Favorite canning equipment / books ???

[MissJames]

As usual ,there are too many choices for me

Pressure cooker/canner? Ball complete set? Set with a blancher?

Please share your favorite,can't do without,canning equipment. My dad was a compulsive canner,but he's gone now . I really think it's a necessary skill these days and want to make sure I don't waste money on things I won't need or use.
Thanks!!!

 

[framing fowl]

What are some of the things you are thinking about canning? Having that in mind first might help narrow down some choices. I borrowed my neighbor's pressure canner two summers ago to make sure I would stick with it before I invested in mine last year. Love it! Picked up a waterbath canner at a garage sale this summer. Love it too!

As far as tools and gizmos and such, you can get the ball canning set right now at Wal-Mart for about $5 and it has the magnet lid picker upper thingy, the jar tongs, the head space measurer, spatula, and funnel. So far, that's covered what I've needed.

 

[MissJames]

What are some of the things you are thinking about canning? Having that in mind first might help narrow down some choices. I borrowed my neighbor's pressure canner two summers ago to make sure I would stick with it before I invested in mine last year. Love it! Picked up a waterbath canner at a garage sale this summer. Love it too!

As far as tools and gizmos and such, you can get the ball canning set right now at Wal-Mart for about $5 and it has the magnet lid picker upper thingy, the jar tongs, the head space measurer, spatula, and funnel. So far, that's covered what I've needed.

Veggies and fruits. Maybe some soups and stews,spaghetti sauce.

 

[farmerlor]

My favorites are of course my pressure canner which I use year round to can meat, spaghetti sauce, chili and other soups as well as veggies and fruit. I've got the biggest All American that they make because I like to do BIG batches as I have a BIG family. I also use my pressure canner as a pressure cooker and you haven't lived until you've had a ham or turkey cooked in a pressure canner. It ain't purty but it's some yummy tasting meat.
Second favorite thing that I absolutely could not live without is my steam juicer as I can a LOT of tomato sauce and would love to can more jellies.
Lastly there's my Kitchen Aid mixer sieve attachment....again, for the tomato sauce.

 

[Beekissed]

I love my new steam canner!!!!

It has revolutionized our canning routine....so easy to can, clean up the mess and be done now.

We also love our Vitamix for pulverizing things like apples so that one doesn't have to cook them down as much.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I had found a water bath canner at Goodwill a number of years ago and used it extensively. But I love my pressure canner. You can water bath can in it as well, you just remove a rubber stopper in the lid. Yesterday I found out it is good for dunking a chicken in order to pluck it. It is my biggest pot right now. I haven't pressure cooked anything yet, but I am sure I will eventually.
I found all the accessories at Goodwill, but it did take time to gather them up. I think the most important accessory is a tool to take the jars out.

 

[Denim Deb]

As far as tools and gizmos and such, you can get the ball canning set right now at Wal-Mart for about $5 and it has the magnet lid picker upper thingy, the jar tongs, the head space measurer, spatula, and funnel. So far, that's covered what I've needed.

I've never used a magnetic lid picker upper, nor the head space measurer, and I've never had a problem. I normally just use a fork to get the hot lids out of the pot, and eye up the head space. I do have the funnel (found a new one this year in a dollar store), the jar tongs different spatulas as well as both a pressure canner and a water bather.

 

[CrimsonRose]

For water bath canning I just use my big stock pot... I did invest in purchasing the jar lifter and a funnel those made canning a lot easier and more enjoyable!

I also bought a pressure canner... mine was the cheap mirro brand but it works like a dream and I love it... If I can't find another pressure canner at a yardsale or thrift shop soon I may save up and purchase another one of these... So I can do really big batches!

 

[patandchickens]

Whether to get a pressure canner or a waterbath canner (or both) simply depends on WHAT you want to can... they are not interchangeable. (For just doing small batches of small jars, e.g. up to 6 or 7 half-pint jars of pickles or jam, I actually just use a stock pot with a round cake rack in the bottom. Heats up much faster than the great big black canner. But it is too short to do anything more than half-pints)

There is no reason at all to buy a magnetic lid-picker-upper... just take a spoon (nearly all of them are made of ferrous metal) and a strong fridge magnet, stick the fridge magnet in the bowl of the spoon, and use THAT to fish yer lids out of the hot water. (The spoon provides a handle and sort of 'magnifies' the power of the fridge magnet. Try it, you'll see what I mean)

Headspace is super easy to measure by eye, no device needed. No special spatula needed either.

You WILL want a canning funnel. I use the cheap $1 plastic ones and they're just fine, but of course you can get fancier if you want.

You WILL also need some kind of arrangement to remove jars from the canner, especially if you lack a removeable rack or (like me) simply hate the bejeebers out of it LOL. Honestly I just use my regular kitchen tongs; but investing five bucks or whatever into a PROPER pair of jar-lifting tongs would not be a bad idea at all.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

That's a great tip about the magnet in the spoon, Pat.

I have a regular waterbath canner and a pressure canner. I love my magnetic lid lifter though, as well as my plastic funnel and jar lifter. I'm not even sure what the other weird thing is in the kit, some kind of think to lift jars, but I have never once used it. And I didn't even know they made anything to measure headspace. It's very easy to eyeball it.