it cooks at the more of that protein scum that Linda Lou mentioned is going to be extracted.

But as Annie said, if you're using it as a cooking ingredient as opposed to a clear soup, it's not an issue anyway. It's aesthetics, not safety.

Carol

I am curious about this. I gently simmered the stock, never allowing it to come to a boil, only allowing for a gentle bubble.

When it is being processed, though, I can only assume it boils in the jars. If that is the case, how is it possible to ever have clear stock?

I will use it, it tastes too darn good not too, but I am curious.

Ali

But aren't you canning clear stock? The bones and all the matter that would produce cloudiness have been strained out and a boil at that point would be different.

I'm not a food chemist but that's my take on it. Usually when I can stock it's pretty clear. It may be that when you strained it some protein bits got through. In my more "appearance obsessive" moments I use muslin. It's much slower but it does a good job of keeping out the "stuff."

The one thing about canning is things happen. Safety issues are always a concern but sometimes products don't look quite as lovely as we'd like. It's just "Oh well." You've made the right decision. Looks aren't as important as flavor anyway.

Carol

Ever seen commericlal canned stock? It too is cloudy and if it were filtered to make it crystal clear it would be quite bland.

OK - I finally canned chicken stock for the first time today. Followed all the directions per guidelines and all the tips here on the forum. My stock is REALLY cloudy - like you can't see through it. From some of your posts above, seems that not everyones stock is clear stock. My question is - Is there such a thing as too cloudy? I strained it twice through a pillowcase. (Wish I could post a picture).

Also, my stock was very fatty. I defatted as well as I could. The stock was refrigerated for almost 24 hours. But it still seemed really fatty. Is that a problem? I know that it can go rancid if frozen, seems it could go rancid canned also.

Thanks for any comments. Guess I just need some reassurance. I will say the stock was very flavorful. (I drank what was left over from a cup)

You chilled it until the fat was solid on top, right? If so, that's enough - the few little bits that left behind shouldn't be a problem. I don't think it's practicably possible to get it 100% fat free.

I wouldn't worry about the cloudiness - and I'll bet it will clear up as it sits and the fine solids settle to the bottom and the remaining fat floats to the top. :-)

Robin - I was expecting a big cake of fat that I could just pull off. What I had was more of a thin skin of fat on a big pot of chicken jelly.

LOL, yeah, that happens to me when I filter through cloth - the cloth filtering seems to remove a lot of the fat.

The "chicken jelly" isn't very appealing looking, is it?