Who has A 921 All American Canner?

#1 12/15/11, 04:01 PM

Please tell me about the pro's & con's of this canner...My dear son bought me one for Christmas and I'm thrilled to pieces as I have alot to look forward to next year using this to can my veggies from my garden!

Batt · #2 12/15/11, 06:13 PM

I have the 921...Love it. No problems whatsoever, unless it is that the lid kinda sticks a little even after the pressure is released.(trivial). Just bump it a little, or use a spoon to pry up a bit. Sometimes I wish it were bigger. Such as when I have 8 qt jars to can, and you can only get 7 in. Course if I had a bigger one, I'd have 9 jars.

#3 12/15/11, 06:47 PM

Thanks Batt.. Could you tell me what you can other than veggies?

Common Tator · #4 12/15/11, 08:15 PM

I have an All American, and I love it. I can veggies, soups, meats. Any low acid foods MUST be pressure canned!

One of the first things I did when mine arrived was read the manual from cover to cover. I had a very hard time seeing the arrows on the lid and base that are supposed to line up with each other, so I took a sharpie marker and filled them in with black, so they stand out.

Someone above mentioned releasing the pressure. I have a high failure rate when I do that. Now I turn off the heat when it is done, and let it cool. The pressure drops gradually, and I don't release the lid until the pressure reaches zero.

The All American is the BEST canner. You have a good son!

Batt · #5 12/15/11, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mythreesons

Thanks Batt.. Could you tell me what you can other than veggies?

Just about anything and everything. As far as releasing the pressure, The pressure is 0, but still sticks a little. Just a minor thing. Means it got a good metal to metal seal. Yeah, I too used a sharpie to fill in the arrows. Eyes are getting old, but not likely to get a new set.

ai731 · #6 12/15/11, 09:48 PM

I have one and I love it. I mostly use it to can chicken stock and home-made meals like beef stew and chilli. I want to do baked beans in it next year too. The only probem I have had with mine is that Canadian 1 liter jars are slightly shorted and "fatter" than American quart jars, and so I can only fit 5 1-liter jars in my canner

I'll be keeping an eye out for quart-sized jars at thift shops and garage sales from now on!

#7 12/15/11, 10:36 PM

Thank's everyone...Do you who make beef stew follow a recipe from a pressure canner book? I'm very fussy on how I make my food..i.e. I put sugar in my beef stew..I'm all about sugar,salt & fat when I prepare my food and I'm afraid I won't be able to make it the way I like it..

Jhn56 · #8 12/16/11, 12:04 AM

I have the #930, the only drawback I have found (and it's a biggie), it can't be used on a glass top range. Or so the directions says

I have done it, and got away with it, without cracking the top on the new range. Since being warned by the wife, I do the canning on a turkey fryer burner. She keeps me straight

Other than that, I love it. I've only used it for processing jars, not cooking.

Always follow instructions to the letter regarding actual cooking, you know, allowing the cooker to cool gradually until the guage reads zero, tilting the lid from the rear, etc... Read the directions thoroughly, TWICE

A buddy of mine, knows a woman who was making applesauce in her pressure cooker/canner, the applesauce clogged the vent and gave a bad reading at the gauge. When she opened the lid, she was burned quite badly.

Just like everything, respect it and don't take anything for granted, regardless of how many times you've done it in the past. You WILL get many good years of service out of it, Enjoy!

beaglady · #9 12/16/11, 12:12 AM

I have on too, and love it. I use my own recipes for soup and stew. It's my understanding that you just have to process the jars for whichever ingredients requires the longest time. Beef is longer than veggies, so I just process for that recommended time.

The only possible fault I can find is that it does not fit in my kitchen, so I have to carry it to the basement when I'm done using it. Not really a product problem. <G>

Pony · #10 12/16/11, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Batt

I have the 921...Love it. No problems whatsoever, unless it is that the lid kinda sticks a little even after the pressure is released.(trivial). Just bump it a little, or use a spoon to pry up a bit. Sometimes I wish it were bigger. Such as when I have 8 qt jars to can, and you can only get 7 in. Course if I had a bigger one, I'd have 9 jars.

Did you remember to put vaseline around the rim before you used it? The directions say that you only have to do it once in a while, but I always put a very thin skim each time I use it.

I have the BIG All American Canner (Thank you, Nick!) and I absolutely love it!!! No gaskets, the rocker is so helpful, and I can fit 15 pints in a load.

I can meat, broth, veg, stews, soups... If it needs pressure canning, the All American is what I use. (I do have a Presto, but it just sits there as a back up, just in case.)

SquashNut · #11 12/16/11, 12:18 AM

I have 2 of the 921 and 1 of the next size up. They are great.

idigbeets · #12 12/16/11, 05:31 AM

I have the 941 and it is awesome !! My biggest complaint is having to use a turkey fryer burner, as the 941 is too large for a stovetop

flowergurl · #13 12/16/11, 08:11 AM

I was wondering If I could see pictures of the set up you all use for the turkey fryer burner. I have a turkey fryer burner and I'd like to get a pressure canner to use on it. I'm afraid of not having the right set up tho, I've never used a pressure canner before.
I have used the fryer for my water bath canner, and it worked great, but I remember it got very HOT!

ai731 · #14 12/16/11, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mythreesons

Thank's everyone...Do you who make beef stew follow a recipe from a pressure canner book? I'm very fussy on how I make my food..i.e. I put sugar in my beef stew..I'm all about sugar,salt & fat when I prepare my food and I'm afraid I won't be able to make it the way I like it..

I follow a canning book recipe - mostly. I keep the proportions of vegetables & meat the same, but I substitute parsnips for the carrots in my beef stew. DH & I both prefer parsnips to carrots in our stew. I've done a lot of reading about canning safety, and to me it would depend on how much sugar you want in your stew. Canning your "regular" recipe might not be safe, but using the canning book recipe and adding one teaspoon of sugar to each jar probably would be.

I'm not going to say any more because discussions about canning methods and canning safety sometimes get very heated! The best thing to do is to read up on canning recipies and canning safety yourself

mary,tx · #15 12/16/11, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Common Tator

I have an All American, and I love it. I can veggies, soups, meats. Any low acid foods MUST be pressure canned!

One of the first things I did when mine arrived was read the manual from cover to cover. I had a very hard time seeing the arrows on the lid and base that are supposed to line up with each other, so I took a sharpie marker and filled them in with black, so they stand out.

Someone above mentioned releasing the pressure. I have a high failure rate when I do that. Now I turn off the heat when it is done, and let it cool. The pressure drops gradually, and I don't release the lid until the pressure reaches zero.

The All American is the BEST canner. You have a good son!

I also have the 921, also love it. I also have a nice black sharpie mark on mine.

Also did some reading before I started.

The pressure, of course, is supposed to be allowed to come all the way down before the weight is removed, then the lid opened.

I use mine for whatever I can think of, soups, stew, chicken, stew meat, potatoes, turnips, beans, tomatoes, fruits, etc.

I love having the weight and the dial. I've had mine for several years and should have the dial recalibrated, but it sits at 2#, and is at 12# when it means 10. That's easy enough math, and I go by the rattle. The dial is just a convenience to me to show when the pressure is coming up.

Occasionally you should wipe a little vaseline around the rims.

mary,tx · #16 12/16/11, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jhn56

I have the #930, the only drawback I have found (and it's a biggie), it can't be used on a glass top range. Or so the directions says

I have done it, and got away with it, without cracking the top on the new range. Since being warned by the wife, I do the canning on a turkey fryer burner. She keeps me straight
.!

I used mine on a glass top range at our last house, and lived to regret it. The glass did not crack while I was using it, but one day it just did. It's a very expensive fix, and the reason I'll never have another glass top range.

Macybaby · #17 12/16/11, 11:29 AM

I have a 921, and just purchased a Presto 21 qt to use instead of it - already had a Presto 16 qt.

The thing I like the best about the Presto is the little drop down button that lets you know pressure is at zero. I got tired of guessing with the AA. Not saying AA is bad, but that is why I like the Presto better.

the mama · #18 12/18/11, 01:31 PM

My only complaint is that it holds the heat so well, that i can only do one batch per day. It takes so long to depressurize and cool. But since this is the only pressure canned I have used, maybe they are all that way. I love mine, the gasket-less design and easy read gauge AND weight make me feel safer.