I started with two pounds of split peas and four quarts water, which is as much as my Crockpot will hold. If it held more, I'd have made more.
Older Daughter is something of a purist when it comes to split pea soup. She doesn't care for any other veggies in it, such as onions (which make her gag) or carrots. So, I just added some spices -- onion powder (which doesn't make her gag, go figure), garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.
The recipe called for ham, but we didn't have any. We did have some bacon though, so I cut that up...
...fried it...
...and added that to the soup. It doesn't stay crispy, but it tastes good.
I let the soup simmer all day and we had some for dinner, then I put the crockpot in the refrigerator overnight because it was too late to can it.
The next day I re-heated the soup to boiling.
Meanwhile I washed some jars. I wasn't quite certain how many I'd need, so I washed sixteen, which turned out to be way too many.
Filling the jars.
I like to leave about an inch of headroom in each jar.
I ended up with nine pints.
Scalding my Tattler lids and gaskets.
By the way, a note on rings: discard them when they get too rusty. I just threw out the ring on the right. When a ring gets rusty like this, for some reason it doesn't do as well keeping the lids in place while canning.
A pressure canner needs about two or three inches of water in it to create steam. Never can in a dry canner -- you'll ruin it.
I got all nine pints on one layer.
Once the lid is on, I heat the canner until the water inside is boiling and begins to produce steam. The canner must vent for about ten minutes -- and this means the steam is screaming out for ten minutes. (Bad photo, sorry.)
After that I flip the petcock closed and let the pressure start to build. It takes my canner about 15 minutes to build to twelve pounds of pressure, which is the pressure I need for our elevation. I need to keep a close eye on the gauge during this time so I don't overshoot and build the pressure too high.
Only when it reaches this pressure do I start timing the processing time. Because the soup has meat in it, and because it's in pint jars, it needs to be canned for 75 minutes. And here, in my humble opinion, is the secret to successful pressure canning: kitchen timers. I keep one set for the full processing time (left), and one I keep clipped to my collar to beep in five-minute intervals, to remind me to check the pressure.
After the soup was processed, I pulled them out of the canner and put them on a towel to cool. I let them cool overnight before removing the rings to make sure they sealed.
The "morning after" aftermath of an evening spent canning -- canning stuff all over.
The building of a nice pantry-ful of home-canned goodies is by doing this kind of thing once a week or so -- adding a few more jars here and there.
Hi Patrice, I was just wondering if you could use a brillo pad or steel wool to remove the rust from your ring? I've never tried it, but it might save you a few bucks. Blessings,
ReplyDeletePaul
Actually, I wash my rings after every use with a green scratch pad, otherwise they get a sticky build-up. It doesn't remove the rust, however. But rings are cheap, and they multiply in the dead of night when you're not looking. I have hundreds of the durn things.
Delete- Patrice
Hi Patrice! I'm sure you didn't mean to say that you removed the LIDS to see if they'd sealed; did you mean that you removed the rings after you had checked the seals?
ReplyDeleteROFLOL -- yikes, glad you caught that Melody! I've corrected it.
Delete- Patrice
I laughed out loud when I read that your daughter gagged eating onions! Me too when I was her age. I was often still sitting at the table with my food in front of me late unto the evening as we were not allowed to waste food and had to eat what was put in front of us. I like them now but sure didn't then.
ReplyDeleteNew Farmer
Southeast Missouri
Patrice, I canned split pea soup last week for the first time ( split pea soup that is )I had a50% failure to seal rate using the Tattler lids, 100 % seal with the metal lids.. I left 1 inch of head room on all the jars... I am preplexed as why the jars did not seal... any ideas or suggestions ?
ReplyDeleteYou'd have to contact the Tattler people to be certain, but let me run something by you. The Tattler directions call for finger-tightening the rings, then loosening them by 1/4". I've learned both through trial and error, as well as consulting with the Tattler folks, that the reason they recommend loosening the rings by 1/4" is because some people tighten the rings too much to begin with.
DeleteApparently some canners are in the habit of really CRANKING the rings SO TIGHT that they practically need a wrench to get them off. Tattler lids need to vent during processing, hence the directions to loosen the rings. But if your rings are not that tight to begin with, you can skip the instructions to back them down by 1/4".
So I stopped backing off the rings and just tighten them a bit more than finger-snug, and my success rate is much much higher. Just a thought.
- Patrice
Thank you Patrice, That very may well be the problem. I will try that the next time I make the split pea soup.
DeleteHello Patrice, I have been reading your blog for a few months and enjoy it very much. This is the first time I have commented I believe. I love split pea soup but no one else in my family does, I will have to give canning it a try!
ReplyDeleteI also have a daughter who gags at onions, but onion powder is fine:)
I have a question for you, have you ever canned butternut squash? I tried canning some chunks last fall because I didn't really have a proper place to store them as is. They are ok, but seem to have a bit of a "burned" taste, not the wonderful sweet fresh flavor. Have you ever had that happen? I canned in plain water. I am thinking maybe a bit of sugar in it would have helped.
I've never grown or canned squash, but here is my understanding of how it's done: cube the squash, put the cubes in a pot of boiling water for about two minutes, then pack your jars. Add the cookwater to the jars (I suppose you could use fresh water too). Pressure can at 12 lbs (adjusted for your elevation) for 55 minutes (for pints) or 90 minutes (for quarts). You might try adding a bit of sugar to one or two of the jars to see if it helps (and compare it to the jars without sugar); oddly enough, a half-teaspoon of salt may help enhance the flavor without making it salty.
DeleteGood luck, let us know what happens.
- Patrice
Oh, I forgot to add... don't EVER puree the squash -- pureed squash is too dense and cannot be safely home-canned. But canning it in chunks is fine.
Delete- Patrice
Thanks Patrice, that is the way I canned the squash chunks. I usually don't add salt to my jars of veggies, but maybe that would make the difference. I haven't missed it in other things and like to keep a low salt diet. Just wasn't happy with the taste of the squash.
DeleteI don't know if you can use this in your e-books but I bought a pressure cooker thinking It was a canner. I know better now:<
ReplyDeleteLOL -- yes, I warn about that very thing.
Delete- Patrice
You have inspired me to be brave and finally use my pressure canner. I'm going to attempt black beans. I figure they are cheap so if I mess up, its won't be a huge lose. This is my first year attempting some serious canning. Hoping to have a nice closet full of yummy foods by fall.
ReplyDeletePS - My hubby doesn't eat onion either, its a texture thing, he likes the flavor but not the actual onion. I use onion powder and he is fine with it.
Dried beans should be soaked and softened in advance, then canned for the same length of time as meat: 75 minutes for pints, 90 minutes for quarts. Just carefully follow the manufacturer's directions for your particular canner and you'll do fine!
Delete- Patrice
Thanks for the tips. :-) I've used it as a hot water bath canner, I just have to put the little gadgets on it for the pressure canning part.
Deletesplit pea soup is so good..think i will make some too. i dont like onions in my pea soup either but i do like carrots in it.
ReplyDeletePressure canning. Boy. It scares the daylights out of me. I gotta get over that.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing about onions...hubby and I love them so much, we almost eat them like apples. A favorite joke around our house is that I put onions on everything except ice cream.
Then one day, I accidentally had some ice cream right after a heavily-"onioned" salad. The two tastes in my mouth, the ice cream on top of the onion, was actually delightful!
Sorry if I grossed out all the fresh onion haters....
Just Me
I have never soaked dried pinto beans before canning. What is the purpose, since you are basically cooking them and softening them anyways?
ReplyDeleteLOL -- I don't know if there's a "purpose" -- I've just never canned them any other way.
ReplyDelete- Patrice
I've always heard that soaking dry, hard beans reduces their "gas producing" properties. Not sure if there is any science to that, or that it would even be an issue with split peas. It does significantly reduce active cooking time though. Anyway, you got me curious - here's a link I found on the subject...
Deletehttp://missvickie.com/howto/beans/howtosoak.html
Here's today's canning effort, by my wife, that you may like with the recipe. Hope you like it as me and the dawgs think its delish. http://gardenforyourlife.blogspot.com/2012/03/loris-bbq-chicken-or-meatballs.html
ReplyDeleteI know this post is old but I looked it up as I'm in the mood for some split pea soup. I can guesstimate the spices, but just to check against yours what amounts do you use for the onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper and bacon? We're sort of big on all those spices in our house so I tend to use a lot. Your pics looked so good, I decided to try your version.
ReplyDeleteI honestly never measure the spices -- I just add to taste. Sorry to be so vague!
ReplyDelete- Patrice
Patrice, I love your blog. Actually found it looking for information on canning refried beans. lol Yesterday, I canned 16 pts of split pea soup (I added onions, celery & carrots plus some homemade chicken stock) and today I canned 19 half pts of "refried" beans. I just added the spices, left the beans whole and used a bit of cooking water. They look delicious and I will just mash them before using them. I probably would have used pint jars but they are all full.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all this great information and the comments made on each post. Teri
Nice job!
Delete- Patrice
My wife and I canned split-pea soup in a pressure cooker yesterday. Some of it was fresh and some of it had been in our freezer for a couple of months. We mixed it together. We were very careful to follow the directions closely. We cooked it at 15 pounds pressure for 90 min. When we took it out, we could see a black ring on the soup inside the canned jars. The lids were sealed. When we opened one the next day, there was black mold at the top of every jar. Has anyone had this happen to them or does anyone have an idea what we did wrong?
ReplyDeleteMight have been the mixture of old/new split pea soups. Did you sterilize the lids and jars?
DeleteI see you used bacon, which obviously creates oil aka grease. (And I feel like I can see a layer of the grease on the top of the finished soup?)
ReplyDeleteWhat is your opinion on using a small amount of oil in canning? Such as to cook the veggies in before adding to the soup? I have read conflicting opinions. Thanks!
A small amount of oil in canning (such as sautéing vegetables) is absolutely fine. In this case, I coked the bacon and drained the fat before adding it to the soup, and the soup-to-bacon ratio is pretty high so it was fine.
DeleteExcellent question!
- Patrice
Am I the only person who uses cabbage in their split pea soup? How will having cabbage in it change the canning? Thanks!
ReplyDelete