What is the source of this recipe please? There is no way to comment on any safety issues with it without knowing the source.

As to canning it in quarts? No, not unless directions for the processing time is given for quarts. If it isn't it means the recipe has never been tested for quarts nor a processing time established. You'd just be guessing at the processing time. Plus density with all these ingredients would be an issue if packed in quarts.

Dave

It is in the latest ball blue book. It was also posted by Linda Lou in past threads. It is thinner than tomato sauce by far. If it can not be canned in quarts can someone post a tested recipe with just tomato, vegetables, and spices that can be? I tried the roasted tomato garlic soup that can be canned in quarts but it had too much garlic and chicken stock that I don,t want to use. Thanks for any help you can give.

So i went ahead and put this in pints as per the instructions. The yield says about 4 pints. I got 7 pints. Is this a misprint in the recipe? Has anyone tried this recipe and if so did you get similar results? Hope someone can shed some light. I'm about to give up on tomato soup.

Probably not a misprint on the number of pints although it could say something like 4-5 pints at least. But the 15 mins of cooking down time probably needs to be re-worded to something like "or length of time required to reduce by 1/3".

The amount of liquid you end up with after milling will all depend on the type of mill you use and the varieties of tomatoes used since some will have much more liquid in them than others. Roma tomatoes would give you much less juice than other types. And they are just assuming that everyone would know to cook it down to soup consistency or the equivalent of 4-5 pints. They shouldn't make that assumption.

Your soup is still safe to eat, just thinner than you might prefer, so just make a note on the recipe for future reference to cook it down longer.

I'm about to give up on tomato soup.

I understand the frustration as there are very few approved recipes that are specifically for tomato soup as such. One reason for that, and the most likely solution for you, is because most prefer to just can their favorite tomato sauce recipe and then dilute it UP to soup consistency after opening at preparation time.

There are several recipes for canning pints of seasoned tomato sauce and at prep time a pint of sauce can easily make a quart of soup. Why not give that approach a try.

Dave

Thanks Dave for all your answers. I grow a large garden and have canned for a long time. I am branching out into canning new things and, being safety minded(sometimes overly! LOL), I like to ask a lot of questions. Some answers I get do not make a lot of sense. Your answers usually do. For example, above you said, "As to canning it in quarts? No, not unless directions for the processing time is given for quarts. If it isn't it means the recipe has never been tested for quarts nor a processing time established". So, you are saying that it very well could be safe, but a processing time has not been established so it cannot be recommended. You are the only one that answered this thread but, in other similar threads, I have seen answers that would lead you to believe that it would be absolutely unsafe and poison in a jar. Telling me that it can't be done because of no established testing time and telling me it is absolutely unsafe to can in quarts are two different things. If a spaghetti sauce with the same amount of low acid ingredients as the soup, and cooked to a thicker consistency than the soup can be put into quarts, I would think that the soup could too, though no time has been established. Others would lead you to believe that it will be poison. Don't get me wrong. I know that everyone has me, and my family and friends safety in mind when giving the advice that they give. In the end I always follow the safety advice, even if it doesn't make sense.
I also agree that cooking down to soup consistency should not be left for us to assume. If a recipe is so important that amounts cannot be changed, and consistency is a big issue, then the following instructions should portray that. For example, if you add one cup of chopped onions, how should the onions be chopped? Won't a small chop and a large chop give you two different amounts by weight even though they fill the same cup? A recipe that cautions against deviation of amounts should clearly address this.

Thanks for the advice of canning tomato sauce to dilute for soup later. I may play with that soon.

Again, I hope I did not offend you or anyone else. The advice I have gotten from reading this forum has been more valuable than any other information that I have been able to attain. This is just me venting and in no way do I mean to offend or take anyone's safety advice lightly. Hope you are all here to answer future questions as I am sure I will have several. With all the bad information on the web, I feel confident with the answers I get on this forum.

Thanks again,

Jay

I think a lot of us are frustrated at times by recipes calling for cups rather than weights.
I'm only guessing that the publisher's of the recipes are trying to appeal to the masses in using more common measuring tools. Many do not have a scale in the kitchen.

I personally can't imagine trying to write instructions for "everyone" to understand. I actually do something similiar for a living (manufacturing instructions), but nobody is unsafe if the instructions are somewhat open to interpretation. That is, putting a label on upside down won't kill anybody!! Yeah, it looks bad, might have to be redone or something, but not a safety issue.

It's amazing how you can write a sentence and different people read it different ways.

There's been many discussions on the difference between:

1 cup chopped peppers and
1 cup peppers, chopped.

Lord only knows what 5 medium peppers means!! LOL

Thanks for letting us know that you err on the side of safety (even when it doesn't make sense), rather than just arguing a point endlessly, it helps everyone understand better and really defines the tone of the message.

I say the more questions the better and thank goodness Dave and many others are so very patient about answering!!

Deanna

So, you are saying that it very well could be safe, but a processing time has not been established so it cannot be recommended. You are the only one that answered this thread but, in other similar threads, I have seen answers that would lead you to believe that it would be absolutely unsafe and poison in a jar.

I know what you mean and no worries as you haven't offended anyone. :)

Not "poison", but the risk does increase exponentially. "Potentially unsafe or of poor quality" maybe would be better labels.

The problem most likely is just one of not doing the testing because of low interest - a quart of tomato soup is a LOT of tomato soup after all since it is normally doubled in volume at serving time - or because there are many viable alternatives like the small jar of sauce easily turned into a quart of soup. But it may also be one of density vs. quality. *shrugs* who knows.

So I guess you can always make your soup and just "call" it spaghetti sauce and can it accordingly. :)

Dave

I just tried to research this a little because I wanted to can tomato soup today. The place where I get my canning recipes gave a recipe very similar to this one. Besides tomatoes it adds onion, celery and sweet green or red peppers. It said in big letters DO NOT USE QUART JARS TO CAN THIS! I suppose this is a safety issue. The directions say to process at 10 pounds pressure for 25 minutes for pints and half pints. They also use a product called Clear-Jel which you can buy on that site to thicken it. It is stuff that is something like cornstarch but it doesn't clump up and is used mostly for canning. I am about to try it out today. Try to find SBCanning.com and see all the rest of their recipes. They can everything, even chocolate!

<They can everything, even chocolate!>

Yeah there are lots of sites on the web that say you can can anything. That doesn't mean they are correct or that it is safe to do. There are very specific approved and tested directions available for canning soups.

The recipe you refer too is pureed and thick - both can be risky. And it clearly states it is an "adapted" recipe but no mention of adapted from what nor any info given on any testing. Given all the low-acid ingredients, the lack of any added acid, the thickness, and the lack of testing it is a do-at-your-own-risk recipe. Not to mention that many do not care for the effects of using Clear Jel or the fact that there are 2 different kinds (instant and regular) with different uses and effects yet this does not stipulate which should be used.

Dave