Pressure Canning

[mn_voyageur]

Well, we planted a larger garden than we have in the past. My better half has already mentioned that she will need a pressure canner.

I hope that we can "can" outside this fall. We made strawberry jam in the kitchen and I was sweating quite a bit.

So, how big of a pressure canner should we get? We use the blue speckled pot for jams. (Don't actually know what size it is.)

I found "All American Pressure Canners" on the web. Does anyone have any experience with this brand? I have yet to find any pressure canners locally.

Any suggestions?

Mark

 

[greenmule]

Think the one we use holds 7 qt jars. Just go to majic mart or simular place [bet walmarts got them too]and buy one,the cheapos work just fine for years

 

[ronjhall]

We had a Presto for years. That we bought used in the 70's. Bought new seals for it a couple of times. It was about 16 quarts. Held about 10 quarts jars. Sold it in a garage sale last year. Kind of miss the great foods we canned in it.
You may want to check EBay or Craigslist for some great deals on used pressure canner. Just make sure you can get seals for the model you pick.

 

[Bird]

Those All American canners may be good, but no way I'd pay those kind of prices. Presto canners worked just fine for us and, yes, Walmart canners are less money.

 

[nmu98]

I use a presto that my mother used. Its at least 20 years old. Works great!

 

[MMagis]

Your local Walmart will likely start carrying them when it gets closer to "canning season".

 

[dmccarty]

A few years ago I bought one of the All American Canners. It sure is expensive. And heavy.

They thing I like about is that there is no seals to replace. The pressure relief is done by weight. It seems like a very simple and reliable canner. I suppose one could force it to blow up but it would be hard to do. I figure one of the kids will get it when I die.

I think I have the 7 pint/4 quart model. We have a smooth top/glass top stove. With these types of stove tops there is a possibility of breaking the glass. It seems breakage can happen because of the weight of the pressure cooker and its contents and/or with how the cooker fits on the stove. Mine has been trouble free so far.

If you can outside on a burner this will not be a problem.

The canner is HEAVY. It is forged AL so its heavy, you don't want to drop it not only because it would damage your foot but it also might break. You don't want to thermal stress it either.

I think you want to get the biggest canner you can handle. The time it takes for the pressure to come up and then go down is a consideration. So the more jars you can get into the pot the better.

At the time we bought our pressure cooker we did not have an outside burner. I might very well have a bigger pressure cooker now that we have the outdoor cooker.

Later,
Dan