Q and A: Canning gumbo and honey chicken, canning clam chowder, canning bean dip

Canning gumbo and honey chicken

We recently made a BIG batch of gumbo, and thus, had lots leftover. I was wondering if there is ANY way possible to safely and effectively can that?

Also, I have a recipe for honey chicken; it includes boneless, skinless chicken, honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, vegetable oil (I would use olive oil), garlic, and red pepper flakes. Can this be canned, preferably in quarts, and if so, would I process for the amount needed for the chicken — pressure canned, of course? I’m wondering what the honey would do when cooked at such high temps in the pressure canner.

Toni McDonald
Jasper, Texas

Yes, you can can your gumbo, providing you pressure can it for the length of time required for the ingredient that requires the longest processing time…usually meat. For the honey chicken, I’d go real light on the oil, but the rest of the ingredients should can up fine. Yes, you’d use the time required for chicken. Honey doesn’t seem to be bothered by pressure canning. Try a smaller batch at first and see how you like it. — Jackie

Canning clam chowder

I am going to can clam chowder BASE using commercially canned clams. The base will have onion, celery, potatoes and clams. The Ball book says only use half pint or pints. NO QUARTS. Is there a reason for that? I will do pints but can’t understand why one can’t do quarts as well. If you would go ahead and do quarts anyway, how long would you process? The pints are one hour and forty minutes. I am assuming that the Ball book thinks that the clams are raw and uncooked?

Judy Wirkkala
Naselle, Washington

All seafood and fish are VERY prone to bacterial contamination. By canning in pints and half pints, you have a much less dense product so thorough heating is more assured than if you can in quarts. Be safe and can in pints and just dump two together when you go to heat it up to eat. It doesn’t matter if the clams are pre-cooked or raw. They are still seafood. — Jackie

Canning bean dip

We love jalapeño bean dip, but have trouble canning it. We cook brown beans and then put them into a food processor and begin adding jalapeños. When it tastes right we return it to the pan and cook it awhile. It then goes into sterilized pint jars and processed for 15 minutes before sealing. Within two weeks their seal is broken and the dip tastes bad. What can we do?

Merrill Dubach
Oldfield, Missouri

Bean dip is one of those problem foods that shouldn’t be canned. The reason for this is that it is a very dense product and the heat doesn’t always reach the center of the jar for a long enough period to assure the entire contents of the jar is processed at a safe temperature to prevent spoilage. What I do is can up the beans in their own soaking/pre-cooking broth, chop jalapeños, and add spices to taste. I do not mash or process the beans and peppers any further. When I want the bean dip, I just pour out a pint jar in a saucepan, gently heat, raising the temperature to boiling for 10 minutes, covered. Then I mash the whole works with a potato masher (a blender will also work, but I like chunkier bean dip). You can add shredded cheese at this point if you want and it melts nicely. Serve warm or refrigerate if you want it cool. — Jackie