Rick & Cyndi wrote:
> "zxcvbob" & Mark
> : >>
> : >> Are you afraid you will overcook the soup? An extra 10 or
> 15 minutes
> : >> in the pressure canner adds very little to the energy used
> or the
> : >> total time it takes to do a batch.
> : >>
> : >> Bob
> : >>
> : >
> : > Wow, this seems to be a very elusive answer, heehee. No I
> am not
> : > affraid at all of overcooking the soup. It could cook all day
> and be
> : > fine. I am wondering for a multitude of reasons.
> : > First, we live off grid and are very energy concious so
> wether it
> : > takes a little or a lot more fuel to can for longer the
> bottom line is
> : > its more. What is the point of burning even a modest amount
> more if it
> : > is not neccesary? If it is neccesary I have no problem with
> it but its
> : > foolish if its not.
> : >
> <SNIP>
>
> : > Mark
> :
> :
> : I think you will have to write to Dr. Nummer if you want an
> authoritative
> : answer.
> :
> : I don't can things like soup until I am heating my house
> anyway. Heat from
> : the kitchen stove heats the house more efficiently than the
> furnace, so no
> : energy gets wasted. That may not entirely be true in your
> case.
> :
> : While the canner is cooking, you can be doing other things (you
> just can't
> : go anywhere) so the time is not totally wasted either. But if
> you are
> : doing back-to-back canner loads, the extra processing time will
> slow you down.
> :
> : Bob
> : ==========
>
> Hmmm, you've definitely found yourself in a pickle Mark. While I
> would tend to think along your ideas (why can, time-wise, for
> items that aren't in there...) I am NOT an expert nor do I play
> one on TV. My first thought, if you did can the soups that long,
> I would be concerned that the vegetables would be mushy (very
> technical term). I freeze mine rather than can just because of
> that "mushy" concern.
>
> I dunno. Please keep us posted as to what you do and how they
> turn out.
>
> Cyndi
>
>

Cyndi,
I suppose it depends on the soup. In our experience soups can sit on
the stove all day and really dont get to awful mushy but it is probably
the type of soups we make. We often make large batches so we can come in
from work and get some quick food. They get heated many many times
before they are gone and often times it seems the last bowls taste the
best. These soups that we can will be cooked again when they are used
with additional ingredients and such.
With regards to the freezer, again this is back to our lifestyle. We
live off grid (no utility power) and freezing is a very impractical way
to store food. While it would be nice to have a large chest freezer
chunking away on the electric meter in the basement we dont have that
option and our freezer in our fridge is what we rely on. It is full of
the things that need to be frozen or stuff from the garden that wasnt
enough to can or doesnt can well. For these reasons freezing is not an
option for us. We are far better served by canning and putting it on a
shelf where it doesnt cost us anything and will last for years.

Thanks,
Mark