canning green beans and salsa?

[LindsayArthurRTR]

HahaHa! Turkey fryer is not the norm for me, but I had something like 24 quarts of greenbeans that needed canned. We just couldn't keep the pressure constant on the glasstop. It wouldgo from the guage having no movement, to the guage shooting off in matter of seconds!!! I needed something quick, and that's the only thing I could think of at the time.

Gardengirl, I would seriously consider starting to pressure can your salsa.

Apple, aluminum is great to cook with. Especially to bake with

[garden5]

Gas appliances are best for canning. I have done it with electric, but many electric ranges won't hold up under the strain. Both elements and switches often go out.

What do you mean by this? Are you saying that the elements can't remain hot long enough to maintain temperature/pressure in the caner?

Also, does using a pressure caner drastically reduce to risk of botulism contamination.

[applestar]

Also, does using a pressure caner drastically reduce to risk of botulism contamination.

... I think this was covered pretty thoroughly on the 1st page of this thread (as well as few other recent threads, for that matter -- you folks are amazing!) Take a look and see what you think. Maybe if you have specific questions after reading the comments and the links, these wonderful canning experts could answer them for you.

... I'm thinking if a 15.5 qt can handle a single layer of quart and pint jars (7 qts or 10 pts ... or even 6 qts and 9 pts) at a time, it might be enough for me, just *might* be able to manage on the glasstop on the one burner with a regulator (or whatever it is -- it has a special function), and will take a smaller bite out of my wallet.... hmm...

[LindsayArthurRTR]

Oooooo! You could get one of those fancy- schmancy new electric pressure canners. They are SUPER slick!!! I think if anything ever happens to mine (god forbid) Imma get one of those

[shadowsmom]

Yeah. Mine does that too. But DH's gas grill has a side burner....

Ours does also, but I found that the pot didn't sit quite centered on it. I bought one of those gas operated turkey fryers (I have never fried a turkey! ) and use it ouside on the flagstone for canning. Heats up quickly and doesn't heat up the house. I really wish I had one 20 years ago.

[garden5]

....sorry Apps, I was kind of "typing out loud" when I did that . I'll try to practice what I say and use the search feature .

Lindsey, how does the electric caner work? Does it plug into the wall and supply its own heat?

[LindsayArthurRTR]

Yep. It does!

[jal_ut]

Gas appliances are best for canning. I have done it with electric, but many electric ranges won't hold up under the strain. Both elements and switches often go out.

What do you mean by this? Are you saying that the elements can't remain hot long enough to maintain temperature/pressure in the caner?

We had one electric range that we had to replace the switches and heating elements yearly at the end of the canning season. They would just burn out with the demands of canning. I got so disgusted with it that I found a gas range and had it converted to propane so we could get something done. No natural gas where we lived at the time.

Many sporting goods stores have nicepropane gas camp stoves with either two or three burners. Some of my friends are using those to can on. They do it out on the patio so the house doesn't heat up. Fortunately we have natural gas where we are now and a gas range.

Did I mention I had a large family? We used to can over 1000 jars a year. We have two of the 19 pint AA canners and two of the 7 quart/9 pint canners. It was great to have two of the same size for when we were doing large amounts of something. It takes quite a while to run a batch through a cooker and with two we could get two batches done in a little over the time it would take to do one. We used the small kettles when canning in quarts and the large ones for pints. All except one kettle we found at the second hand store for pennies compared to store price on new.

Edit to add: If you read the data sent with electric ranges, you may find a paragraph that says home canning will void the warranty. The manufacturers know their product will not hold up under the strain.

[garden5]

Gas appliances are best for canning. I have done it with electric, but many electric ranges won't hold up under the strain. Both elements and switches often go out.

What do you mean by this? Are you saying that the elements can't remain hot long enough to maintain temperature/pressure in the caner?

We had one electric range that we had to replace the switches and heating elements yearly at the end of the canning season. They would just burn out with the demands of canning. I got so disgusted with it that I found a gas range and had it converted to propane so we could get something done. No natural gas where we lived at the time.

Many sporting goods stores have nicepropane gas camp stoves with either two or three burners. Some of my friends are using those to can on. They do it out on the patio so the house doesn't heat up. Fortunately we have natural gas where we are now and a gas range.

Did I mention I had a large family? We used to can over 1000 jars a year. We have two of the 19 pint AA canners and two of the 7 quart/9 pint canners. It was great to have two of the same size for when we were doing large amounts of something. It takes quite a while to run a batch through a cooker and with two we could get two batches done in a little over the time it would take to do one. We used the small kettles when canning in quarts and the large ones for pints. All except one kettle we found at the second hand store for pennies compared to store price on new.

Edit to add: If you read the data sent with electric ranges, you may find a paragraph that says home canning will void the warranty. The manufacturers know their product will not hold up under the strain.

Thanks for going into detail, Jal. It looks like if I get into canning, I'll be going with one of Linday's electric models.

How long did it take you, Jal, to get all of your canning done each year? It must have been a few weeks, at least .

[jal_ut]

You can things when in season. The harvest and canning activities spread out over several months. That doesn't mean you can every day for months, it means you can tomatoes when you have them etc.

[garden5]

Oh yeah, I had a brain freeze on that one. I can see how useful determinate tomatoes are from a canning perspective. You have you canning crop all ready up front. I guess if you can, it adds a whole other dimension to your garden planning process, specifically the harvest times.