Pressure Canner'????

[TanksHill]

Hey Dace, long time no talk. How are you doing??? I was thinking about you. Happy thoughts.

 

[Cassandra]

I am really enjoying my presto canner/cooker combo. It has the rubber ring. I just got it this past summer, but I used it quite a bit for pressure canning and hot water bath canning.

I haven't really just cooked anything in it yet.

Cassandra

 

[prairiegirl]

We have an old one from the 50's. We got it from a sweet older lady about 10 years ago. The instruction/recipe book are neat. It has instructions for using on a wood cookstove or over an outdoor fire. It has worked fine. Last summer my DH put in a new temp. gauge and rubber seal.

A neighbor gave us a newer Mirror last summer with the weights, but I haven't tried it yet.

I was just telling my husband that I wanted to get it out and process some dried beans. I did kidney beans last January for the first time and we enjoyed them all year.

 

[lorihadams]

Okay, what is the difference between a pressure cooker and a pressure canner? I have a pressure cooker that I love but what makes it different from a canner? I have never canned before but my mom and both grandmothers do. Can't believe I never asked them before.

I want to learn how to can so do I need a different apparatus?

Thanks,

Lori

 

[dacjohns]

Our pressure cooker is also a pressure canner.

 

[2dream]

I had never heard of a pressure cooker/canner until just now. Did not know they made one. Do they work with weights or dials?
My canner is old as dirt (like over 15 years) and we have replaced the seal only once. I found the seals on the internet for like 6 or 7 dollars.
Proper storage for our canner is to drop it and the lid in a garbage bag and hang it from a beam in the storage shed. I keep the weights in a zip lock bag in a kitchen drawer. Its a wonder we have not blown the roof off the front porch as that is where all canning is done with a propane cooker.

I do not suggest this storage method to anyone. You would just have to know my DH to understand. LOL

 

[mrs.puff]

Basically, you just have to make sure you don't try to can anything in an apparatus that does not have a presure guage, or any way to regulate Psi inside the canner. Cookers just have a jiggler or some other kind of pressure release, but no way to regulate the psi, like 5lbs or 10lbs. Some people do cook food in their canners. New models could be used for both, but older models are usually one or the other. We have a BRA (yes, that's what it's called--it's Italian) pressure cooker that we got from a friend, and it is GREAT. But since you can't regulate the actual psi, it's only good for cooking.

 

[dacjohns]

Ours uses a weight to control the pressure and it can be used for both.

 

[Okiemommy]

I didn't know that you could have both in one either until my husband started looking them up on the internet for me for Christmas and said is it a pressure cooker/ canner? I said I have no idea! lol So I didn't get one for Christmas b/c we just weren't sure.


Also I have a question related to canning:


Do you have to use your canners over a burner? IE you can't use them on a ceramic cookstove; it has to be a "fire"?

If not, what do you recommend?

 

[TanksHill]

Can anyone explain to me why when "working out the air bubbles" they tell you to use a non metallic spatula? I usually use that little plastic stick thing that came with my water bath set. But I was just wondering.