Pressure Canner Buying Guide: How to choose a Pressure Canner
Pressure Canner Buying Guide
This straightforward guide to choosing a Pressure Canner will help if you want to can low-acid foods such as red meats, sea food, poultry, milk, and all fresh vegetables with the exception of most tomatoes, since you will need a Pressure Canner. These foods fit into the low acid group since they have an acidity, or pH level, of 4.6 or greater. The temperature which must be reached and maintained (for a specified amount of time) to kill the bacteria is 240 F. Pressure canning is the only canning method recommended safe by the U.S.D.A. for low-acid foods such as vegetables, meats, and fish. Ordinary water bath canners can only reach 212 F and cannot to kill the types of bacteria that will grow in low acid foods. This temperature can be reached only by creating steam under pressure as achieved in quality pressure canners.
Whether you are canning low acid foods like green beans, corn and other vegetables for your first time or in your 50th year of canning; all the supplies you need are here, and at the best prices you will find anywhere! Scroll down this page for photos, descriptions, prices and ordering information. Just scroll down this page to see the selection of pressure canners.
If you are looking for a plain water bath canner, see this page. Also see Canners for glass top stoves?
Choosing a Pressure Canner!
If you're new to pressure canning, see this page for a complete description of how pressure canners work, why they're better, and step-by-step directions on how to use one!
And if you lost the instruction manual for your canner, click here for free downloads of many canner's instruction manuals!
This page lists spare and replacement parts for pressure canners
Key Consideration to selecting a Pressure Canner
New or Used?
If you want to save money, consider a used on on eBay. It's pretty hard to damage a pressure canner, and replacement parts are inexpensive. See this page for a used pressure canner buying guide.
Manufacturers
There are several manufacturers of pressure canners. The two leading ones are Presto and All American (Wisconsin Aluminum). They are more expensive than water bath canners, but they are extremely well built - I bought mine in 1988 and it still looks and works like new!
Cost
Obviously your budget may determine which canners you can consider. Keep in mind, a Pressure Canner should last several generations, and can also be used as a water bath canner, so the initial cost is spread out over many decades of use. The prices range from about $80 to $500. Presto pressure canners are overall much less expensive than other brands.
Capacity
16- to 23-quart capacity (volume of the kettle) are the most common size and hold seven quart jars for canning. Larger canners can hold 14 quart jars. You can stack jars in a pressure canner, which is why they hold more jars than a water bath canner per batch. This is also a good reason to go bigger. Since the time per batch is much greater than a water bath canner, between venting, heating the process time and cool down, a larger canner will allow you to can twice as many jars in the same time as the smaller sizes. You do not need to fill the canner each time - you can can with one jar in it, or a full load.
The smallest canner that can be used safely is one that will hold at least four quart jars. Use of pressure cookers or saucepans with smaller capacities is not recommended. Pressure cookers that are not rated as pressure canners should not be used for canning, their walls are thinner and actually could rupture, catastrophically.
Comparison of Pressure Canner Makes and Models16 to 22 quart sizes |
|||||
Brand |
Presto | Presto | All-American | All-American | All-American |
Model |
1755 | 1781 | 910 | 915 | 921 |
Size / Capacity |
16 qt | 23 qt | 10.5 qt | 15.5 qt | 21.5 qt |
| Max number of pint jars it can do in one batch |
9 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 19 |
| Max number of quart jars it can do in one batch |
4 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 |
| Buying options | See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon | 
|
All-American 910 pressure canner | All-American 915 pressure canner | |
Comparison of Pressure Canner Makes and Models25 to 42 quart sizes |
|||
Brand |
All-American | All-American | All-American |
Model |
925 | 930 | 941 |
Size / Capacity |
25 qt | 30 qt | 41.5 qt |
| Max number of pint jars it can do in one batch |
19 | 19 | 32 |
| Max number of quart jars it can do in one batch |
7 | 14 | 19 |
| Buying options |
All-American 925 pressure canner |
All-American 930 Pressure Canner |
All-American 941 Pressure Canner |
Type (dial gauge or pressure weight regulator)
This is probably the biggest consideration after capacity. There are two types of pressure canners:
- Dial-Pressure Gauge (Presto makes these)
- Weighted Gauge Regulator ("All American Pressure Canner" makes these)
The difference is in how they regulate pressure. The weighted regulator type uses a weight that automatically lifts up and releases excess pressure above the set pressure. You can exchange different weights for different pressures. The other type, a dial pressure gauge pressure canner requires you to adjust the source of heat to maintain the desired pressure.
The weighted gauge is a small round weight or disk that is placed on the vent port to control internal pressure. Weighted-gauge pressure canners exhaust tiny amounts of air and steam each time the gauge rocks or jiggles during processing. They control pressure precisely and need neither constant watching nor checking for accuracy during processing. The sound of the weight rocking or jiggling indicates that the canner is maintaining the recommended pressure. The only disadvantage of weighted-gauge canners is that they cannot correct precisely for higher altitudes. At altitudes above 1,000 feet, they must be operated at canner pressures of 10 pounds per square inch instead of 5, or 15 pounds per square inch instead of 10.
The dial gauge is attached to the cover and has a needle to point to the amount of pressure inside the canner. Remember to have your new dial gauge tested before you use it. Dial gauges also should be checked for accuracy before use each year. If your dial gauge reads high or low by more than 2 pounds when tested at 11 pounds of pressure, it should be replaced. If the reading is off by less than 2 pounds, follow the recommendation of the person testing your canner (see "Dial Gauge Inspection and Accuracy," page 13). Low readings cause overprocessing. If a gauge is reading lower than it should, you can make adjustments to avoid overprocessing, but they are not essential to safety. Gauges that read high cause underprocessing and may result in unsafe food. Every pound of pressure is necessary to reach the canner temperature needed for producing safe food. Accurate gauges and adjustments
Pros and cons:
The weighted gauge canners are better in every regard and have no disadvantage other than they are generally much more expensive.
Recommendations:
|
|
Presto 01781 23-Quart Pressure Cooker/CannerSee description at left. This is a reliable pressure canner sold at GREAT price for a Pressure Canner. I got mine in 1988, and it still works great! |
|
|
See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon
|
Presto 01755 16-Quart Pressure Cooker/CannerSee description at left
|
|
| All-American 910 pressure canner All-American 915 pressure canner All-American 925 pressure canner All-American 930 Pressure Canner All-American 941 Pressure Canner |
All American Pressure Canner and Cookers - In 3 SizesSee description at left. They can be pricey, compared to Presto, but ; but these are the Rolls Royce's of the home canning world, last a lifetime and can crank out serious volumes! All American pressure canners come with 5, 10 and 15 pound pressure
regulator weights and their own exclusive metal-to-metal seal - that means
there are no gaskets to crack, burn, replace or clean - ever! And they are made
in USA! |
|
| All-American 941 Pressure Canner | ||
| See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon |
Pressure canners for Induction Cooktops!See description at left |
|
| See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon |
|
|
|
See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon |
Canning JarsCanning jars delivered to your doorstep and guaranteed! Any size you need. Click on the links below Canning jars: quart (32 oz) jars |
|
Books |
||
Canning booksCanning & Preserving for Dummies by Karen Ward Get Canning and Preserving For Dummies |
||
The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving: Over 350 of the Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, and Preserved Recipes PaperbackThis is THE book on canning! My grandmother used this book when I was a child. It tells you in simple instructions how to can almost anything; complete with recipes for jam, jellies, pickles, sauces, canning vegetables, meats, etc. If it can be canned, this book likely tells you how! Click on the link at left for more information and / or to buy (no obligation to buy). |
||
|
See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon |
Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preservingby United States Dept. of Agriculture This is guide from the USDA is a nicely bound and published version of the recipes developed over the past 100 years, updated and lab tested. |
|
Food Preparation EquipmentMake the job faster and easier with these great tools! |
||
|
Norpro Deluxe Bean Frencher With Clamp Norpro White French Bean Slicer
In the UK, use this link: | ||
