Hey everyone…..I’d love to hear feedback and thoughts/opinions on pressure cookers. I’d like to take my canning up to that level this coming summer. But I am feeling overwhelmed by what to even consider! Please, please, please help this girl out!
I saw a link to a sale on Home Woot! this morning that got my mind tinkering once again.
But I don’t know what features are important. Or size. Or if glass top stoves can handle them? (Yeah, I use a canning kettle on mine which supposedly I am not supposed to….snort.) So…PLEASE leave me some feedback!
~Sarah
PS: The winner of our last book giveaway, for 30 Minute Vegan’s Taste of Europe, is Catherine of Almost Raw Vegan. Congrats! And don’t forget my current book giveaway for Raw Food for Dummies!
This is not what you want for canning. As far as I can see, it doesn’t have a gauge to let you know how many pounds of pressure is reached. When you can, the recipes will call for processing different foods at different levels of pressure, ie 12 lbs of pressure for 50 minutes. Your canner must have either a weighted gauge or a dial gauge to tell you the pressure. You watch and adjust the heat on your burner to keep the pressure constant.
What you’re looking at here is a pressure cooker (for quickly cooking potatoes, meat, etc), but not a pressure canner. I see them around here quite frequently at thrift stores (of course, nearly everyone around here cans, so that probably explains it). If you find a used one, your local county extension office should be able to test the gauge and gasket seal for you to make sure it’s in good/safe shape.
This is one of the best websites IMO for all around canning info (and every other kind of food preservation): http://nchfp.uga.edu/index.html
Than you Sarah!!!! I appreciate all that 😀
As far as size, canning is enough work and the processing takes so long, I never bother with less than 7 quarts at a time (and would rather do at least 21). A 23 quart canner will hold 7 quart sized jars. A 10 1/2 quart canner will hold 7 pint or 4 quart jars. (The size on the canner refers to how many quarts of liquid it will hold, not how many jars). Amazon has a number of good options, and a lot of them are actually less expensive than the cooker you linked to. Presto or All-American are good brands.
You explained it well! Feeling like I have a clue to start on now 😉
I’m glad someone knew! I’ve never canned anything and I don’t have a pressure cooker. I got a little lesson today! 🙂
Sarah (above) makes me look like a pathetic canner – she is really good at it! Her quantity she produces is amazing!
I realized this winter that while I thought I had water-bath canned a lot, I didn’t really. We are out of fruit, nearly out of pickles 🙁 All my home-dried fruit is gone as well! Sigh! This summer I am going to be busy!
Holly, we need to get you to water-bath can! It is very simple 🙂
I make chili a lot! We love it and it’s so easy and quick. Your recipe is a lot different than mine but I’m from Texas so we have our own way of doing things. 😉 Yours looks delicious though! I would have never thought to add cucumbers.
I’m really interested in a pressure cooker for the same thing. My mom does all her canning in a pressure cooker. I think the model above is not the right one though….I’ll ask her which model she has and get back to you. She cans beans for me sometimes, best beans ever!
Exactly!! I am excited to be able to branch out. Kirk and I were talking last night about how much more we could do.
We had a pressure cooker until recently (the gasket on the lid had an unfortunate mishap that might have involved fire). We did not use it for canning, it is simply too small and didn’t have a gauge. We did use it for cooking on our glass top stove though. The issue is that the glass top burner can shut off if it reaches super high temp for too long – instead of maintaining a steady stream of heat. That can decrease the heat in the pressure cooker, causing issues with the food. Or something like that. I don’t really understand. We used it anyway and never had a problem. We also use a giant pot for boiler canning and never had a problem – you aren’t supposed to do that either.
Hmmm…good point. My large burners do cycle – red, then not, then red. Might be worth considering a dedicated hot plate that has a good rating.
I have some neighbors who do most of their canning outside, on a propane burner typically used for camping.
Having rendered tallow in the past for soap making, I can tell you there are things to do outside!!!!