Is a Pressure Canner Worth the Money?

Okay, I have been reading many of the canning posts here and ones from other sites around the web, and need to make a decision. Do we buy a pressure canner or just do water canning for our tomatoes?

First a bit of background. I have never, ever canned before. Truth be told, I have been too nervous to try it. Some of the things that scare me are:

The controversy around "rebel canning" and following all the guidelines perfectly

the possibility of blowing up the kitchen if I make a mistake

The time it will take

The space I need to find in our small home for all the equipment

The chance of messing it up and poisoning my family (as alluded to in the first point )

But even though is a task that intimidates me, I am determined to overcome this fear and try it out this year. I planted 29 tomato plants and they are doing very well. They are already starting to get red and I don't want to lose them, so time is of the essence.

My goal is to make spaghetti sauce, salsa and possibly some pesto to last as long as possible through the year. We regularly consume spaghetti sauce and salsa, but spaghetti sauce is the one we eat the most of.  From my research, it is possible to make spaghetti sauce from water canning but the more popular method is pressure canning. People use lemon juice to add the needed acid to the tomato sauce with the pressure canning option. I have found recipes for both. From my understanding, salsa and pesto can be made from water canning.

I have a pot I can use for water canning but the decision is wether or not it is worth it to buy a pressure canner at this time. I think I would just want a small one because it seems less intimidating. I am looking at this model on the zon: https://www.amazon.ca/WantJoin-Stainless-Pressure-Safeguard-Induction/dp/B097T31JF9/ref=sr_1_27?crid=2VUP6LS74CAFY&keywords=small%2Bpressure%2Bcanner&qid=1691344202&sprefix=small%2B%2Caps%2C2654&sr=8-27&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.b06bdbbe-20fd-4ebc-88cf-fa04f1ca0da8&th=1

It says it also doubles as something that can cook other things, too, so it wouldn't be a one-use item, hopefully.  And though tomatoes are my main concern right now, I would like to learn how to can more things, too.

I welcome any feedback from those more experienced than me. Have you found it worth it to buy a pressure canner? How have you used it? Would you recommend it? And are there more considerations and questions I should think about that I haven't mentioned? Thank you all so much in advance!

Here is a picture of today's harvest with more tomatoes ripening up!

I've used both. I like both. But, if I were only doing tomatoes, I wouldn't even drag out the pressure canner we have. As a typically acid-heavy product, I've never pressure canned tomatoes, only added some lemon juice or citric acid, to ensure the acid is high enough to inhibit botulism and other bacteria, then water bath canned them. That's all anyone in my family - both sides - has ever done, for generations.

We do have a pressure canner, and it works beautifully, but we only drag 'the monster' out for meats and other low-acid, high risk items.

Hi Shari;
We live in a very small old house.
Storage space is at a premium around here. Not much room to store canned goods.
What we do have is plenty of freezer space. We have two 12-volt super-insulated chest freezers.
So rather than can our tomatoes, Liz does a process called slipping the skin.
Very easy and much faster than canning.

A pot of water is brought to a low boil.  Add 6-10 tomatoes (depending on pot size)
Time in the hot water is short, just enough to see the skin split.
Fish out each tomato with a slotted spoon, fill a bowl, and carry them to your sink.  
Fill the sink with cold water and Ice. (must be cold)  Place hot tomatoes in cold water.
Continue adding hot tomatoes to the cold water as space allows.
Remove from the cold water and hand peel the skins off.
Cut tomatoes into chunks, place in quart freezer bags, and freeze.
You now have tomatoes that can be used for whatever you want to cook

Great questions.
I have been canning for a couple years now. I saw a video of someone canning beef stew. I had to do it. I love soup and convenience meals. Taking that step was the best thing I could have done. I love canning. So I will go over some of these concerns with you and you will make the best choice for your family and just keep on rolling!

1.The controversy around "rebel canning" and following all the guidelines perfectly
I wouldn't worry about this so much. Can the right way and the rules are out there. It isn't worth the risk and don't listen to anyone that says it is. If they want to can out of the box, great. I am sure my grandmother did it. I might do it when I am seasoned. But stick to the rules and all will be good.
2.the possibility of blowing up the kitchen if I make a mistake
With newer canners, this is almost impossible. They have so many relief options that you would have to do something really dumb to make it blow. Just don't use a vintage canner.
3.The time it will take - yes it takes time. But the reward is amazing when those jars seal and you have really tasty and healthy food from YOUR garden preserved to feed your family.
4. The space I need to find in our small home for all the equipment - I have an All American 921 I believe that fits 7 quarts. It just fits under a table. It isn't that big or heavy and you can just it for water bath canning also or making a big batch of stew.
5.The chance of messing it up and poisoning my family (as alluded to in the first point ) - This was my ultimate concern. I still worry about this with canned meat. It is just because it looks weird and the fat in it can make it look a different color. Trust your senses. Check the lid when opened, was it too easy or hard to pop off? How does it smell? You will know. Also I believe boiling for 10 mins kills botulism (don't quote me on that but look it up yourself to be safe)

All in all, I recommend it and I also recommend only getting one if you are going to get a good one that will last generations, like the All American. Do your research on it. Small only means smaller batches. And you will want to fill that bad boy up when your canning or you waste more time with small batches. Best investment especially in the times we are in. Being able to have the option to can meat or soup, beans etc is awesome.
Lastly, the great family that got me hooked was Homesteading Family (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyTQMVyIfjU). I also recommend ( and I get nothing for this recommendation, I just love the resource) www.schooloftraditionalskills.com. They have her canning class and many other awesome educational homesteading classes.

Hope that helps and feel free to ask any other questions if they come up. Good luck!

I feel it is easier to learn to can with the water bath method.

Folks can buy a special canner or use a large stock pot.

Once a person is comfortable with canning then they might want to start learning to can meat and other items that require a pressure canner.

The Ball Blue Book is what I used to learn to can.

This is the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning:

https://permies.com/wiki/100765/USDA-Complete-Guide-Home-Canning

The best thing about this book is that it can be downloaded for free:  nchfp.uga.edu/publications/USDA

My advise would be to water bath this year and depending on how it goes evaluate next year.

The controversy around "rebel canning" and following all the guidelines perfectly- Don't worry about perfectly, but especially while learning, do follow guidelines.
the possibility of blowing up the kitchen if I make a mistake- Verry rarely happens. If you're using the equipment properly it shouldn't.
The time it will take- No arguments there, except that I like food.
The space I need to find in our small home for all the equipment- For water bath the only non standard thing you will need are rubber grabbers and the jars. For pressure it's those and the canner. Other than the canned food of course.
The chance of messing it up and poisoning my family (as alluded to in the first point )-  It your jar is sealed, hasn't leaked and resealed or turned funny colored/smelling it's most likely fine. About the fear think about it like salmonella, if your chicken doesn't look/smell off and you've cooked it, it's not that much of a concern.

If something is worth it or not is very individualized.  We all value things differently.  Pressure canning is worth it to me.   If I were to add up the dollars I put into gardening and canning, I suspect a trip to the grocery store may well end up being cheaper. I like the idea of growing and preserving my own food.

Carla Burke wrote:I've used both. I like both. But, if I were only doing tomatoes, I wouldn't even drag out the pressure canner we have. As a typically acid-heavy product, I've never pressure canned tomatoes, only added some lemon juice or citric acid, to ensure the acid is high enough to inhibit botulism and other bacteria, then water bath canned them. That's all anyone in my family - both sides - has ever done, for generations.

We do have a pressure canner, and it works beautifully, but we only drag 'the monster' out for meats and other low-acid, high risk items.

Carla, thank you! That is what I was hoping for...that I could get away with canning the tomatoes by water bathing this year and that it would still be and taste okay. It's also nice to hear you've been doing that in your family for years and it's not second-rate to the pressure canning. My mom and Grandma canned, too, but I wasn't interested in all that "old-fashioned stuff" until they were both gone, so I have no idea how exactly they did it.  I could have learned from them if I had paid attention, but now, I am grateful for this community. Have a great night!

By the way, I love that you call it "the monster," ha ha! That's kind of how I'm picturing it.

Storage space is at a premium around here.

Yes, I can relate!

So rather than can our tomatoes, Liz does a process called slipping the skin.
Very easy and much faster than canning.

A pot of water is brought to a low boil.  Add 6-10 tomatoes (depending on pot size)
Time in the hot water is short, just enough to see the skin split.
Fish out each tomato with a slotted spoon, fill a bowl, and carry them to your sink.  
Fill the sink with cold water and Ice. (must be cold)  Place hot tomatoes in cold water.
Continue adding hot tomatoes to the cold water as space allows.
Remove from the cold water and hand peel the skins off.
Cut tomatoes into chunks, place in quart freezer bags, and freeze.
You now have tomatoes that can be used for whatever you want to cook.

Oh wow, that is another great option! That sounds very doable. Thank you so much. We have two freezers, too.

I do water bath canning, but mostly stick to high acid/salt condiments like chutney and relish. It's just what I'm comfortable with right now.
We grow lots of tomatoes and freezing works for me. I no longer bother with much in the way of prep. I just wash, dry and remove the cores and any bad spots. I'll also cut them so no pieces are bigger than a fist. I've found that once they have been frozen, when thawed they just melt and disintegrate and the skins can just be pulled off and removed. ( we mostly do soups and chilies with them)

The item you linked from the zoo is not a canner, just a pressure cooker. Besides being too smaller jars, one of the reviews notes that it does not make enough pressure for canning either.
That being said, some of my old time local neighbors do water bath canning for meats. Yes it takes hours but you can put a lot of cans in a big tub and boil it outside.

all the good things have already been said, but I'll add one thing: a big pot for water bath canning, you can use for other things too-- beermaking, lobsters, vat of stew, whatever. A big pressure canner, maybe not (and I'm a person who looooves my pressure cooker, but you don't necessarily need a big one for normal things, if you're thinking about storage space). I think trying water bath canning this year is a great idea.

I'll give another vote for the All American pressure canner - no rubber gasket that needs replacing. Been using it for going on 15 years now and really happy with it. We use it a lot for stews and soups. Really love storing food without the need for refrigeration for years.

Botulism spores are killed by boiling for 5-10 minutes (more at altitude). I don't think you can smell them. And you certainly shouldn't taste something that is suspected of containing botulism.

Nobody is mentioning why acid is important, so I'll throw that in.  

The issue is the extremely toxic bacterium Clostridium botulinum.  It is a spore-former, commonly found in soil, and on plant surfaces, and the spores are very heat-resistant, surviving boiling temperatures for hours.  The only reliable way to kill the C. bot is very high heat, in the 240-250F range.  Only a pressure canner can heat things this hot.  No, you can't set your oven at 250F and can inside the oven.  Water still boils in the oven at only 212F.

Although 212F is not enough to kill the spores, and acid by itself cannot kill the spores, 212F AND acid at the same time will.  So, that's why it's safe to water-bath can acidic things like tomato sauce or pickles.  BTW, the pH limit for C. bot is 4.5.  Anything with a pH less than 4.5 will kill C.bot.  Anything with a pH significantly higher than 4.5 will NOT kill C. bot.

Here is a pic of C. bot that I isolated from raw-meat dog food product that had killed at least one dog.

Pressure canners do NOT have to be expensive.  I can test canners myself with an autoclave thermometer I got from work.  My best canner was from the flea-market for just 6$.  I changed the rubber gasket, and then tested.  Out of six canners I've bought, tested, and given to friends, none have ever failed a test as long as a new, uncracked gasket is used.  I only buy canners that are giggle-weight pressure-controlled.  Both Presto and Mirror have performed very well.

For the tomatoes, which is an acid food, a water bath is sufficient. However, if you wish to can any kind of meats, less acid veggies or soups containing meats, I would use a pressure cooker. A water bath just won't cut it and you would put your family at risk.
If you are worried, as many folks are, about the pressure cooker exploding in your kitchen, have no fear. I prefer the ones that have a jiggling weight on them: Those are safe, even if you forget that you have a batch going on . Use a timer to return to the kitchen though.
The pressure cooker goes up to pressure and then holds it at the selected pressure. That is what ensures a well canned, safe product.  Lower the heat until it jiggles 2-3 times per minute and you will be canning the best stuff safely. If it jiggles, it is at the right pressure. No guessing.
Another thing: I allow the pressure to go down completely before I attempt to open the canner. I don't run cold water on it or lift the jiggler early. That's asking for trouble; the sudden change of pressure will suck the liquid out of your jars or worse. [Ask me how I know!]
Another big advantage of using a pressure cooker is that you save time and money by processing for shorter periods of time. Canning in a pressure cooker is done with less water than with a water bath, and the pressure rises faster.
If you can swing the price for a stainless, it will probably be the kind of thing that you can will to your children or your great grand children. (Just don't lose the jigglers!)

I’m another one who loves water bath canning for tomatoes. Two big pots on my gas stove, one for the jars and one for the tomatoes, works well. A friend who cared for the tomatoes I had planted from seed decided not to plant any this year so I ended up with over twenty tomato plants in my garden. That’s a lot for me but you can never have too many canned tomatoes.

Anyway, I cut them in half and roast, cut side down on parchment paper, at 425 F for at least 20 to 30 minutes. The skins pinch right off. Taste is concentrated and there is less liquid. They go into hot jars with a little salt and a little lemon juice, water bath for about 20 minutes and good to go. If I have time I also use them to make and can spaghetti sauce and salsa. Just a little prep time and easy to end up with a great feeling of accomplishment. Love those petty jars lined up in the cabinet.

I also use my pressure cooker for green beans, beets, chicken, etc. Once you’re done a batch or two you will be comfortable with it. Certainly easier than my mother’s time consuming effort with rubber bands or paraffin to seal jars. And certainly safer with a modern pressure cooker.

Again, easy and rewarding. The Balls BlueBook got me stared.

If you're primary concern is tomatoes, stick to the water bath with lemon juice

I'm not sure that you can get a specified pressure with the pressure cooker that you linked on Amazon and making sure that you do get the right pressure is very important. I was hoping to use an instapot but ran into the same problem about not being sure it hits the correct pressure.

The good thing about it is that it is induction capable and this speaks to space concerns. I got the 23 quart presto induction pressure canner for maybe $130 us and and an induction cooker base and I can literally put it anywhere I have an electric outlet in my apartment so it's not taking up space in my kitchen I usually just set up a folding table somewhere. You can even do it outside without the need for portable burners. I got a less expensive induction base (<$50) so I have to play with it a bit more to get the pressure set and a more expensive one will likely solve that problem.

Perhaps I'll get one of the All American canners at some point as they are larger and it is nice to not have seals to replace (I've been using my presto for several years and still not need to) but they may have ot come out with an induction capable one now that I have become accustomed to the convenience

Also I have never pressure canned tomato sauce just added the necessary lemon juice.
And if you don't want to rebel can you don't have to. Just follow the guidelines and focus on cleanliness and sanitization. There are recalls from major food brands every year so no matter what the danger never truly goes away. Start small and easy with safer things like jams and tomato sauce and expand as you feel comfortable.

I was very nervous about canning, too. I got addicted to watching Pam Cantrell's Rose Red Homestead videos on YouTube after seeing her comparison of the Instant Pot Max (which passed) and Nesco electric pressure canner (which did not pass). She's a food scientist and I trust her. I bought the Instant Pot Max, which can handle four pints at a time, because it also can be used for regular pressure cooking, sous vide, yogurt making, etc. (I figured I could can things in small batches as I got them harvested from my little garden; turned out the deer ate everything, so that was a bust!) An Instant Pot Max (the only IP you can can use for canning) is a fine, fine thing, and I knew I would use it daily even if I decided I didn't like canning. This was a great way to learn canning (I skipped water bath altogether), and through the constraint of only doing 4 pints at a time, I learned how much food I could deal with and also about flat sour and why it happens.(Yes, we will eat the case of flat-sour chili I put up, because I know it won't hurt us, and next time I'll know.) I learned what is suitable to can and what is not, either for taste or safety reasons. I followed USDA canning guidelines and recipes. And I always check in with Pam at Rose Red Homestead. She's fun to watch.

Why didn't I start with water-bath canning? I found the whole acid/pH thing more confusing than just doing it in a pressure canner. Most of what I wanted to can was not suitable for water-bath canning, so I skipped that. The deer and chipmunks ate all our tomatoes this year, but I probably would have pressure canned those as well. Also, I like that you don't have to use as much water to pressure can; the pot is therefore not as heavy.

A few months ago, I started going to a local pickup place (I call it the food gazebo) where they set out produce and other expiring items culled from local grocery store shelves, trying to cut down on landfill waste. People pick through it, compost what's bad, and preserve what is not. I started freezing a ton of fruits and vegetables for smoothies or stir fries, or to make country wines, and dehydrating, fermenting, or canning things as I  could get around to it, learning as I needed to at a pace I could handle. I thought I was really set! All that money saved! I filled up a 21 cubic foot upright freezer with food.

Whelp, after multiple power outages this summer and loss of a lot of the frozen stuff, I decided we just cannot depend on electricity to preserve all our food. I set up an outdoor canning kitchen using a covered firewood rack into which a Camp Chef Tahoe stove with propane tank fits perfectly. I bought a 22 quart T fal canner on sale (the American canner was out of $$$ reach) and can now can 16 wide-mouth pints at once, which is better for dealing with the huge amount of food I come home with from the food gazebo. Yesterday I wound up with 22 pints of organic baby spinach (from two boxes full of perfectly good "past use-by" culled triple-washed bags), 16 of which I canned outside, 4 in the IP Max, and the other two were refrigerated for meals the next few days. I have paid for my canning kitchen with savings on our grocery bill by going this route.

I'm still freezing things, of course, because that's the easiest, but it eases my mind to know I could pull things out and can them quickly if the grid goes down and I've got a freezer full of defrosting food. I'm also more likely now to dehydrate some things that are best not canned rather than trust them to the freezer. When we are able to afford the solar panel setup and installation to keep our freezer running when the grid is down, I'll be less nervous, but I still think I will can a lot of food.

Canning tomatoes does not require a pressure canner because of the acidity level in tomatoes. Here are two videos of an Italian lady canning tomatoes using waterbacth canning and tomato paste with no waterbacth or pressure canner (the same way jam is done in Europe - by inverting the jars).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn_Yx3NmaNY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RwuSZDl_do

I no longer can much. I dehydrate most things now. I have 18 pints of cherry tomatoes stored in one half gallon jar. That's more than 12 lbs of tomatoes in one large jar.

I do can some fruit and jam but not much and I also can cooked meat in lard using a water bath style processing as is done in Europe. I also dry rub and cure meat, dehydrate cooked meat, and store in salt (salt pork). The salt pork I do in late fall when my mudroom is cold enough to store the jar without refrigeration.

This channel shows preserving cooked meat in lard in several videos. https://www.youtube.com/@kuhinjatanja/videos

My grandmothers canned everything or cured the meat and never had a pressure canner and no one ever got sick. You just have to know how to do it safely. Botulism is extremely rare.

I do a lot of old ways like this because I don't want to have my food sovereignty depend on someone else so it has to be able to be done without any electricity and few gadgets. I have a small house with hardly any storage space. I do have an old used Nesco dehydrator for the rare times when I'm not using the wood stove or outdoor racks to dehydrate.

I have an absolutely phobia about vomiting, so I don't take food-borne illness lightly. I'm not doing any of this without knowing how. I take food safety seriously. But young folks need to know the USDA isn't the only authority on food that exists. A couple of hundred thousand years of humanity has a few things to say about it.

I well remember how worried I was when I started canning, but following the directions and doing it a couple of times, it soon became a standby. Now I've been canning for 40 years--tomatoes, wild berries, fish, meat, vegetables.

You could pressure-can to save weight and time--there is a lot less water in a pressure canner. I would pressure-can at altitude above 4000 ft, because otherwise you have to boil the jars for a long time. But probably I would water-bath can those tomatoes, making sure to add a bit of acid to make sure they are acidic enough for water-bath canning safely.
However, don't buy a water-bath canner to do it. Here's why:

The retro-looking enamel canners on the market don't work well, even for water bath canning. They are flimsy and chip easily--I have one I'm using as a planter because it chipped, corroded, and sprung a leak. The wire racks inside only fits one size of jar, and that precariously. Nobody needs to lift all the jars out at once on a wire rack--it's better to have a sturdy disc-type rack in the bottom and lift the jars out with canning tongs.t Nobody needs the stress of worrying about jars falling and breaking or splashing you with boiling water. And the real deal-breaker is that they are not tall enough to safely can quart jars with the recommended amount of water over the top of the jar.

Instead, buy a pressure canner, the tallest one you can find. Then use it for both pressure and water bath canning. When pressure canning, the lid is on and dogged down. When water-bath canning, you just leave the lid off or set it on but don't dog it down. The canner comes with a disk that keeps jars from sitting directly on the bottom of the pot, which can break them. This is much much much better than the wire rack inside the water bath canners, and works perfectly for water bath canning.  An easy hack is to get a cheap round baking sheet (meant for pizza) and to use for a lid when water-bath canning. With this set-up, you are prepared to can whatever food comes your way, Your skills and confidence can grow without you having to buy more equipment, and you only have one big pot to store.

If for some reason you don't want to--or can't afford to--buy the pressure canner, get a big stainless stockpot for water-bath canning. Taller, safer, longer-lasting, more versatile, better in every way.
I have both the stockpot and the pressure canner. When I have a lot of food to put up--several bog boxes of plums, for example--I use both, in rotation, to make the job go faster. You can be preparing and loading one while the other cools, heats up, or is processing. Or I can use the stockpot to make a huge batch of applesauce and the pressure canner as a water bath canner to process it.

The only other things you need are a canning funnel for filling jars (plastic is common, stainless is better) and canning tongs, for lifting the jars out of the hot water.

What is essential to know about canning is that it's all about maintaining the proper temperature for the requisite amount of time. Everything else follows from that.

In water-bath canning, the temperature that must be maintained is 212 degrees, the boiling point of water. Anything that will hold and boil water can do this. The height of the canner is important because the top layer of water may not be quite as hot as the rest, so you need an inch of water above the jars. Anything that will hold both water and a jar, with an inch of boiling water above the top of the jar, can be a water-bath canner. I've used saucepans, camping pots, and old-fashioned laundry boilers.

In pressure canning, you can attain a higher temperature because of the relationship between atmospheric pressure and boiling point. (You need special canning directions at altitude because the atmospheric pressure is different.) A pressure canner is a specialized piece of equipment that can contain high pressure, and measure what that pressure is. A water bath canner is not a specialized item, just a container.

Further thoughts if you are buying a canner:
If you have a choice, I would not get a pressure canner with a gauge, get the kind that is regulated by a machined metal weight. You adjust the heat to keep the weight just lifting a couple times a minute. You can hear from anywhere in the room whether it is still on temperature--no standing watching the gauge. And no worrying about whether the gauge is accurate. A piece of machined metal doesn't get out of adjustment, it just works. The gauge needs to be checked against a standard once a year, and after any knock or rough treatment. I've never felt comfortable with that, while I'm still using the trusty weighted pressure canner I got in 1980. Think about it--how is a good or even practical idea to embed a piece of delicate equipment in a pot lid??? As a bonus, the gaugeless canners are cheaper.

I've used both the gasket models and the expensive gasketless ones. I actually prefer the Mirro with gasket. It's lighter to lift, the lid isn't so unwieldy, and the process of sealing the canner is much simplet.  Mainly, the big thick gasketless pots tend to be shorter and narrower, leading to the same capacity problems as the in water-bath canners. Thickness of the pot means the interior diameter is smaller, and holds fewer jars. Height enough for qt jars plus and inch of water, or for pressure canning two layers of pints, is a bottom-line requirement as far as I'm concerned. Lower-capacity canners mean fewer jars at a time, so you do more total loads, requiring more fuel, more time, more labor, more spoilage. Get the biggest canner. An inexpensive weight-only tall model iwill last your lifetime. Have a spare gasket on hand in case of accident and you're set.

A freezer is no substitute for canning. It works for some people who have reliable electricity, organized schedules, are sure to use things up before they deteriorate, and have time to let things thaw. But canned things are stable, no further maintenance required. They can go on picnics, camping, or move house.  We took our home-canned food with us when we had to evacuate for a wildfire. They last for years and years--10 at a minimum, and I've used canned goods twice that age. They require no additional cooking or processing. No thaw time. Ready to eat. So I freeze a few things, but I want my tomatoes ready to make a quick spaghetti sauce on a night when everyone's hungry and nothing is ready.

It seems like everyone agrees the tomatoes should be water-bath canned. Is there a problem with pressure-canning acidic foods? We pressure can salsa and pasta sauce because it seems like even with the heat of vaporization hurdle, it's got to require less energy because there's so much less water per jar (but I haven't done the math).

Christopher Weeks wrote:It seems like everyone agrees the tomatoes should be water-bath canned. Is there a problem with pressure-canning acidic foods? We pressure can salsa and pasta sauce because it seems like even with the heat of vaporization hurdle, it's got to require less energy because there's so much less water per jar (but I haven't done the math).

Nope, I've never seen a problem with pressure canning tomato products, other than, in the case of salsas, if you want them chunkier. In that case, it might be mushier than you'll like. The only other thing, for me, is that the pressure canner is so much heavier to move around, even empty, so I have to put it (empty) on the stove, then move the water to it, then when I'm done, leave it sitting there until it cools, and empty as much water as possible, using glasses or whatever, before finally being able to move it off the stove. So, in the long run, *I'm* not really saving any time or work, by using the pressure canner.

I have only been canning for about 3 years now.  I looked and found the Presto 23 qt canner was the largest affordable one for my budget.  Denali also has a comparably priced canner now, that I'm thinking about.  I did the water bath canning once and found it to be a pain.  Then I found out about steam canning and it was MUCH better, not all that water and weight.  I didn't know anything about canning or have anyone to call and quiz about it when I had (or thought I did) a problem.  
Pressure canning is my go-to now.  I recently had sirloin pork chops on sale and bought them.  After boning and trimming them I canned 16 pint jars with approx a pound of meat in each jar.  It worked out to $1.67 a jar.  Even Dollar General won't get you a pound of pork for that.  I also canned up 15 jars of pork loin at $1.77 a jar.  Try finding that anywhere else.
As time goes on I explore different things that I hear about.  For instance, I discovered Homestead Heart on youtube.  I watched a video of canning butter.  It makes freezer/fridge stable butter, room temp stable!!  Well as I had a freezer full of butter I sacrificed 16 pounds of butter to experiment.  I still have some of those 32 1/2 pint jars on the shelf.  I will admit it took forever for it to cool enough to mix the solids with the liquids and they now have a small bit of brown solids at the bottom.  As your confidence and skill grow you may find yourself willing to expand your comfort envelope.  Good luck.

I don’t have time right now to read all the posts right now so forgive me if I repeat someone’s advice. I used a cheap, aluminum canner for 25 years and finally ran across an All American several years ago. Perhaps you could find someone to lend you a canner for you to play with and decide if you love it or not. I do ADORE the All American and enjoy its almost foolproof performance but I got a tremendous amount of work done with the old one too. I can from the garden year round and freeze some things in summer and then can at my leisure. Tomatoes are rinsed and frozen until I’m ready to get them all out and process them together. Last year I made tomato sauce and this year I’ll make ketchup and barbecue sauce. I can lots of ready to eat things like split pea soup, beans with pork, barbecue chicken, spaghetti and rice, chicken and rice and so on. There are a few rules that are absolute, like you cannot safely can flour but lots of recipes that you can adapt to your own tastes. There are a couple of people doing courses to teach you to can if you’re interested. Melissa K. Norris does a course but I haven’t ever taken it.

Water bath canning can only be used for foods that contain other sources of preservation or are high in acid content such as jellies that contain sugar and pectin.

You can take a lid to a canner to your county extension office, if you’re in the US, and they can test it for you for a nominal fee. Even if the gage is off a canner can still be used safely by using the weights properly. I am completely unable to eat flour and so most convenience meals are off limits for me. I also struggle to complete productive days because I have a genetic defect that causes me to wear out early and pain that stops me in my tracks so convenience is important to me for good nutrition. I consider my pressure canners and my pressure cooker to be absolutely indispensable.  They will be handed down to my son who has learned from his youth to love canning, cooking and ensuring food security for our family.

Shari,
Yes, pressure canners are worth the money if you do a LOT of canning. As with any food preservation method, knowledge is power... With 20+ years in the food service industry, my advice is, before serving your family anything that has been home preserved, give it a sniff test... This is not fool proof...If it smells the least bit suspicious, don't serve it.
Vacuum sealing, blanche & freeze, dehydrating are all good options as well.
Gather all the information you can and, make an informed decision...I just helped my daughter put up 80 qts. of sweet corn this past weekend...good luck

Hi Allison,

Welcome to Permies.

John Duffy wrote:Shari,
Yes, pressure canners are worth the money if you do a LOT of canning. As with any food preservation method, knowledge is power... With 20+ years in the food service industry, my advice is, before serving your family anything that has been home preserved, give it a sniff test... This is not fool proof...If it smells the least bit suspicious, don't serve it.
Vacuum sealing, blanche & freeze, dehydrating are all good options as well.
Gather all the information you can and, make an informed decision...I just helped my daughter put up 80 qts. of sweet corn this past weekend...good luck

I always smell a freshly opened jar just on principle but botulism is odorless. Green beans are fairly notorious and I’m not sure why but everything I have ever read on the subject says that they should be boiled for a minimum of 10 minutes before serving. In 25 years, after teaching myself from the Ball Blue Book and then learning to be creative, I’ve never had a problem with a food and I eat something from a jar at least once a day. If I find a jar that the lid isn’t inverted (after the initial canning) it’s garbage. I don’t give it to the animals either. I don’t take stupid shortcuts and I don’t take caning advice or recipes from random people on YouTube and such because while they might sound perfectly logical they are still sometimes dangerous in their technique. Stick with tried and true recipes and techniques from trustworthy sources, always.

My best canner came from a local flee market. It had obviously been abused and worked hard but was still completely serviceable. I paid $60 for it and it sells for over $300 dollars new. I buy jars on Craig’s list and from local ads. It can be done much cheaper than buying everything new, it just requires a little more time and elbow grease but there is no possible way to quantify the satisfaction of seeing a wall of shelves full of food that you can name every single ingredient in.

Yes, to many things already said.  Thanks to the one who pointed out that the toxin from C. botulinum is odorless.

Other spoilage can be detected by smell but not that deadly one.

For this year, I would say just get used to canning.  It’s not hard, but practice makes it a lot easier and faster.  You’ll get the hang of it!

There are plenty of foods that can be waterbath canned.  Fruits and fruit juices, tomato juice, pickles.  For tomato mixtures, you might want to get a little experience before you add that element.  Every thing you add to tomatoes to end up with spaghetti sauce or salsa is not acid.  There’s another thing to clarify:  the pH scale runs from 1 to 14.  7 is neutral, below 7 is acid, above 7 is base.  So a HIGH acid food has a low pH.  Low acid food has a high pH.  Just a little slip of attention can create a big problem.  Canning isn’t hard, but you have to pay attention.

Back to my main point, just begin with the simplest process, water bath canning with high acid foods.

I have and love my pressure canner.  I love having home made broth on hand.  Higher quality, more nutritious, and way less expensive.  No cans, jars or boxes to dispose of!

Another big money saver and enhanced quality food is home canned beans.  I soak them to lower the phytic acid content, then can them.  They cook while under pressure. It’s about a third of a cup of dried beans to get a pint of canned beans.

I can things like broth and beans in cold weather when added heat in the house is welcome.  In hot weather, I set up to can outdoors.

I think you’ll did canning is a rich new world if you decide to take it up.  Have fun.

And I meant to say that most pressure canners are aluminum. If you can get a stainless steel one that is big enough to hold at least 7 quart jars, then you can also cook food directly in your canner, which might be quite handy at some point. To cook, directly in aluminum is not such a good idea in my opinion.

The safety note I would add is don’t ever shorten your boil/pressure times. Nine and one half minutes is Not 10 minutes..  People did die, of “sours” & “running off” & “scouwers” & “quickstep” (all names for persistent diarrhea) . And most fatally of “lockjaw”. These were common and not attributed to canning. Yes, follow the researched (such as Ball Book) times to be safe

My All American, no-gasket canner was absolutely worth the money and I use it all the time, most recently yesterday, for tomato sauce. But the money was only $30, we got it used. I did once take it to the local extension office to test the gauge and they said it need 11.5 pounds to actually make ten pounds pressure--so I use the 15 hole on the weight when I can meat. But I mostly use it for tomato sauce, not because water bath canning isn't perfectly safe, but just because I do my sauce this way: cook the tomatoes to soften enough to get through a strainer easily to delete the peels and seeds (which go to the chickens) then cook down the sauce to half. Yes I could do that in winter but then I'd need twice as many jars and lids, and more time every time we make spaghetti. I'm doing this cooking in my five gallon stainless steel pot--which is what I'd do the water bath canning in. So the jars are heating up in the pressure canner. I do water bath canning for pickles and jam. Salsa I might do either way. Incidentally, when I moved to WV forty some years ago, I found the local women canned their tomato sauce via the open kettle method--where you boil your jars, and pour boiling sauce into them, seal, and done. That is definitely not recommended and I wouldn't do it that way now, but I did it for years without problems. But tomatoes I think used to be more acidic than they are now--I do add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice to each quart of sauce. The pressure canner is a necessity for canning meat; we mostly turn our venison into burger and freeze it but if at some time electricity isn't available, which seems likely to me--we do have off-grid solar but if the grid goes down I expect to see local arriving in their pickup trucks with their guns, to take our panels--it would be good to have the canner. It is heavy but if you move the lid separately it isn't bad.

For just tomatoes I would not bother.   BUT I love my pressure canner!  I do meat, soup, veg, AND it can be used as a water bath canner if I need.   It is induction compatible and switching to an induction cooktop cut my electric bill by 60%.    

If you want to branch out into preserving OTHER foods then it's well worth it, imo.

As I do things differently, I'll bother posting here.  I DO pressure can my tomatoes, because I hate the way the sauce tastes with the extra acid (lemon juice/citric acid) added. Also I can stack jars.

I love pressure canning homemade bone broths a couple days after sending all the [chickens\pigs\sheep\goats] to the freezer, as then said broth is occupying space outside of a refrigerated environment (which is premium real estate). I keep ~3 jars of each in the pantry, and the rest is typically under a bed, in a plastic tote.  I've also pressure canned potatoes (makes for fast hash browns), and chicken, but not for a few years.

I'm also a huge fan of steam canners for anything others water bath. I inherited one from a fellow congregation member, and what do you know! USDA has recommendations for using them again! It takes so much less time/energy to heat/run.  But it isn't a pressure canner.  I use it for the jams, applesauces, pickles, grape juice, sorts of things.

Bee Brode wrote: as then said broth is occupying space outside of a refrigerated environment (which is premium real estate).

(hoping I did this quote thing right for once)

100% on the real estate comment.   It's my biggest motivation for getting my pressure canner; once i realized I can do bone broth, meat, shop bulk sales, etc. and STORE it all without needing freezer space I was sold.  I raw pack most things and it pressure cooks while canning, another time-saving piece.  

This is tangential, a question about pressure canning where experienced canners are gathered:

I’m searching and searching for why milk is on the list of verboten foods to can, as it most certainly is.  It seems no different than canning a liquid broth rich in proteins, and containing some fats.

Any help?

I'm not sure exactly why it's verboten, BUT, I've accidentally boiled (rather than simply scalded) my milk &/or cream, a couple times, and the results were a very bitter product, so I'm not sure I'd be interested in canning either - in either method. The one that confuses me is ghee...

I haven't done it, but I'm on canning lists where folks regularly can milk for long term storage.  I also see lots of failures from folks trying it.

Thanks, Shari Clark, for starting this thread. I want to learn how to can too, but I'm currently so green at it that whatever information I have is just a gigantic ball of hash in my head right now. The discussion here is just what I needed to clean out the clutter and start to get some organized data going.  

I've been watching BecomingAFarmGirl YouTube videos because #1 the woman is just a huge energy bomb, and #2 she does have something good to say on urban gardening, canning, fermenting, and being a thrift-aholic. She lives in a townhome and has a lot of verticle planters for what she grows. And #3 she's a joy to watch.  Here's her take on using a turkey roaster to make (very) large batches of salsa. https://becomingafarmgirl.com/canning-large-batch-salsa-the-easy-way/  Who knew that you can use a "roaster oven" as a gigantic pot? I sure the heck didn't.

Anyway, best of luck on your canning journey. You've come to a good place for valuable information.

Betty Garnett wrote:
Great questions.
I have been canning for a couple years now. I saw a video of someone canning beef stew. I had to do it. I love soup and convenience meals. Taking that step was the best thing I could have done. I love canning. So I will go over some of these concerns with you and you will make the best choice for your family and just keep on rolling!

1.The controversy around "rebel canning" and following all the guidelines perfectly
I wouldn't worry about this so much. Can the right way and the rules are out there. It isn't worth the risk and don't listen to anyone that says it is. If they want to can out of the box, great. I am sure my grandmother did it. I might do it when I am seasoned. But stick to the rules and all will be good.
2.the possibility of blowing up the kitchen if I make a mistake
With newer canners, this is almost impossible. They have so many relief options that you would have to do something really dumb to make it blow. Just don't use a vintage canner.
3.The time it will take - yes it takes time. But the reward is amazing when those jars seal and you have really tasty and healthy food from YOUR garden preserved to feed your family.
4. The space I need to find in our small home for all the equipment - I have an All American 921 I believe that fits 7 quarts. It just fits under a table. It isn't that big or heavy and you can just it for water bath canning also or making a big batch of stew.
5.The chance of messing it up and poisoning my family (as alluded to in the first point ) - This was my ultimate concern. I still worry about this with canned meat. It is just because it looks weird and the fat in it can make it look a different color. Trust your senses. Check the lid when opened, was it too easy or hard to pop off? How does it smell? You will know. Also I believe boiling for 10 mins kills botulism (don't quote me on that but look it up yourself to be safe)

Lastly, the great family that got me hooked was Homesteading Family (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyTQMVyIfjU). I also recommend ( and I get nothing for this recommendation, I just love the resource) www.schooloftraditionalskills.com. They have her canning class and many other awesome educational homesteading classes.

Hope that helps and feel free to ask any other questions if they come up. Good luck!

Thank you so much, Betty! This was so reassuring to me and I feel your passion around canning. It makes me excited to try it, too! Thanks for the offer to help answer questions, too. I will check out your recommendations.

I feel it is easier to learn to can with the water bath method.

Folks can buy a special canner or use a large stock pot.

Once a person is comfortable with canning then they might want to start learning to can meat and other items that require a pressure canner.

The Ball Blue Book is what I used to learn to can.

This is the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning:

https://permies.com/wiki/100765/USDA-Complete-Guide-Home-Canning

The best thing about this book is that it can be downloaded for free:  nchfp.uga.edu/publications/USDA  

Thank you, Anne! I appreciate the resources and I love the idea of learning on the water bath method and "graduating" to the pressure canner after I get used to it. Have a great night!