The National Center for Home Food Preservation released updated guidelines on June 25th, 2025 regarding the use of broth and stock concentrates in canning recipes.
If you do any home canning, this announcement may affect how you use bouillon cubes, broth powders, and base pastes in your recipes.
What the New Guidelines Say
The updated recommendations are straightforward:
Broth or stock concentrates can only be used in canning recipes when the recipe specifically calls for liquid broth or stock, and they must be fully dissolved in water according to manufacturer’s instructions before being added.
Here’s what this means in practice:
- Reconstitute first: If you want to use chicken broth powder, bouillon cubes, or paste concentrates, you need to dissolve them in water exactly as the package directions state before adding to your canning jars
- No direct additions: Don’t throw a bouillon cube or sprinkle powder directly into your jars
- Recipe compliance: Only use these products when your canning recipe actually calls for broth or stock as an ingredient
- Pressure canning only: Never substitute broth for water or juice in water bath canning recipes
You can read their announcement here.
That said, I have a pretty strong opinion about this topic, so I highly recommend reading the rest of this blog post.
Why This Matters for New Canners
If you’re just starting out with canning, this guideline is non-negotiable. Following tested recipes exactly helps you learn what’s safe and what isn’t.
Canning has real safety considerations, and botulism is nothing to mess around with.
Think of it like learning to drive:
When you’re first behind the wheel, you keep your hands at 10 and 2 (or whatever it is these days!) and follow every rule precisely.
Once you’re experienced, you understand when there’s some flexibility, but beginners need that solid foundation.
A Perspective for Experienced Canners
For those who’ve been canning for years and have processed thousands of jars, this update raises some questions about practical application.
When evaluating any new guideline, I always ask:
What specific safety issue is this addressing?
In this case, we’re not dealing with acidity problems since broth is only used in pressure canning recipes anyway.
The pressure canning process reaches temperatures high enough to kill botulism and other dangerous bacteria regardless.
The density question is more interesting.
When you add broth powder to raw-packed meat, what actually happens during the canning process?
The meat releases its own juices, which mix with the powder and create liquid broth throughout the jar.
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By the time processing is complete, you end up with the same result as if you’d added pre-mixed broth.
(Note: I’m talking about broth powders here, not bouillon cubes. I don’t use cubes. I imagine they could stay clumpy depending on how hard they are.)
This is totally different from something genuinely problematic like pumpkin puree, which creates serious density issues that can prevent proper heat penetration during home canning.
The Reality of Canning Guidelines
Here’s a fact worth understanding:
Canning guidelines aren’t always about new safety discoveries.
Sometimes they’re about clarifying best practices or addressing questions that have come up in the canning community.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation operates with limited funding and doesn’t regularly publish new tested recipes.
Just because something hasn’t been officially tested doesn’t automatically make it unsafe—it just means it hasn’t gone through their formal testing process.
A good example is canning zucchini. For years, the NCHFP said there was no safe way to can zucchini at home outside of pickling it.
Then they published a recipe for water bath canning it in acidic pineapple juice.
The zucchini didn’t magically become safer—they just finally tested and published a method that worked.
Making Your Own Decision
Every canner needs to decide their comfort level with guidelines like this.
Some prefer to follow every recommendation exactly as written, and that’s a completely valid approach that prioritizes maximum safety.
Others with more experience might look at the science behind the guideline and make informed decisions based on their understanding of canning principles like acidity, density, and heat penetration.
Both approaches can be safe when applied thoughtfully by people who understand basic canning science.
What matters most is that you understand the “why” behind canning safety so you can make informed decisions about your own kitchen practices.
