Canning

[Missa@#5252]

Hi everyone I'd like to start canning has anyone ever used a digital pressure cooker to can in?has anyone had luck with them?thanks for any input

 

[wyoDreamer]

I love my electric pressure canner. Canning meals in a jar (soups and stews) is a 90 minute process time, so it is nice that I can load it up after supper and let it go on its own without having to babysit it. In the morning, I remove the jars and let them finish cooling on the counter.
I love that it tells me when it is time to do the next step and that it holds temp as I remove the hot jars, fill them up, and them put them back into the canner.

 

[Britesea]

We have an All American. If I'm doing a smaller batch, I fill the empty spots with jars of clean water and process. I have a small store of water that will stay clean and fresh if something happens.

 

[Hinotori]

I told hubby about this thread and the electric pressure canners. He said "Why don't you look at getting one. That's much better than hauling out that huge thing for a few jars"

 

[tortoise]

I agree with comments about canning in a pressure cooker (don't do it). I have a Presto digital pressure canner and I love it. It's worry-free. Only downside is low capacity compared to All-American pressure canner. (but for me, that's a plus, I prefer small batches)

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Pork n beans. I use a Mirro also. Been using it for years and it does a good job, but I keep hoping it'll break or shrink or something so I can upgrade, lol.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I usually end up getting it going in the evening after supper. I let it do its business while I sleep, then in the morning I pull out the jars (still warm) and clean the canner up and put it on the shelf for the next time.
I used it for waterbath canning for tomatoes also. Only 20 minutes of processing time, but it was so nice to have the jars in the canner staying warm while I dinked around filling them.

I love that electric canner - glad DH was supportive of me buying it. I hate to spend money, so he kinda talked me into making the leap. The pressure canner that I was using had a bowed out bottom and I was worried about the emergency pressure release valve. It is normal for that little plastic plug to leak steam while the canner builds up to pressure?

 

[wyoDreamer]

Not with the electric canner, my old canner is a stovetop, aluminim(?), 7 quart Nesco (I think). It was given to me by my neighbor and is pretty old. I have replaced the sealing ring for it, but the stem for the weight leaks steam around the bottom where it attaches and the little plastic plug (that prevents over pressurization) leaks steam also when it is heating up. Once it is pressurized and the weight is on, it seems to work OK, but I am just worried that the plastic plug will fail and I will have a mess in the kitchen.

 

[Hinotori]

You can cook in a canner, but not can in a cooker. Make sure you have the right one. Cookers cool down too fast. There's also other safety features as cookers don't usually reach as high of pressure. Which is why the electric canner is 3x the cost of the cooker.

Presto has been in the canner business a long time and I'd feel pretty safe with theirs.

That said, all I have is my big All American which goes on a unit. If I didn't do much at once, the Presto Electric one would be nice. I have an electric cooker.

 

[flowerbug]

we don't do any pressure canning here (which is a requirement for low acid foods), but otherwise we have canned for most of my life (over 50 years) and Mom's too (over 70 years). we oven can, which is not a recommended process by the govt or many people because of how oven temperatures can vary, but it has always been ok for us and we know what we're doing.

in recent years we're mostly canning tomato chunks and tomato juice - that's our largest food storage crop. everything else we pretty much process and eat or freeze depending upon what it is.

dry beans are my other big crop. onions, peppers, squash, melons and garlic get poked in places too.