Pressure canning is easier than you think

If I can do it, anyone can!

The device I used to fear has become an irreplaceable aide to me.

We have all heard those “pressure canner horror stories” through the years: canners blowing their tops, embedding jars in the ceiling; how dangerous they are, etc. It may have happened once out of a million canner loads 80 years ago, folks, but it just doesn’t happen anymore.

Pressure canners for use in the home were extensively redesigned beginning in the 1970's. Models made before then were heavy-walled kettles with clamp-on or turn-on lids. They were fitted with a dial gauge, a vent pipe in the form of a petcock or covered with a counterweight, and a safety fuse. Most modern pressure canners are lightweight, thin-walled kettles; most have turn-on lids fitted with gaskets. Modern pressure canners have removable racks, an automatic vent/cover lock, a vent pipe (steam vent), and a safety fuse.

I obtained an old 1946 National Model 7 Pressure Canner from my husband’s buddy in 2009. We ordered (online) a new sealing ring (gasket) for the lid and a Ball canning guide from the Presto company, who stock hard-to-find parts for Presto, Mirro and the now-defunct National Pressure Cooker Co. The old dial gauge was in working order so we used it (it has since been replaced).

As intimidated as I was by the very name of the device (PRESSURE canner) I was equally determined to become less dependant on electricity for food preservation.

We have a small chest freezer that just can’t begin to accommodate a good sale on meat, vegetables or a dozen gallons of cider. Another friend of my husband’s, himself a devout canner of vegetables and meat, helped me test an initial load in the canner and got me started on my way.

I cannot remember what I first canned; I just know that I got so hooked my relatives just shake their heads now and sigh, “There she goes again.”

You don't have to be a gardener to can. Much of what I process is purchased from stores, farmers' markets or obtained from neighbors. The best discovery I have made from pressure canning is: meat is the easiest thing of all.

Ground Sausage

You don’t peel it,  blanch it, or have to make a syrup for it. You don’t even have to sterilize your clean canning jars, because the temperatures reached in the pressure canner are higher than a rolling boil in a water bath canner. You trim the fat off your raw chicken, ham, pork, beef, venison, fish or whatever, slice it to fit the size of jar you’re using, pack it with as few air pockets as possible, and stick it in the canner. (The only meat you should precook are ground meats.) Heating a cooker with 2-3 inches of water sure beats a water bath canner with over a foot of water in it. Set a timer, check the gauge every 15 minutes and let the canner do the rest.

Benefits of canning

It’s satisfying work. It’s so handy to just grab a jar off the shelf and have fork-tender meat to use for a meal - just heat and serve. Apples are already sliced for pies, green beans ready to heat, mushrooms sliced and ready for pizza. Sometimes I leave the jars of vegetables or meat just sit out for a couple of days so I can look at them. Sounds silly, but I have heard other ‘canners’ say the same thing.

Butter

In my zeal for the craft, I have crossed the line and canned some unconventional foods not approved by Ball or the FDA. Some have worked and some have not. It’s amazing what you can find on YouTube. I canned butter and it worked. I canned cheese but it burns easily and soft cheeses darken. I canned cider and it worked out well but, because it's now pasteurized, is essentially apple juice. I have canned milk - not recommended at all by experts - and it comes out like light evaporated milk. After a year it's not as palatable as I hoped, so I'm still working on that.

Meat Loaf

I did can meat loaf and - though it looks like Alpo when you slide it out of the jar - it tastes a whole lot better! My meat loaf-loving husband can now have a ‘fix’ anytime he wants it. Even he was impressed by that one. I was hesitant to can bacon slices until I found out Yoder's has been selling canned bacon (packed the very same way I learned from YouTube) for almost 30 years. My oldest jar is only a year old so far, but it cooks up very well and tastes great.

My relatives joke that I will can anything. Not true. I saw someone 'can' hot dogs on YouTube. I do not intend to try that.

It happens...

There are ‘accidents’ from time to time. A jar will break in the canner because there was an air pocket between the glass and the food, a jar won’t seal, etc. But problems are few and far between.

Cost of Canning

It doesn’t have to be expensive to can, either. The majority of the jars I have used so far have come out of friends’ basements or barns, garage sales and second hand stores.

Most I got for free or paid very little for and, after a good soaking and scrubbing, they are good as new if they aren’t chipped. All they need are new lids and occasionally new rings; both are much cheaper than buying new cases of jars all the time. Jars range in size from half-gallon to 4 ozs., so there’s always a size to suit your needs. I prefer wide mouth jars when I can get them because solid foods, such as meats, are much easier to remove. For liquids or soft foods, the regular mouth jars are just fine.

Results of a good day of canning!

I suppose I’ll get this “canning bug” out of my system one of these days. Maybe it’s what middle-aged women do when they get to that ‘practical’ stage of life. But a surprising number of the canning videos I’ve watch on YouTube are made by men and by younger women in their 20’s and 30’s.

Canning food was once done out of necessity. Today it has become an opportunity to take control of the food you and your family consume. If the jars of food are stored properly, you'll always be certain of the quality and freshness of the food in your pantry.