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Farm Kitchen:  To buy a pressure canner or not  |
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vegetarian farmer
True Blue Farmgirl
249 Posts
Jane
Freedom
pa
USA
249 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 09:42:44 AM
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I have been mostly freezing and water bath canning all of my produce because, quite frankly, I am scared of the pressure cooker. I read all the warnings and think it is easier to freeze. But this year I was thinking of canning the beans and a few other vegetables. If I get one I would like to get a good one that lasts a long while and will not kill me. Lehmans has a lovely one for $239. My mother gave me an old one but it has no instructions and just a thing on top that giggles, no pressure dial, so I have not used it.This seems like an expensive purchase. I do not eat meats so no need to can those. Would this be a wise purchase for just vegetables or should I stick with the way I am doing it. Or is it a great thing that I would use to justify the purchase?
http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/ |
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sherone_13
True Blue Farmgirl
2460 Posts
Sherone
Evanston
WY
USA
2460 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 11:14:08 AM
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Jane,
I love my pressure canner. We do all kinds of vegies in the fall and they last all year. I might feel a little nervous about an old one because the seal may need to be replaced. If you figure up how much you spend on vegies a year, I think you will be amazed that a new one would pay for itself quickly. Look around the internet for a better price, though. I love Lehman's, but sometimes their prices are on the high end.
Let us know what you decide.
Sherone
Farmgirl Sister #1682
My Blog - www.annapearlsattic.blogspot.com
Etsy Store - www.annapearlsattic.etsy.com
Women are angels. When someone breaks our wings, we just jump on our broomsticks and fly! We are flexible that way! |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 11:26:05 AM
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I love my pressure canner too and can't imagine not using it. I think it paid for itself many many many years ago. I have had mine (an inexpensive Presto) for over 20 years. As long as you have the dial checked (any home extension office does it for free or very cheaply) every year or two and make sure the gasket isn't dry cracked (mine has lasted over ten years) you are good. It isn't scary when you follow the directions. You can't be leaving the room but you will love it. I usually spend the pressure canning time either peeling or prepping more veggies or fruit or even taking a quiet time to read or knit in the kitchen. I have been given old pressure canners as well, but I would suggest an inexpensive new one myself. I can up veggie soups, vegetarian chili and mixed veggies as well as simpler veg. We do eat meat, but I love to have meatless days and I find the canned veg stay nice much longer than the frozen.
Have fun!!
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1403 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1403 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 11:32:43 AM
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I love my Presto canner. I have had it for about 35 years or so and have replaced the rubber rings and the pressure rubber thing several times. I don't can as much as I used to, but would like to can green beans in half pint jars this year. Tomatoes really go fast in the pressure canner. I'm afraid of them too, but I stand and watch when it is under pressure. No leaving the kitchen!
Betty in Pasco |
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quiltin mama
True Blue Farmgirl
436 Posts
Heather
Crescent City
CA
USA
436 Posts |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1143 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1143 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 11:57:25 AM
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Jane,
I have not pressure canned, but I have pressure cooked, and it really isn't bad at all. The first time you do it, you are nervous, but when you get used to the way the relief valve rocks, it isn't bad at all. After all, if it get's to rocking too much, you just turn down the heat! It's really not that bad. Just make sure you buy a pressure canner, not a cooker. They are not the same :0) I would check around for prices.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 12:22:00 PM
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I have just gotten 2 older canners that wound up be great buys as everything works. I am a pressure canning newbie as well. I did find a few new models I liked, but life kept me from gettin them. The website canningpantry.com has great prices and lots of great toys. I love Lehmans though cause they have stuff you can't get anywhere else. I stumbled across an old co-op canner that holds 16 quart jars! It has a newer guage on it, so it can be replaced if it gets broke and it is all standard sizes so everything is still available for them. My grandma taught me how to figure up your cannin cost versus buyin cost and I also called the electric company to inquire about the cost of 2 freezers. They explained that with only a ten year life span we would only break even and not come out ahead. So I decided to start cannin and do my soup and sauces on the camp fire like grandma did. I don't think I'm quite ready to start cannin there like she did, maybe in a few years. I will be usin a turkey fryer stand and propane tamk for the canner out by the fire.
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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vegetarian farmer
True Blue Farmgirl
249 Posts
Jane
Freedom
pa
USA
249 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 12:33:57 PM
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Well, looks like the yes box is getting checked and no no's. Angela, I have always wondered what the freezer cost is. My freezer is over 25 years old so it is not an energy star and I bet uses tons of electricity. How did they tell you to figure that out? I do always worry the power will go out and I will lose a freezer full of food. Shelf stable seems so comforting knowing your food is safe without power.
http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/ |
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Sarahpauline
True Blue Farmgirl
672 Posts
sarah
Ringgold
GA
USA
672 Posts |
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1badmamawolf
True Blue Farmgirl
2199 Posts
Teresa
"Bent Fence Farms"
Ca
USA
2199 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 1:50:47 PM
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I have had my presto's for as long as I can remember, you can buy new seals and guages on their website, which I do as needed. They are the happy medium price, and have been around forever.
"Treat the earth well, it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children" |
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Ms.Lilly
True Blue Farmgirl
826 Posts
Lillian
Scotts Mills
OR
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 4:57:07 PM
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Jane- I am sure the one you are looking at in the Lehmans catalog is an All-American, excellent choice! I have 2 myself and if a 3rd one came along at the right price I would snatch it up! Do check around though, I looked at Lehmans and found mine cheaper elsewhere. Check Amazon. You will be so happy with your new pressure canner!
Lillian |
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Singing Tree Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
Cari
Chase
Michigan
USA
196 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 5:28:33 PM
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I have the less expensive canner that takes a gasket. It needs to be replaced. If I was to buy one now, I would get the ones that don't take a gasket. The All American. A freind bought one from http://canningusa.com. I just checked the sight and there is a sale on the canners and free shipping on some. The 15 1/2 quart is 239 in Lehmans and 179 at this sight. My mom just bought the same thing from a local amish store for 200.
All of creation sings Your praise! |
Edited by - Singing Tree Farm on Jul 10 2010 5:33:44 PM |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2010 : 8:04:38 PM
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To figure the yearly cost of the freezer you have to know the model and the number you set it at on the adjustment guage. The electric companies usually have an energy specialist who can help by lookin up the basic usage for them for you. Then you figure the cost of a new freezer (in case yours goes out it must be replaced to save your food) and divide it by 10. Then you add the divided number to the yearly usage cost and figure in how much your baggies or containers cost for the food. Once it's all added up you have the yearly expense of freezing veges. For my family I divided it by the number of meals we cook at home (about 300 since we eat a lot of sandwiches in the summer) and that gives you the per meal expense. For my family it worked out to $1.50, which I could buy cans of veges for that. But, canning jars have 15 year expectancy, more if you be careful with them. The cost of lids and electric could be all a person is out. If you're adventurous and can use a campfire for any of it the cost drops more.
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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vegetarian farmer
True Blue Farmgirl
249 Posts
Jane
Freedom
pa
USA
249 Posts |
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Jul 31 2010 : 06:39:17 AM
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Yay! I'm glad you ladies have already been discussing this topic... DH and I have been wanting to buy a pressure canner. And thank you so much, Cari, for posting the link to the canning website... I'll definitely go take a peek! My MJF friend and I went antiquing this week and saw many old pressure canners and I considered if they might be a good buy or not... many of them were the same prices as a new canner! I'm also scared of pressure canners, but believe the usefullness of it will outweigh my fear. Can any of you explain what actually happens, why people are scared of them? I know so many people are scared of them, but I've never heard what actually will happen. Does anyone have any horror stories about their pressure canner (not that those would be good to hear at this post... it might make those of us considering buying one not want to!). I actually NEED a pressure canner this year... We bought another freezer last year and thought we would be good, have lots of room for all the produce I freeze. But after buying 1/2 a pig and 1/4 cow, they filled up our freezers to the brim! So it would be handy to can those things that I would normally freeze... I've heard you can't water bath those certain low acid (or high acid, i can't remember) veggies, you have to pressure can them. I need that for carrots and pumpkin/squash.
"Only two things that money can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."
- Guy Clark
"The man who has planted a garden feels he has done something for the good of the world."
- Charles Dudley Warner |
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emsmommy5
True Blue Farmgirl
1547 Posts
Angie
Buckley
WA
USA
1547 Posts |
Posted - Jul 31 2010 : 09:32:13 AM
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I was always afraid it was going to blow up or something. But last year I decided I had to get over the fear and just do it. I read a lot making sure I understood how not to screw things up. Like moving the petcock and letting the steam all out... Not overfilling with water, etc.
I used my two pressure canners yesterday. About 50 pounds of venison-burger is now seasoned meat, taco meat, sloppy joes, and meatballs-sauce. I have canned chili, ham/bean soup, hamburger, stew chunks, etc. I am trying really hard to beef up my food storage this year. I don't like having everything in the freezer because when we get a power outage... then it's a BBQ of epic proportions. =)
My goal is to have 1 month of bottle dinners by fall. Dump and heat. I went ahead and ordered the clearjel so I can make gravies, sauces, etc. Usually I'd would just thicken things after opening. But the bottled "quick-meals" are for the family to use when mom is off teaching EMT class this fall.
I bought my second canner, a Presto, at Fred Meyer last week for $89. I'd love to have a gasket-less one. But the budget is going to food to put in it! Next thing I am saving up for is the Tattler reusable lids. Lids and jars are a budget killer.I went and bought some jars at the thrift the other day and then DH figured out it would have been cheaper to just buy them new. Wish he had called before I spent the money!
After a year of working on it, I am a pressure canner junkie! THere are plenty of places online to get great ideas and recipes. My favorite spot right now is the Ask Jackie section of Backwoods home Magazine.
Do what you love, love what you do. |
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marjean
True Blue Farmgirl
3851 Posts
Marsha
Deltona
FL
USA
3851 Posts |
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Ms.Lilly
True Blue Farmgirl
826 Posts
Lillian
Scotts Mills
OR
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - Jul 31 2010 : 5:37:20 PM
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| Yes it is. You can't can in a pressure cooker because there is no way to regulate the lbs of pressure. A pressure canner has weights or a guage so you can regulate your pressure. If you look at a canning recipe for the pressure canner it may tell you to process something for 90 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure. Now you can use your pressure canner as a cooker if you want for pressure cooking just don't use it for rice or beans because they can get "foamy" and clog the jiggler vent. |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Aug 01 2010 : 07:41:16 AM
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My big canner is a family treasure. My grandpa bought it in the early 40's. He used it until the late 60's, Mom used it for another 20 years. Now I have it. Before I got possession of it, I would have to borrow it from Mom. It was certainly worth whatever Grandpa paid for it. I don't use it as much anymore. I can more pints than quarts. I have 2 canners that cans 7 pint.
Never been afraid of the canner blowing up. Just make sure the lid in on properly and let the pressure come down on its own. That is when you can read your book or knit.
Belle |
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Aug 01 2010 : 08:11:39 AM
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Are there any good pressure canner cookbooks out there?
"Only two things that money can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."
- Guy Clark
"The man who has planted a garden feels he has done something for the good of the world."
- Charles Dudley Warner |
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LindaAlbert
Farmgirl in Training
31 Posts
Linda
Belgrade
Montana
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - Aug 01 2010 : 09:30:15 AM
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I've included a link to a site that shows the kind of pressure canner I have. It uses a dial gauge which is very accurate and is useful at higher elevations because you can adjust the pressure at which you process for the difference in altitude from sea level. It also uses a direct metal to metal seal so there is no need to worry about or replace a rubber or silicone gasket.
http://www.canningpantry.com/pressure-canner-910.html
They also sell a good range of canning and preserving guides as well as food dehydrators, grain mills and meat grinders and meat processing and general food preservation supplies.
http://www.canningpantry.com/canning-books.html
Linda
"There is no faith which has never yet been broken except that of a truly faithful dog."
Konrad Lorenz |
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Aug 01 2010 : 4:08:02 PM
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Thank you, Linda, for posting those websites!
"Only two things that money can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."
- Guy Clark
"The man who has planted a garden feels he has done something for the good of the world."
- Charles Dudley Warner |
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Ms.Lilly
True Blue Farmgirl
826 Posts
Lillian
Scotts Mills
OR
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - Aug 02 2010 : 07:43:00 AM
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Linda do make sure you have your guage tested each year. I have to AA canners and each guage reads different. My 921 reads 9 lbs when the jiggler go off and my 930 reads 11 when the jiggler goes off. I go strictly by my jiggler and only use the guage as a guide.
Lillian |
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Farm Kitchen: To buy a pressure canner or not |
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To buy a pressure canner or not
