Boiling bath vs Pressure canner?

[pen]

I use both methods, depending on what I'm doing.

I have had good luck with this pressure canner that I picked up a few years back. http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01781-23-Quart-Pressure-Canner/dp/B0000BYCFU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1347323945&sr=8-3&keywords=presto pressure cooker

Just made up salsa last night and I did it with a hot water bath.

pen

 

[save$]

And here I've been trying to talk my wife into a hot bath. I'm going the wrong direction

What about pickles. Are you going to pressure can pickles? If you pressure can pickles, you might get a lot of really soft pickles. Not my favorite. Jams are usually hot water bath. There are good uses for both. Just stick with the modern methods.
If you have one of those horrid glass top stoves, be careful, there only one pressure canner that says it can be used on glass top stoves. I can hardly wait for my stove to break down. We got it about 3 years ago. A glass top unit. White! and two ovens. Hated it from the second day we owned it. We have never used that second oven. Too low to the floor.

 

[firebroad]

What about pickles. Are you going to pressure can pickles? If you pressure can pickles, you might get a lot of really soft pickles. Not my favorite. Jams are usually hot water bath. There are good uses for both. Just stick with the modern methods.
If you have one of those horrid glass top stoves, be careful, there only one pressure canner that says it can be used on glass top stoves. I can hardly wait for my stove to break down. We got it about 3 years ago. A glass top unit. White! and two ovens. Hated it from the second day we owned it. We have never used that second oven. Too low to the floor.

Pickles, jams and relishes should never be pressure canned. In fact, many of us old timers used to never processed them at all, just poured the contents into scalding hot jars and lids, and turned them over. For jam, we would cap it with paraffin with a bit of string to facilitate removal. It was found that these are not safe practices, and even though no one in my family ever got sick, I began processing in a BWB some years ago.
The directions are in any good canning book such as the Ball Blue Book.

 

[Dune]

What about pickles. Are you going to pressure can pickles? If you pressure can pickles, you might get a lot of really soft pickles. Not my favorite. Jams are usually hot water bath. There are good uses for both. Just stick with the modern methods.
If you have one of those horrid glass top stoves, be careful, there only one pressure canner that says it can be used on glass top stoves. I can hardly wait for my stove to break down. We got it about 3 years ago. A glass top unit. White! and two ovens. Hated it from the second day we owned it. We have never used that second oven. Too low to the floor.

Wow, that's weird. I only use the bottom oven because the top one is too low.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Just ordered this sucker here, right there. Looks like a tank, gets great reviews

http://www.amazon.com/All-American-...&sr=8-1&keywords=all+american+pressure+canner

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Man, that large size pic is even sexier

 

[firebroad]

The All American is the CADILLAC of pressure canners, AP. Good choice! You won't have to worry about gaskets, for one thing.

 

[save$]

Just ordered this sucker here, right there. Looks like a tank, gets great reviews

http://www.amazon.com/All-American-...&sr=8-1&keywords=all+american+pressure+canner

Hope you don't plan to use this on a glass top stove,
See the warning on this page. Not trying to stick my nose in, but you would be disappointed if this brakes your stove. (broken link removed to http://www.allamericancanner.com/allamerican921pressurecanner.htm)
I didn't see the warning on the Amazon link.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Hope you don't plan to use this on a glass top stove,
See the warning on this page. Not trying to stick my nose in, but you would be disappointed if this brakes your stove. (broken link removed to http://www.allamericancanner.com/allamerican921pressurecanner.htm)
I didn't see the warning on the Amazon link.

I appreciate the warning, but I have gas. My stove has gas as well

 

[firebroad]

I appreciate the warning, but I have gas. My stove has gas as well

Wish I had gas. The stove, I mean...

 

[save$]

Wish I had gas. The stove, I mean...

I have been trying to get my wife to go to a gas stove for years. She had one that was in old military housing that blew up in her face. She had her hair burned off and her nylons melted on her. ( also pregnant at the time). Only now, some 40 yrs later is she willing to consider a new gas stove. She didn't get scaring on her skin but it sure did a number on her not wanting a gas stove.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I grew up scared of gas- we always had electric- but what a huge difference it makes cooking.

 

[Morgan]

I have the All American 921 model, does 17-19 pints at a time. Just did up some Round/Blade beef up a few days ago, cold packed, turned out delicious. I heeded the warning, but still use it on my ceramic stove top with no problems, I have not done a full load though, full loads I do in the basement on the propane burner

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Wish I had gas. The stove, I mean...

I have so much gas they want me to use medicine to calm it down....

 

[save$]

I do most of the canning out on our screen porch. That keeps the mess out of the kitchen and it is a better clean up when I can hose the place down when I am done. Only do the pressure canning inside. I liken having the picnic table that I can spread things around on.

 

[fishingpol]

Go big or go home. Nice. I trolled CL the other night, pressure canners are out there, just on the other side of the state.

 

[firefighterjake]

I grew up scared of gas- we always had electric- but what a huge difference it makes cooking.

Same here . . . mother was scared of gas stoves.

Now I don't know if you could pay me to go back to cooking with electric.

For the record . . . fast fact of the day . . . more cooking fires in the US occur with electric stoves (I'm not sure if it is simply because more folks use them or if the absence of actual flames leads to folks not thinking a little more about fire safety around the stove.)

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Same here . . . mother was scared of gas stoves.

Now I don't know if you could pay me to go back to cooking with electric.

For the record . . . fast fact of the day . . . more cooking fires in the US occur with electric stoves (I'm not sure if it is simply because more folks use them or if the absence of actual flames leads to folks not thinking a little more about fire safety around the stove.)

I know that my mom leaves her electric on all the time. She's famous for melting things or having pots glowing on the stove.

Seeing a flame is a pretty good indicator, and maybe people are more careful with fire, as well.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

So will this thing free me from using very specific recipes for canning? If I use the right heat/pressure/time- am I able to can my chili or spag sauce? (I am pretty fond of my own recipes)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

You'll do fine Adios. It just won't take as long.

 

[rideau]

Our family has been making jams and jellies for 200 years. Never have hot water bathed them and never will...totally unnecessary if you use clean sterilized hot jars and make sure you have good seals. I have one jar of my grandmother's jelly left, made in 1988, it's still crystal clear. Make red currant, crapapple and apple jelly, strawberry, raspberry, wild raspberry, gooseberry, strawberry-rhubabrd and blueberry jams. We used to always seal the jelly with parafin (two layers, thin), and the jams with rubberseals and glass capped screwtops. Now generally use the vacuum screw tops on all the jams and jellies, although I do occasionally use one of the really old jars or my jelly jars for fun. Use nothing but sugar and fruit. Have never had a jar that seals go bad. If one doesn't seal I refrigerate it and use it first. That seldom happens...
Do a lot of cooking with my jellies (flavor white sauces for ham, chicken and turkey dishes, heat some left over poultry and meats in jelly, etc) and use brown sugar to make the jelly that is destined for cooking...gives a richer flavor.

 

[save$]

Lots of ways to put up food. After all, food was kept for years just that way by generation after generation. But then we have some that stray. Like Putting their fingers in the containers after they boiled them. Or handle other contaminated food while making putting up canned and preserved foods. The hot water and pressure canning helps clean up those oversights and helps the food stay edible and preventing illness. Like anything, some folks are better at it than others. Many of us don't have parents who canned food, so we have to learn from others (as in this forum) .
Our canning for this season is all but over. Our shelves are full. It could have been better if the blight hadn't set on, but all in all it was good. I enjoyed my backyard a lot more as a garden than I did last year when it was a lawn. We are already going over what worked, and what wasn't so good. After all, we will be starting seedling again in five months! Got to be ready...

 

[TMonter]

Hope you don't plan to use this on a glass top stove,
See the warning on this page. Not trying to stick my nose in, but you would be disappointed if this brakes your stove. (broken link removed to http://www.allamericancanner.com/allamerican921pressurecanner.htm)
I didn't see the warning on the Amazon link.

We're been using our All American on our glass smooth top for years with no issues but the last couple years we've been using it on a the propane burner since it heats ways faster.

 

[smokinj]

We are running about 25 gallons a week right now. Water bath is all that is needed and a little salt. We have both canners purrsure canner are needed when acid content is very low. I have 2 good size dehydrator too. We can do a little over 5 gallons at a time taking about 48 hours. We have done over 700 qts of viggies and meat since March. Kinda ready for a frost but not stopping til then!

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Got the canner today. Thing is built like an engine block. Already did maters tonight

(broken image removed)