Instant pot for pressure canning?

Hi Permies!

I just subscribed this morning and getting acquainted with how this website works, so you may have to bear with me 😄. I’m interested in Angi’s book and my question is- I have an instant pot, is it useful for pressure canning?

I look forward to educating myself here ❤️

Dont mess around with pressure canning. You need to maintain a specified pressure either with a dial indicator or a weighted gauge. I am not familiar with instapots, but I suspect they do not have a calibrated way of gauging pressure. Water bath canning of acidic foods is a lot easier, and you should probably start there when learning to can. Always follow official guidelines - botulism is not something you want to experience.

Michelle Jenkins wrote:Hi Permies!

I just subscribed this morning and getting acquainted with how this website works, so you may have to bear with me 😄. I’m interested in Angi’s book and my question is- I have an instant pot, is it useful for pressure canning?

I look forward to educating myself here ❤️

The USDA says no. They have not approved the InstantPot for pressure canning. I realize that the manufactures of the InstantPot Max have instructions for using it as a pressure canner but they also say to only follow the USDA's recipes and guidelines. The USDA says their recipes cannot be used in an InstantPot at this time because there hasn't been sufficient testing.

You can get a Presto single layer pressure canner for under $100. That's the how I would go if I were starting out.

Instantpot doesn't get to as strong a pressure as a pressure canner.  So it wouldn't guarantee it could get rid of the nasties.

However, I've read that it makes a good substitute for water bath canning.  Keep the time the same as for water bath, and on high pressure.  But it doesn't give as good a texture.  However, if you have a limited kitchen size, it makes a good option for stacking functions.

I also hear there might be some electric pressure canners out there.  I haven't looked into this.