Bonehead question of the day

[hintonlady]

I always can high acid stuff so go easy on me guys. I'm green at this canning stuff.


Is there a difference between a pressure canner and just a pressure cooker?

My guess is no but rather than create some sort of explosion of boiling water, beer gravy and pork chops I should check.

Is it just having a rack for jars that makes the difference? do I need a rack or can he jar sit in the bottom of the pot?

Okay, derrrrr. Just had a thought strike me. It's the thingie on the top having a guage rather than just a knob, huh?

I'm thinking I should go back to bed.

[tallpines]

The jar cannot set directly on the bottom.
You need something to hold it 1/4 to 1/2 inch off the HOT bottom or your jar will most likely break.

Not sure about your "thingy on the top" question.

A pressure canner may have either a guage or a weighted pressure regulator.

[badlander]

I remember my mom's ancient canner had a safety valve on top of it along with the pressure gauge. The valve had a little toggle on it that could be lifted to release pressure.

I think pressure canner and pressure cooker are like tomatoes and toMAToes. I have a pressure cooker that I can cook foods in but I can also pressure pints in it also. It has what I've always called a 'jiggler' on top of it that you use to regulate the pressure. So many jiggles per minute=X amount of pressure. I would rather use a pressure canner which usually has a gauge on it.

Hey! No such thing as Bonehead Questions! We learn by asking around here!

[ronbre]

just something thin under the jars is really all you need..most pressure cookers come with a thin metal thing with holes in it that will go under the jars..i do that all the time in my 4 jar canner..great to do up a small number of cans when you have just a handful of produce

[hintonlady]

Awesome, thanks you guys.

I am almost ready for my canning experiment.

I just need to find a helmet, goggles and a mattress to hide behind.



I have only once been near a pressure cooker. My friend asked me to watch it while she ran to the store. The swiss steak ended up all over me, the cieling and every other imaginable space...under the fridge, you name it I had to wipe it down. The only thing that saved me was the fact that everything blew up and out in a fashion as to only splatter my clothes and drip down onto my head from the cieling. Scared the bejeebers out of me.

Maybe when she said to keep an eye on it she should have told me NOT to try to open it. My Momma never owned one so how was I supposed to know?

Not a fan of those things so this is a stretch for me.

[Wolf mom]

You can cook in a pressure canner, it is not recommended that you can in a pressure cooker.

"Why", you ask?

The difference is size. In order to be called a canner, it must be able to hold 4 quart size jars. If it holds only pint jars it is too small for safe canning. it will heat up and cool down too fast and food will be under processed. The time it takes to heat up and cool down is figured in the recommended safe processing time.

Now you know...

[nodak3]

Wolf mom--where did you get your info? My pressure cooker came with canning instructions, and when I talked to the county home economist in ND she said it was no problem. She did say to follow the times and pounds listed with the cooker rather than follow the ball blue book.

[Peacock]

Yup, pressure canners are bigger - has to be big enough to cover the top of the jars with water, and if it's big enough, it probably comes with a rack. Don't need a gauge, a weighted rocker will do, just follow the directions on weighting it properly for your altitude.

I can in a Mirro 12 quart - it holds 6 pint jars and does the job just fine.

And no -- do NOT open the pressure canner until it has cooled and returned to normal pressure. Yikes!

[tallpines]

[QUOTE=edayna;4181419]Yup, pressure canners are bigger - has to be big enough to cover the top of the jars with water, and if it's big enough, it probably comes with a rack. Don't need a gauge, a weighted rocker will do, just follow the directions on weighting it properly for your altitude.
I can in a Mirro 12 quart - it holds 6 pint jars and does the job just fine.
QUOTE]

The Jars are NOT covered with water in a Pressure Canner.
That would be your water bath canner --- not recommended for low acid foods.
A Pressure Canner needs only about 2 inches of water in the bottom.
Follow the instructions that came with your canner.

BTW----I have one of those Mirro canners for pints ---- love it, although I more frequently use the larger Presto --- 'cause most of my canning is done in quarts.

[Wolf mom]

The info came from a USDA flyer. Putting Foods By 4th ed. by Greene, Hertzberg & Vaughan also gives the same reason for not using a cooker rather than a canner.

nodak3, maybe that's the reason your home ec. lady said to follow the time and pounds processing instructions that came with your cooker rather than what is considered standard processing time for a canner.

hintonlady - I'd recommend the above book for whatever you want to do in preserving food, along with the Ball Blue Book. See, not a bonehead question.......

[wwubben]

A lot of old timers around here use pressure cooker and pressure canner for the same article.We have a pressure cooker which is smaller than our canner and we just cook meat in it.We use two quarts of water in our pressure canner for each batch.Do not cover the jars with water.You need directions to follow or you may have a blowup and clean up.

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by hintonlady

I always can high acid stuff so go easy on me guys.

Doing the quick read on this I thought you said you were high on acid!!!! ROFL!

[Sawmill Jim]

The canner the wife has won't open with pressure on it .

[Pouncer]

I prefer the safety of a gauge on the pressure canner-how else am I to know when the contents (jars) have reached appropriate pounds of pressure? And most importantly, when it has dropped to zero and is safe to open Mine has gauge, vent, and metal to metal seal, so no rubber to fail unexpectedly. Ask my hub, he ended up with a blister covering his entire chest years ago. Bought a regular canner the next week when he could put a shirt on to get to a store, lol

I have always heard that pressure cookers were for doing meals quickly, I would not personally trust anything pressure canned in them-but that's a personal opinion.

[hintonlady]

Originally Posted by Sawmill Jim

The canner the wife has won't open with pressure on it .

I left out the part where I was monkey-ing around with it on purpose.

If it's almost done blowing steam and you pull hard enough anything will open.

Canned my chops. Look pretty except for the part where it looks like some of the brine squeezed out?????

Maybe the chops shrunk but no way to know for sure. The water looked brothy so I guess I blew it. Oh well. The tops are sunk down though!!

No one told me to stand the jars upright. Sheesh!!

The darned thing is built like a 60's cadillac and too heavy for my smooth top stove. I thought if I laid the jars over I could save weight by using less water.

I give up.


Please feel free to laugh at my expense you folks and I deserve it.

[PulpFaction]

I've been considering monkeying around with my pressure cooker and 1/2 pint jars. It happens to be the size I prefer anyway, and they fit in there just right.

[oneokie]

Originally Posted by hintonlady

I left out the part where I was monkey-ing around with it on purpose.

If it's almost done blowing steam and you pull hard enough anything will open.

Canned my chops. Look pretty except for the part where it looks like some of the brine squeezed out?????

Maybe the chops shrunk but no way to know for sure. The water looked brothy so I guess I blew it. Oh well. The tops are sunk down though!!

No one told me to stand the jars upright. Sheesh!!

The darned thing is built like a 60's cadillac and too heavy for my smooth top stove. I thought if I laid the jars over I could save weight by using less water.

I give up.


Please feel free to laugh at my expense you folks and I deserve it.

Jeeze, have you made arrangements for someone to notify the Darwin Awards in your behalf if and when you do yourself in?

[Shygal]

Who tries to open a pressure canner while its going?

Laying the jars on their sides is a no no, if you have broth in the water, then I would not trust anything canned in there, even if the seals are down

[tallpines]

Originally Posted by hintonlady

No one told me to stand the jars upright. Sheesh!!

OMG!

YES, Hintonlady!

You leave the jars standing UPRIGHT !

[hintonlady]

Originally Posted by oneokie

Jeeze, have you made arrangements for someone to notify the Darwin Awards in your behalf if and when you do yourself in?

Heck no. I have a grander purpose on this planet. *snicker* I have had many very close calls 90% of which were not my fault. I have had enough brushes with death that I'm beginning to believe in guardian angels and that sort of thing isn't in my usual realm of belief systems.

...There was the time I was close to being shot, the time my plane had a very rough landing, the time a car was just a split second away from T boning me at a high speed (through their red light), sustained a fall from stairs and landed on my head (concrete floor).

Ha ha ha, yes landed on my head. Lots more stories where that came from and those don't include by youthful, brazen, daredeavil days either.


Shygal, admittedly it was a stupid thing to do. I had never even heard of a pressure cooker before, My Momma was a west coast city girl and cooked good microwave. Plus I was curious and young. Did I mention young?

you know what they say about curiosity and the cat right?

I'm not curious anymore.