Week 14 - Day 4

*Chicken broth is used in a wide variety of recipes,

such as the chicken soup recipe on page 163 in the Healthy Home Ec book.

Find out how to make your own from scratch in today's lesson.

After hearing about a recent salmonella outbreak occurring in chicken meat,

I decided to further research canning chicken broth.

In spite of advice from an older woman who said that chicken broth (not meat)

could be canned using a hot water bath canner,

I feel that the safest course is using a pressure canner.

If you don't have a pressure canner,

then complete steps 1-8 in the Healthy Home Ec book in the procedure section, then:

1. use the broth immediately

2.  put in jars with tight sealing lids and put in the refrigerator to be used within 1-2 days, or

 3.  put in glass canning jars, leaving a 1" headspace at the top,

put the lid on loosely, and once the broth has cooled, freeze upright for up to 3-4 months.

Tighten the lid after the broth is frozen solid.

(Remember to thaw in the refrigerator before needed for a recipe.)

Are you ready for a brief science lesson?

Here's what I found out in further research:

The United States Department of Agriculture recommends using a pressure canner 

as the only safe method for canning low acid foods, such as meat and poultry and some vegetables.

Fruits, vegetables, and meat naturally contain invisible microorganisms

that can cause food to spoil if left to sit for extended periods of time.

There are 4 basic microorganisms that cause food to spoil:

1. enzymes

2. mold

3. yeast

4. bacteria

Molds, yeast, and enzymes are destroyed at temperatures at or below 212 degrees F.,

the temperature at which water boils

(except in mountainous regions);

therefore, using a hot water bath canner is sufficient to destroy those microorganisms.

But bacteria are not easily destroyed.

The bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, produces a spore that makes a poisonous toxin 

which can cause botulism.

This spore is not destroyed at 212 degrees F.

In pressure canning, some of the water in the pressure canner is converted to steam,

creating pressure within the canner.

As the pressure increases, 

the temperature increases.

*5 pounds of pressure = 228 degrees F.

*10 pounds of pressure = 240 degrees F.

*15 pounds of pressure = 250 degrees F.

This pressurized heat destroys the potentially harmful bacterial spores.

If, after boiling, a food does not smell or look right,

throw it away without tasting it!

So after all that, let's make some chicken broth, and you can 

use it right away, refrigerate it, or freeze it for today.

Gather your supplies and ingredients.

(You can double or triple this recipe if you are planning on storing a lot of the broth

by canning or freezing.  Today's recipe makes about 2 1/2 - 3 quarts.)

Always wash your hands with hot soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after cooking,

but especially before and after touching raw meat.

Also remember to wash all utensils and counters that any raw meat has touched.

It's also a good idea to disinfect countertops after working with raw meat.

Follow steps 1-4 in the procedure beginning on page 196 to 197.

Follow steps 6-7 on the top of page 197.

The top pan is a strainer.  The bottom pan collects the broth.

The broth is left.

Heat it to use immediately in a recipe (see some examples below),

or to fill jars to process in a pressure canner.

If you are using pressure canner,

ask an adult for help and follow the instruction manual for your canner.

(This course does not require pressure canning.)

Fill the jars with hot broth to process in a pressure canner,

or allow the broth to cool if refrigerating or freezing.

Leave a 1" headspace at the top if you are planning on freezing your broth.

This allows for expansion so the glass doesn't break.

Here are some examples for using your homemade chicken broth:

Heat 1 quart of the broth to a slow boil;

add about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of brown rice,

cook according to directions on rice package;

add the cut up chicken and carrots,

to make chicken and rice soup.

Heat the broth to a boil;

add your favorite soup noodle

and cook according to package directions;

Add cut up chicken to make chicken noodle soup.

Heat the broth to a boil and add some couscous

as we did from Week 9 Day 3, page 124.

  Be creative.

Remember, cooking is an art as well as a science.

Have a wonderful rest of the day!

Keep up the great work!