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I want to freeze my bone broth, but I prefer glass to plastic. Is it safe to freeze in wide mouthed canning jars if you leave headroom? Or should I just keep the broth in the refrigerator and keep reboiling it on top of the stove every few days. Will I lose nutrients that way?

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11 Answers

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i froze my bone broth immediately after making it but have found white spots on them. are these bacteria colonies? is my bone broth toast or can i just reboil it before using?

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Check out the re-release Ball 24 oz freezer safe jars (1.5 pints). Fantastic.
http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Wide-Mouth-24-Ounce-Bands/dp/B008586V6Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367171652&sr=8-1&keywords=ball+24+oz

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I am scared of exploding jars. So instead I use Pyrex freezer-safe glassware.

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Not sure I trust the Pyrex brand ever since they sold out in '98. It's not the same glass anymore, and has a habit of shattering. – James Jun 18 2011 at 18:41
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Invest in a pressure canner. Cook at 140 degrees for 45 minutes and your bone broth is safe for years. With no risk of ruining if the power is out. 45 minutes for 7 quarts of NO REFRIGERATION NEEDED FOOD.

You can do the same thing with all of your meats and green veggies. Just put them in the jars raw (according to ball blue book directions...a cheap useful book) and can them...they'll last years without spoiling.

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Are you making the broth first and then pressure canning? – Michael Jun 18 2011 at 9:18
I do the same thing. I just wonder how many of the nutrients are left after canning. I make the broth first and then can. – patty Jun 18 2011 at 16:50
Michael, yes you can. Or if you just can your meats, they will make your own broth. – Andy Jun 23 2011 at 15:01
patty, not all of them of course. But unlike our hunter/gatherer ancestors, we do have ways to safely preserve our foods that are appropriate to our way of life... and certainly more nutrients than would be available in a food shortage as our ancestors had to deal with...and I like to be prepared in my home in case of unforeseen circumstances, natural disaster, fuel shortages creating food shortages, etc... In our area there are sometimes power outages that last for days and weeks...I've had to throw out freezers full of food before...so I can mine to preserve it. – Andy Jun 23 2011 at 15:04
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I use Glasslock containers.... these kind of tempered glass containers are freezer safe and I haven't had an issue freezing stock in them.

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That's what I use! – CulinaryCaveGirl Jun 18 2011 at 12:04
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I had a jar with broth explode in my freezer once...I learned since that not only leaving plenty of room for expansion, but also leaving the lid off until it's completely frozen is the way to go.

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This is what worries me. I wonder if there are jars out there with a flaw and even if you left room for expansion, they could explode. I am hoping that is rare. I think the lid off until frozen might be a good plan. – nancy64 Jun 18 2011 at 2:53
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I, by mistake, bought the ones that aren't freezer safe. I never tried freezing my broth in them. Instead, I just use glass containers that I purchased.

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I use both the Ball and Kerr wide-mouth pints to freeze broth. Kerr are not labeled freezer safe, but I have not had any of them break. I think the important factor is that the sides of the jar be straight up and down, with no shoulder. I leave the same amount of head room as the fill line on the Ball jars. – Jeanne Jun 18 2011 at 13:32
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I just bought a tray of Ball wide-mouth 16 oz jars that has a chart on the side. According to it, 16 oz wide mouth jars are freezer safe but the larger sizes (32 and 64 oz) are not. I'm not sure why...

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Jessica, I just looked at the box tray for my Ball 32 oz. wide mouth jars and sure enough it says on the chart that the 16 oz. jars are freezer safe but the larger ones are not designated with the freezer safe symbol...I may try to find pint size and use quart size for refrigerator storage. – nancy64 Jun 18 2011 at 1:50
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Yup that's how I freeze my broth. I break it up in to 2 cup or 1 cup jars so I have recipe size amounts. It takes up a lot of space but I have a lot more room in my freezer since we threw out all the frozen corn/peas and eggos. ;-) hehe

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I've heard of people freezing the broth in ice-cube trays and then putting the cubes into freezer bags for storage. I suppose instead of bags, you could use jars for storage to avoid plastic/waste entirely. I like the idea of the cubes so you can just thaw what you need.

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I do this! It's perfect and you don't have to commit to thawing a whole bunch at one time. – none Jun 18 2011 at 1:49
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I always freeze my bone broth in Ball wide mouth jars. Leave a couple inches of room at the top for expansion and it should be fine.

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Same here, works perfectly. – Todd Jun 18 2011 at 0:51
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 yup! me too! if you can find the freezer lids, they are perfect. ive only found them in the store here once. they are white plastic twist on lids for freezing, made by ball jar. i think they are also sold online on the ball jar site. the metal two piece lids are fine, but the freezer lids are perfect. make sure you cool it a bit before sticking it in the freezer. i did recently have a jar explode on me d/t the extreme temp change, which it a bear to clean up. – being Jun 18 2011 at 1:06

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