How do you can using a pressure cooker?
Regular “pressure cookers” (both stovetop and electric ones) aren’t safe for “canning” (except for regular water-bath canning which you could do in any large pot and doesn’t require pressure) since their pressures don’t consistently stay high enough for that purpose.For safe canning, you’d need a “pressure canner.” Those look a little like pressure cookers but are larger and usually have a dial plus a few other things on the lid or at the rim:pressure canner - Google SearchThe brand called Instant Pot has recently released a model called “Instant Pot Max” which actually does have a canning feature, and which they say will stay consistently at 15 psi for canning.But it hasn’t actually been tested (for low acid foods) by some of the groups interested in canning equipment so whether it’s safe for those foods or not, has not been “tested and proved” yet, so is still somewhat up in the air although that may be happening now.
What brand of pressure cooker or canner do you use for preserving home foods? What has worked best for you?
I have an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, and am able to can high-acid foods in it if I don’t just want to use any large pot with a lid for high-acid foods (jams, most fruits, etc). (I love my Instant Pot and use it almost daily for cooking all kinds of foods.)However, it takes a pressure *canner* rather than a pressure *cooker* to can low-acid foods (meats, most veggies) which I don’t have (and not particularly interested in canning those foods or would have to buy a pressure canner).
I need a recipe for canning plums in a pressure cooker?
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What pressure cooker would you recommend for canning meats?
None.You use a pressure CANNER to can meats. There’s a big difference in how a pressure cooker and pressure canner heat up and cool down, and that affects the time needed to process.If you’re only going to canning occasionally, the Presto pressure canner is lightweight, inexpensive and easy to use. Downside, you need to replace the pressure gasket once in a while, the gaskets don’t keep well so you can’t store an extra, and mine always fail just as I’m starting a big batch of canning. Oh, and if you want to do pint or half-pint jars, you’ll need to get a second rack, AND to save your sanity, you’ll want to get a weighted gauge. The gauge on the pot is horribly inaccurate.But as I said, it’s inexpensive. I’ve used mine, a 23 quart, for nearly ten years. It can hold 7 quart jars or 18 pint jars. It’s called a ‘cooker/canner’, but it’s made from aluminum and the inside of mine is seriously pitted from hard water. I’d never cook anything directly in the pot. I do my pressure cooking in an Instant Pot now since it has a stainless steel pot. But you do NOT pressure can in an Instant Pot.If you’re planning to do a lot of canning over decades, invest in an All American - they come in various sizes. My mother has one, and it’s what I should have bought in the first place. There are no gaskets or parts to be replaced. It seals metal on metal and lasts forever. It comes with the right pressure gauge AND the taller ones come with a second rack. It is, however, a monster of a machine and costs a lot more than a Presto does.
What size pressure cooker should I get for jars?
You can get up to a 7 qt size.. and it ll do 16 pts ... You can t go wrong in the long run getting the big good quality one GL
Maitre's pressure canner use?
I bought a used Maitre's pressure canner that didn't come with a manual. I figured i'd be able to find info on it on the internet but no luck. It's 13 quarts, has a twist on lid with a removable gasket, a shelf to keep the jars off of the bottom, and (what's mainly confusing me) an unusual looking regulator. It looks like a ball with four holes around the middle and a black knob on top that dissasembles it. I did find a page where they sell this regulator, it has a picture if you'd like to see it. http://www.goodmans.net/i/2202/maitres-59849-pressure-cooker-and-canner-regulator.htm All of the other pressure canners seem to have numbered weights or gauges. I have no idea how to use this thing. A download of a manual would be awesome but i'd gladly take any other advice. I'm somewhat new to canning. Both of my grandmothers were avid canners but unfortunately they are not around any longer for me to ask. So I have a basic idea but not processing it correctly and causing food poisioning worries me. Thanks for any help.
Can I can anything in a pressure canner?
No.You can process some things, including tomatoes, in a water-bath canner, because there are enough natural preservatives (salt, sugar, acid) in those foods to kill harmful microorganisms when the food is raised to boiling temperatures. You can process many other things, including many meats, fish, and vegetables, in a pressure canner. A pressure canner gets things hotter than the temperature of boiling water, so it can kill more and different microorganisms.You can tell which are which by consulting the USDA guide to home canning, which, being a US government-sponsored publication, you may find online in its entirety here: USDA Publications. You may also order a print copy for $19, which is likely not a lot more than the cost of printing. That guide also specifies standards of cleanliness and freshness, and lists quantities, additives (if it's necessary to add salt, sugar, or lemon juice, for example), and process times and pressures for pressure canning. Treat these lists as formulas and follow them closely. If you don't find a particular food listed in that guide, assume you cannot safely process it at home.For things like Alfredo sauce and stir fry, you might see if you get good results freezing them. There are many guides to freezer cooking, including the free guides to freezing and drying here: Complete Guide to Home Canning
Should I be smelling cooked food when pressure canning?
Is it possible that you are smelling the food that you put into jars? It may be possible that some of the contents in the jars has over flowed into the pressure canner and you are smelling that as the steam is released. Once the process is completed make sure the jars are sealed well and if there is any residual food on the jar wipe that off. If the lids are sealed all should be well. But I would keep an eye on them just to make sure they don't pop if the seal was compromised in any way.
How do you can asparagus without a pressure canner?
You’d need a pressure *canner* to can low-acid foods like meats and most veggies, although high-acid foods like many fruits and jams can be canned in any large pot with a lid. Pressure “cookers” can be used for those high-acid foods in the same way as above but not low-acid foods.There are other ways to *preserve* things like asparagus though that aren’t “canning” which involves heat. Some would be quick-pickling or fermenting probably too, dehydrating, and freezing.(And btw asparagus can be *cooked* in a pressure cooker al dente and without turning it to mush. Just don’t cook the asparagus “too long”, which would also be true for other cooking methods.)