pressure cooker/canner question

[goatilocks]

So whats the difference between a pressure cooker and a canner? If I want to can green beans and such, which one do I want? Any recommendations on a small one? Dont plan on doing a lot, theres just 3 of us.

 

[Marianne]

A pressure cooker is smaller, one you'd use on the stove to cook a tough ol' roast or something. The pressure canner is larger, holds several quart jars at a time.

Even though a lot of old timers would just water bath can jars of green beans, etc, a lot of that stuff should be processed in the pressure canner. The hottest you can get anything in a water bath canner is 212 degrees - no matter how long you boil it, it will never get a temperature hot enough to kill some bacteria, whereas the pressure canner will.

This is the link I go to when I have questions about canning, etc -

http://www.pickyourown.org/canninggreenbeans.htm

Of course, they have a lot more than just green beans, that's just what I had saved. I'm sure the gals on the forum have others, or they just remember how to do it!

I finally got new seals for my ancient pressure cooker, forgot how great it was to cook stuff fast.

 

[hoosier]

I like the All American canners. They have a metal to metal seal so you never have to purchase replacement gaskets. Ours is thirty years old and looks brand new. I also have used one that belonged to my grandmother (she died in the 1940s). I recently had both gauges checked - our was spot on and hers was off by two pounds.

 

[Dirk Chesterfield]

It isn't recommended that you can anything in a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers do not have the water capacity for running at pressure more than 20 to 40 minutes before they will run dry. They are only good for pressure cooking roasts and such.

A pressure canner is a totally different than a pressure cooker. The pressure canner is much bigger, will hold a lot more water (and canning jars) and can be kept at the appropriate pressure for up to 2 hours without running out of water.

A water bath canner is basically a pot of boiling water and is good for preserving fruits, vegetables, jellies and pickles but NOT meat. If you ever plan on canning meat then you will need a pressure canner to achieve the temperature and steam pressure required to preserve it.

I own an All American 921 canner and can use it either as a water bath or a pressure canner. Last year I used it to can more than 250 lbs of chicken, beef, turkey and pork. Something I couldn't do if I just had a water bath canner. I have also used my All American 921 canner to pressure cook 3 pork shoulders at a time to make pulled pork which I subsequently canned.

 

[goatilocks]

Looks like I need the canner then! I had no idea you could can meat. Doesnt it turn out smooshie?

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

nope! its easy peasy and delish.. i was really surprised at how great it all turned out

 

[freemotion]

I pressure can a lot of stuff. We worked on fencing tonight until dark and then had more chores to finish, and a friend dropped by and was helping us. So we opened some jars of home-canned chili and heated it up. Delish!

My rule when choosing what to pressure can.....if it would come out yummy if cooked a long time in the crock pot, then it will be yummy pressure canned. I hate mushy veggies, so I don't pressure can them other than the few that hold up will like carrots, rutabaga, collards. Tomato sauce is supposed to be mushy, so that is great....and with a pressure canner, you can put meatballs or ground meat right into the sauce. All meats are wonderful in the crock pot, so they are wonderful in the pressure canner. I've done chicken, turkey, pork, and beef, alone or in recipes.

We've been making turkey salad for sandwiches lately with some sale turkey breast that I canned up last year. It is VERY convenient to have, and the turkey was 49 cents a pound. Deli turkey breast is $6-8 a pound, on sale! The two canners paid for themselves a long time ago.

We also make our own catfood.

 

[Dirk Chesterfield]

Looks like I need the canner then! I had no idea you could can meat. Doesnt it turn out smooshie?

Oh no, not smooshie.

I find it easier to can meat than to can veggies or pickles. You don't have to sterilize the jars before hand.

I usually raw pack the meat after cutting it into bite sized cubes, top it off with a little water (or broth), add warmed lids + rings and can it for the proscribed time. It creates it's own beautiful consomm like broth when it cooks. Delicious.

Canned meats are great for making soups, rice dishes, casseroles, stews, ect. And it's fast too because it is already cooked.
I also love making chicken salad and pulled pork sandwiches with my canned chicken and pork.

One of my little cooking tricks is to pour off the broth, spice it up with pepper/carrots/onion, thicken it to make a gravy, toss in the meat to heat it up and pour it all over toasted sourdough bread for an luscious open faced sandwich. The large holes in the homemade sourdough bread suck up the gravy and make for a beautifully soft but still crunchy dumpling like foundation for the meat to lie upon.
Meat, carrots and onions lounging on a beach of bread with waves of warm sumptuous gravy lapping over them.

Too bad it's bed time I just made myself hungry.

 

[ORChick]

It isn't recommended that you can anything in a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers do not have the water capacity for running at pressure more than 20 to 40 minutes before they will run dry. They are only good for pressure cooking roasts and such.

A pressure canner is a totally different than a pressure cooker. The pressure canner is much bigger, will hold a lot more water (and canning jars) and can be kept at the appropriate pressure for up to 2 hours without running out of water.

A water bath canner is basically a pot of boiling water and is good for preserving fruits, vegetables, jellies and pickles but NOT meat. If you ever plan on canning meat then you will need a pressure canner to achieve the temperature and steam pressure required to preserve it.

I own an All American 921 canner and can use it either as a water bath or a pressure canner. Last year I used it to can more than 250 lbs of chicken, beef, turkey and pork. Something I couldn't do if I just had a water bath canner. I have also used my All American 921 canner to pressure cook 3 pork shoulders at a time to make pulled pork which I subsequently canned.

While some people can veg. in a water bath canner it is not recommended. Make sure you check a recent manual on canning before deciding how to preserve any particular thing.