Pressure Canning
I learned how to can last year using the Water Bath technique and my first recipe was Dilly Beans (boy were they good). I even pickled some vegetables and made Sauerkraut but what I really wanted, was to be able to can meat. I needed a Pressure Cooker.
Last week I found a great deal at Kmart. An 8 quart pressure cooker for only $20! I am so excited to learn how to use it. I'll have a cabinet full of homemade spaghetti sauces and chili galore! I will be learning how to butcher chickens soon and I'll be able to can them too!
Pressure canning shouldn't be much harder than the Water Bath technique right? Not that it matters because the old saying is "Practice makes perfect".
Do you can? Have any tips?
Comments
LeaPea2417 wrote on October 15, 2014, 7:57 PM
I have only canned tomato sauce and pickles with my husband. We tried to can meat one time but we didn't have the correct pressure cooker and it didn't turn out.
Ruby3881 wrote on October 16, 2014, 1:35 PM
Be careful! There's a difference between a pressure COOKER and a pressure CANNER! With the cooker you can't control the amount of pressure used, but for canning you have to have either weights or a gauge to determine how many psi you are using. Otherwise you won't get your foods to the appropriate temperature to kill the botulism toxins. Unless you are pickling, canning straight tomato sauce, or dealing with fruits, you absolutely need a pressure canner to be safe.
AliCanary wrote on October 16, 2014, 3:34 PM
My dad used to can things and had a pressure cooker. I don't think he ever canned anything with meat, though.
kcmaice wrote on October 16, 2014, 5:20 PM
I would love to can tomatoes, though I went to the farm too late and their tomatoes were gone! So next year I'm going early ☺
kcmaice wrote on October 16, 2014, 5:28 PM
I realized this today. I made been soup and was going to can some but the jars don't fit properly. I researched it and learned the difference. I'm disappointed but not upset, because for $20 a pressure cooker will cut my cooking time drastically. I am just going to save up my gift cards and get a 23 qt presser cooker/canner for $80 from Amazon.
kcmaice wrote on October 16, 2014, 5:30 PM
As long I do as Ruby3881 states, I will be fine.Tomatoes, pickled veggies and jams ☺
PattyTherre wrote on October 23, 2014, 7:30 PM
My mother canned but I can't do a thing like that. I wish I would have learned from her but I had no interest when I was younger and she passed away in 1996, right when I was getting domestic. :
Ruby3881 wrote on November 11, 2014, 8:56 PM
$80 is a great price for a pressure canner! If you haven't already bought one, I suggest you go with the weighted kind instead of one with a pressure gauge. The gauge ones need yearly calibration, but the weights remain consistent.
kcmaice wrote on November 13, 2014, 2:36 PM
Thank you for the heads up. I'll look around and see what I can find for weighted canners ☺