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food preservation

pressure cooker arrived and I'm scared

Kaarina Kreus

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I bought an inordinately expensive 6 gallon pressure cooker and was thinking "once I get it, I'll can all those thngs I was unable to can in waterbath".
Well.
So much for planning.
It sits on my table snd I'm reading using instructions and I'm PETRIFIED.
This bomb will hiss and whizz and probably explode and I have nobody to ask for advice.
My most pressing question:
How much water do I need to pour into it to safely can? And how long do the cans have to sit there to eliminate the risk of botulism?
And what kind of glass is safe to use?

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Anne Miller

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That is a great looking pressure canner.

Do read all the instructions that came with the canner.

What is a safety can?

I could be wrong though different brands might use more or less water.

Mine says 1 1/2 inches of water in the bottom of the canner.

Only use jars that are made specially for canning.

I take my jar out after processing and place them where they will not be disturbed to allow the jars to cool.

When cool, about 12 hour the test the seal.

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John F Dean

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To can safely put and inch or two of water in the bottom. Much, for me, depends upon the canning times. The longer the canning times, the more water I use. So, for meats I use more water…for tomatoes I use less. The 1.5 inches mentioned by Anne is a reasonable amount for general purposes. You will need to find a guide on canning times and pressure. I use 10 minutes at 10 pounds for tomatoes. I go 1.5 hours for meat at 10 pounds.

The challenge i see is that, I think, you are using a wood stove. Keeping the temperature consistent may be a challenge. For canning purposes, I would be very tempted to buy an lp burner and lp tank. But, by all means give it a try on the wood stove first … just be careful.

Pressure canners have a pressure release plug. There is little chance of a real explosion. I did have a 35 year old old plug release on me. It was exciting. No one was hurt, but there was a mess in the kitchen. There was a good deal of very hot water sprayed around the kitchen. I am now more cautious of how I position myself in relation to the plug.

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John F Dean

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Here is a table from Kerr.

https://www.kerrhomecanning.com/p/canning-time-tables.html

As for your question on canning jars, I suspect USA and European practices differ. Kerr and Ball jars are pretty standard here. I am pretty sure other brands are commonly in use in Europe.

….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.

Kaarina Kreus

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Thanks Anne and John! Gosh I love this forum!

I have recycled cans that used to have industrially produced food. I'd guess their production temps are at pressure canning level. And I have these silicon sealed ones. I guess the worst that can happen is that I get soup instead of canned produce 😄

The woodstove is a personality, but I'm.used to it. In the restaurant we had these huge steel plates that were turned on in the morning and off in the evening. We used risers to control the temperatures and I do the same with my wood stove. I add up to three to control the temps.

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John F Dean

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I have avoided jars purchased in grocery stores that come with food in them unless they are specifically marked with the name of a known canning jar manufacturer. This is not due to experience. I have been told they will break in the pressure canner. I have no idea if this is true.

Oh yes, for the pressure canners I have, running them over 15 pounds is not a good idea. Not a good idea …as in dangerous. Commercial canners work at much higher pressures. I am not familiar with the canner you have.

….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.

Kaarina Kreus

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John, you are saying "run tem over 15 pounds"
Sorry English is not my native tongue.
So you mean that is the limit no matter how big the pressure cooker?
Mine is 6 gallon.

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John F Dean

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The pressure guage on my pressure canner shows red above 15 pounds. The one experience I had with the pressure release plug blowing was when I got distracted and the needle on the guage went over 15 pounds. Your pressure canner may have a different means of controlling pressure,,such as a weight.

Your English seems to be excellent.

….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.

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I’m with John on not using jars from commercially-canned products unless I recognize the maker of the jar (there’s a pasta sauce brand here in the States, for example, that uses Ball jars and they have the imprint “Ball” directly on the jar). Unlike his statement, though, I have tried it. About a third of the jars broke during canning. Not exactly the result I was hoping for! Big mess, difficult to clean up without cutting oneself on all the glass in the canner, and a huge waste. I save those non-canning jars for dry goods or for storing things in the fridge.

Pressure canning is just a new skill. You can learn this! Read lots, watch some YouTube videos on the process, and give it a try! Beans are a great first project because they are cheap (lower stakes if you’re afraid it won’t go well), easy to do (make sure to soak them first), and give you practice with all the steps without any chopping or having to worry about a recipe. They’re also useful to have! Give it a try and let us know how it goes!

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Jay Angler

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Kaarina, a close-up picture of any dials/safety valves on your cooker would be helpful for me. My pressure canner is very old (~30 years) and the instructions say to let the steam escape for 7 minutes, then put the "weight" on. The weight is a narrow cylinder with 3 holes in it of different sizes, marked 5 pounds, 10 pounds and 15 pounds. High acid foods are fine at 5 pounds, and I've never tried things like meat or fish, but I understand that they would use the higher pounds.

There are fancier canners that have actual dials etc which I would have more trust in if canning low acid foods.

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John F Dean

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I am with Jay, a photo of the lid on the canner and any accessories that come with it would help.

….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.

Carla Burke

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John, if you can post a picture of yours, it might help, for comparison purposes, too.

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Alder Burns

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I lived in an intentional community for years where over 1000 jars of various things were canned every year, with a big set-up with four 16 quart pressure cookers run with an external steam boiler, such that they could all be run at once! It was intense! But we learned from trial and error that basically if a jar will fit a canning ring, you can can in that jar with no more risk of breakage or seal failure than with a bona-fide "canning jar". We got hold of many many free jars once we realized this, since a lot of store products are sold in pint and quart sized jars that fit canning lids just fine....mayo, mustard, tomato sauce, honey etc. We would raid recycling centers for good jars! The more important issue is to treat jars carefully...not only to avoid chipping or cracking the rim bit never use a sharp implement like a knife to release air bubbles or manipulate the food down in the jars...these can leave microscopic hairline scratches that can become starting places for cracks in later re-uses. As far as "fear" around the canner goes, there are lots of video tutorials available on line to follow. You might try canning some water as a test...

Anne Miller

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I wonder if a Test run would help the fear factor?

Add the recommended water without any jars or cans, then close the lid, and pretend to use the pressure canner on the wood stove.

Let the canner build up pressure, see if it will hold a steady pressure then let cool before opening the canner.

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Jane Mulberry

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Kaarina, the 15 pounds, 10 pounds etc mentioned mean the pressure the cooker is run at. Pounds per square inch as a measurement of pressure, not 15 pounds of produce in the canner. If yours is a pressure cooker made for Europe it will use metric pressure units so the numbers will be different .

Is it a pressure cooker or a pressure canner? I don't think the two are quite the same, as I've seen advice not to use a regular pressure cooker for canning, though I am not sure why. I've never used a pressure canner, only regular water bath canning. Reusing good glass jars from supermarket purchased products doesn't seem to be a problem for water bath use, but jar failure might be more likely if they're used to pressure can.

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Tereza Okava

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I also use lots of commercial jars without problems, but only for water bath canning, not pressure canning.

Kaarina, pressure cooking is like any other thing- make sure your gear is in good working order, check the seal and the safety valve every time you use it, and you'll be fine (maybe as John mentions, be careful of where the valve is pointing). I've had the safety valve blow out once (when the steam vent got clogged) and it was indeed really scary, but it was the safety valve doing its job. You bet I check all the vents and valves every time now.

A big cooker like that full of hot water will be potentially dangerous, so maybe think about your stove setup in case you need to quickly move it off the heat (since on a wood stove you can't just turn it off)-- think about how you could easily slide it back to a cool spot, for example.

John F Dean

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An excellent question is being raised here. Do you have a pressure cooker or a pressure canner? If it is a pressure cooker, I have never canned using one.

….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.

Kaarina Kreus

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Yip. A 450$ pressure cooker. 6 gallons. I hope I haven't wasted my money 🤢

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Kaarina Kreus

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More photos

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Jane Mulberry

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Definitely a pressure cooker, not a canner. A beautiful one! We need someone to explain what the difference is between a pressure cooker and a pressure canner.

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Christopher Weeks

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That pressure cooker: https://www.sousvidetools.com/pressure-cookers/artame-23l-luna-pressure-cooker (there is an attached video that seems to depict using the cooker for canning)

This article talks about canning in a pressure cooker: https://warmmass.com/can-you-use-pressure-cooker-for-canning/ -- it seems to my quick reading like the primary difference is that a cooker is lighter than a canner which means, with less thermal mass, it heats up and cools down more quickly, so you have to bump up the canning time some to account for the lack of heat used.

As far as I know, the most authoritative online resource for canning in general is this: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can

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Jay Angler

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One key difference between a pressure canner and a pressure cooker is that many cookers don't have an accurate reading of how hot they get inside, whereas the quality canners either have a gauge, or in my case, a "weight" that is supposedly an accurate representation of how much pressure and heat is inside.

If a company says their cooker is set up to can at a particular pressure, that should be trustworthy as companies don't want people suing them for damages. The things it says you can can may be more limited than a heavier duty intended canner, but the instructions should tell you that.

My pressure canner is definitely a beefier, thicker walled pot than my cooker is, as Christopher reported.

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John F Dean

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What I am getting is that 80kPa (the highest setting according to the manufacturer) is equal to 11.5 psi. If that information is accurate, you should be able to use it for canning.

Be sure the jars are at the recommended pressure for the entire recommended time.

….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.

John F Dean

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This is a pressure canner.

https://pleasanthillgrain.com/all-american-pressure-canner-cooker-home-canning

….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.

Christopher Weeks

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One other difference, our pressure canners come with a rack that goes into the bottom of the main vessel and separates the glass jars from the extra hot bottom of the pot. Your cooker probably didn't, so you need to buy or improvise something, I read about someone who puts marbles in the bottom for that purpose.

Also, I saw a few pages talking about using pressure cookers for canning and they all pointed out that the USDA says to only do it if your cooker is large enough for four quart-size (roughly one liter in literate-nation speak) canning jars to fit inside. But I'm pretty sure yours is way big enough for that, so not really a concern.

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Kaarina Kreus wrote:Thanks Anne and John! Gosh I love this forum!

I have recycled cans that used to have industrially produced food. I'd guess their production temps are at pressure canning level. And I have these silicon sealed ones. I guess the worst that can happen is that I get soup instead of canned produce 😄

The woodstove is a personality, but I'm.used to it. In the restaurant we had these huge steel plates that were turned on in the morning and off in the evening. We used risers to control the temperatures and I do the same with my wood stove. I add up to three to control the temps.

Here in USA we call them jars, but then again we call it "canning" LOL

That said I am interested in the silicon sealed ones you speak of, can you give me the name or a link to the lids you use?

Thank you !

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Kaarina Kreus

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The silicone jar

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