Why should I can?

[southernsausage]

Canning is something everyone should have to learn as a child. Its so rewarding! Love it!

 

[ritamcd]

With or without a garden...... I'm going to do some canning this year! 

WOW that's one serious pressure canner you have there ..

is it calibrated ? call the company before you use it .. you can take it to the county extention in some areas .. if they don't offer the service they sometimes will tell you how to do it yourself ..
Good luck

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Beautiful All-American!!!!!!
Is that a 921?

It's a weighted gauge canner, so it doesn't require calibration.

~Martin

 

[jp61]

Canning is something everyone should have to learn as a child. Its so rewarding! Love it!

For years I wanted to give canning a try.... better late than never. Hopefully next year I'll be able to can from my garden.

WOW that's one serious pressure canner you have there ..

is it calibrated ? call the company before you use it .. you can take it to the county extention in some areas .. if they don't offer the service they sometimes will tell you how to do it yourself ..
Good luck

Thanks Rita! It's built like a tank and it will definitely outlast me. Thank you for the information! It's a new gauge so it should be accurate.... manual says it's within +/- 2psi. This is a weighted-gauge canner, the pressure gauge is used for reference only. 

Beautiful All-American!!!!!!
Is that a 921?
It's a weighted gauge canner, so it doesn't require calibration.
~Martin

Thanks Martin! Yes, it is a 921. 

 

[ritamcd]

well guess ya learn something new everyday .. even tho mine are weighted gaged they told me I still need to calibrate it

  could be the bolt action or something

 

Biggest question is ... what are you going to can up ?

 

[alblancher]

Rita,

Do you have a source for bulk pectin.  I made  20 and 1/2 pints of blueberry jelly yesterday and the cost of the pectin killed me.  Not to mention 14 lbs of sugar

 

[jp61]

well guess ya learn something new everyday .. even tho mine are weighted gaged they told me I still need to calibrate it

  could be the bolt action or something

Biggest question is ... what are you going to can up ?

The way I understand it is, that on an weighted-gauge canner the pressure gauge is used as a reference to give you an idea on when the canner is getting pressurized, when you're close to starting the timing and to know when the canner is depressurized to safely remove the lid. Also to know when to remove the weighted-gauge to prevent a vacuum in the canner which would make taking the lid off more difficult. As long as the pressure gauge is within a couple pounds it's close enough, but if it's way off it probably should be replaced.

I'm not sure yet on what I'm going to can, but as you know the options are many. I'll probably start with some veggies, BBQ sauce, some chili and who knows what else. I also have an 30quart stock pot that will double as an boiling-water canner. I'm having a hard time trying to find a rack for it that's not a POS and/or won't rust. Maybe I'll just use a clean folded towel or some bands tied together..... any suggestions on a good canning rack?

 

[daveomak]

Joe, morning...  For a canning rack, a round piece of metal with holes drilled in it set on bands as you suggested would work well.... or a piece of expanded metal would work also..... 

Here's a link to some canner racks...
Dave

 

[jp61]

Thanks Dave! Think I've looked at every rack on Amazon. I'll probably end up making one.

 

[ritamcd]

didn't your pressure canner  come with a plate in the bottom ? if so thats what I have used in the past for my big stock pot...
Most are made cheap .. I replaced my water bath pot this year ... came with the rack 20 bucks at walmart .. if you don't let it sit in the water and dry it right away it shouldn't rust

 

[jp61]

Yes Rita, it came with two of them. I guess there's no other reason why I couldn't use it in the stock pot other than being a bit too small in its circumference. A friend of mine volunteered to make me one out of SS, so I should be good to go in a few days.

 

[spuds]

JP,I have the same canner,best in the world IMO,no rubber gaskets,pressure is controlled by the weight.

As for the price of store bought veggies try your local ethnic markets,they can be a real sleeper for finding cheap prices.

Down here we have Cardenas,things like 3 celery for a buck,7 lbs cabbage for a buck,just crazy cheap prices. We can a lot of things and dehydrate even more.

Frozen veggies,like 99 cents a pound can be dehydrated and come out beautiful.Good for years (like 20+) and great in soups and stews.

Like the buckboard bacon,cheaper than anything in store and oh so much better,if its true for meat its true with veggies too.

Oh,and try fermenting onions,garlic,celery,cauliflower and carrots,all of em are excellent,super easy and cheap if you have a good veggie source,even if you dont its still tons cheaper than 3.99 for a qt jar of pickled veggies,plus all the good stuff is still alive,even better for you,probiotics and such.

So even if your garden,or a lack of,doesnt produce its still both economical and better control by processing your own food.

And dont get me started on having a years worth of stored food in your pantry, just in time delivery can collapse and for other reasons too its very good insurance,Im with the Mormons on that front,a year of food put back.

Is it cheaper???? Have you shopped lately???? Food prices are going through the roof right now,its only going to cost that much more next year.

 

[jp61]

JP,I have the same canner,best in the world IMO,no rubber gaskets,pressure is controlled by the weight.

As for the price of store bought veggies try your local ethnic markets,they can be a real sleeper for finding cheap prices.

Down here we have Cardenas,things like 3 celery for a buck,7 lbs cabbage for a buck,just crazy cheap prices. We can a lot of things and dehydrate even more.

Frozen veggies,like 99 cents a pound can be dehydrated and come out beautiful.Good for years (like 20+) and great in soups and stews.

Like the buckboard bacon,cheaper than anything in store and oh so much better,if its true for meat its true with veggies too.

Oh,and try fermenting onions,garlic,celery,cauliflower and carrots,all of em are excellent,super easy and cheap if you have a good veggie source,even if you dont its still tons cheaper than 3.99 for a qt jar of pickled veggies,plus all the good stuff is still alive,even better for you,probiotics and such.

So even if your garden,or a lack of,doesnt produce its still both economical and better control by processing your own food.

And dont get me started on having a years worth of stored food in your pantry, just in time delivery can collapse and for other reasons too its very good insurance,Im with the Mormons on that front,a year of food put back.

Is it cheaper???? Have you shopped lately???? Food prices are going through the roof right now,its only going to cost that much more next year.

Thanks for all the suggestions Spuds! Haven't use it yet so I can't really comment on its performance, but it's definitely well made. I like the fact that there's no rubber gaskets to deal with, but, will have to be careful not to put any dents in the two areas where the seal takes place, otherwise it will become a boat anchor. I think it even says in the manual to store the lid separately from the pot or upside down. Yes, I'd love to stock up on some preserved food items for many reasons! 

 

[ritamcd]

I am with the spuds on this subject ...
Its great that your friend is making a rack for ya tho .. wish mine was SS ..

I have the gaskets but if taken care of will last many many years .. I do have a backup canner just in case tho .. gotta start getting some more chicken done up ..

 

[diggingdogfarm]

There's nothing wrong with gasketed canners.
The All-American's are great, they're built like a tank, I have 2 of them, but, because they're so massive, they do take extra time to heat up and cool down, which is an issue if you have a lot of canning to do.
I find that i use the gasketed canners far more because the cycle is faster.


~Martin

 

[jp61]

I am with the spuds on this subject ...
Its great that your friend is making a rack for ya tho .. wish mine was SS ..

I have the gaskets but if taken care of will last many many years .. I do have a backup canner just in case tho .. gotta start getting some more chicken done up ..

Well..... it looks like he's not making the rack for me after all. The material he was going to use turned out to be aluminum not SS and we're not sure if that grade can be used or not.

There's nothing wrong with gasketed canners.
The All-American's are great, they're built like a tank, I have 2 of them, but, because they're so massive, they do take extra time to heat up and cool down, which is an issue if you have a lot of canning to do.
I find that i use the gasketed canners far more because the cycle is faster.
~Martin

I agree.... there's absolutely nothing wrong with canners using gaskets for the seal. At least the gaskets are replaceable if they go bad. The metal-to-metal seals, if they go bad, it's probably garbage or big $ to get it repaired. But, if taken care of, it should last a very long time with no maintenance issues. Not sure how a gasket would make the cycle faster?

Edit: It's way past my bed time and the brain is working even slower than normal. I get what you're saying Martin.....talking about the thickness of the walls.

 

[ritamcd]

Ohh thats too bad .. you could go to the hardware store and get a new rack .. I just use the metal plate on the bottom and have never had any issues with jars braking ..

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Well..... it looks like he's not making the rack for me after all. The material he was going to use turned out to be aluminum not SS and we're not sure if that grade can be used or not.





I agree.... there's absolutely nothing wrong with canners using gaskets for the seal. At least the gaskets are replaceable if they go bad. The metal-to-metal seals, if they go bad, it's probably garbage or big $ to get it repaired. But, if taken care of, it should last a very long time with no maintenance issues. Not sure how a gasket would make the cycle faster?

Edit: It's way past my bed time and the brain is working even slower than normal. I get what you're saying Martin.....talking about the thickness of the walls.

Yeah, exactly!



~Martin