Should I get a pressure cooker or just a canning pot?

Thu Aug 23, 2012 10:25 pm

Hi,

If you had the money to go either way would you get a pressure cooker or just one of those pots for hot water bath? Reason I ask is, I am sort of a beginner canner. I also don't get tons of produce from my garden. So far I have canned pickling cukes and peppers. I want to move onto making sauce and maybe canning other things. But the other things are not absolutely important. Like if I can make sauce and pickles I would be fine but if I could can beans and other veggies that would be cool too. But like I say, it is not really important.

To give you an idea how much produce I get out of my garden: I got about 65 pickles off of 4 vines and was able pickle about 8 jars worth. So far I have only done 1 jar of peppers although in the Fall I expect to get 1-2 more jars. I had a bad year with tomatoes, but I grow about 3 plants each year. And next year I will grow San Marzano or another sauce type. If I grow only 1 San Marzano how many jars (quarts or pints) should I expect? What other things could I can that would make canning more worthwhile? Thx

Fri Aug 24, 2012 1:06 am

The difference between getting a pressure cooker and a hot water bath canner has nothing to do with quantity of stuff you might be canning (though since the pressure cookers are considerably more expensive, it might be less worth spending the money for very small quantities).

It has to do with what you are canning. As long as you only can high acid stuff, i.e. tomatoes, anything pickled, some acidic fruits, you can get by with hot water canner. It's all I have. If you want to can beans or anything else not high acid (most veggies and a lot of fruits), you MUST have pressure canner (unless you pickle everything).

I wouldn't worry about the money too much... it is a one time investment. If you buy a pressure canner, you can use it for the rest of your life and pass it on to your children.

I get by with the hot water bath, because I freeze most stuff (and I have a small garden, so I'm not dealing with huge quantities).

Fri Aug 24, 2012 2:49 am

This isn't a huge point, but you can use the pressure canner for hotwaterbath canning. You just need a regular lid that fits. I would get a pressure canner if money is no object/not an issue.

I still don't have one -- I do have a 5 qt. pressure cooker with a weight that supposedly indicates the interior pressure when it's doing something (jiggling?) and producing a steady steam plume of x" high (I think 8") -- that seem like rather unreliable indicator of actual pressure. It IS tall enough to can pint jars and squat jars.

But what I really want is the pressure CANNER with dial gauge and machined fit. Expensive and I can't use those on my glass-top stove-- so this is something to keep in mind.

It's OK though. There are a lot of recipes I can experiment with just hotwaterbath canning, and I still have a lot to learn. I want to get comfortable with the basic process.

..but when I see people posting about their pressure canned stuff, I do get the itch to try making them.... :wink:

I have wondered though -- the larger canners get extremely heavy after adding all the water and filled jars, so they sell lighter weight aluminum canners as well as stainless steel. Typically hotwaterbath canning is done with acid food, and some amount of the contents get pushed out of the jars each time, and it can take hours for the hot water to cool even after the jars are taken out.

Do the aluminum canners get pitted, etc?

Stainless canners could double as stockpots, crab/lobster pots, but I wouldn't use aluminum ones for cooking. Do owners of pressure canners use them for pressure cooking as well as canning?

Tue Aug 28, 2012 12:00 pm

Both they will pay forthemselfs the first year! And you have to have both if you can like I do!

Wed Aug 29, 2012 6:41 am

Here is how and where I do all my canning. This camp stove holds the weight of both full of water and filled jars real good, and it keeps the mess and heat of canning out side.

Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:13 am

very nice! I love that you are doing it outdoors and not heating up your house. It is always a pain that canning starts in August or even July when it is so hot and then you have to run the stove all that time.

Wed Aug 29, 2012 11:52 am

rainbowgardener wrote:very nice! I love that you are doing it outdoors and not heating up your house. It is always a pain that canning starts in August or even July when it is so hot and then you have to run the stove all that time.

Yep I used to help my Grandma can out doors. They had a small cook shed with a woodburning stove that she used to can in. The front was the door when you opened it you were standing in front of the stove but out side. I just open the garage door and sit there and listen to the reds games.

Wed Aug 29, 2012 12:56 pm

I have a pressure canner as said it can used for both.

BUT don't make the mistake my MIL did when getting it for me for christmas. The one I have is ONLY a pressure canner it is not tall enough for water bath. Trust me I tried and water goes everywhere.

But if I was to start over I would go "pressure" but tall just in case.