What is a pressure canner? – A simple and efficient way to preserve food

In daily life with a hectic routine and work life, everyone wants to prepare and store food to last for days so you don’t have to go for grocery or cooking frequently. Well with meat and vegetable this one is quite a difficult task to achieve. Many people use boiling water to sterilize and store food or you can also cook it and preserve it, but that won’t last for more than a week or two in the freezer.

Well, don’t worry we have brought you a very efficient and feasible method of storing your food items safely and in proper condition so that the freshness and taste remain the same. With a pressure canner high pressured steam at a 240 F temperature kills all the bacteria and microorganisms, so that the foods are canned and sterilized to last for weeks or months. You can easily store low acid items that are prone to rotting like beans, meat, tomatoes, or cooked items like soup, purees, or curries.

Here is a complete guide for you so you can better understand what a pressure canner is and it’s working along with a step to step procedure for sterilizing your food with a pressure canner.

What is a pressure canner?

A pressure canner is a steel or aluminum pot that comes with a lid that locks in and has a pressure valve or pipe that is covered with a dial or gauge to apply some weight and a pressure plug to relieve the pressure before you unlock the lid.  A pressure canner is usually similar to the pressure cooker we use for cooking but the heat and pressure handling to sterilize cans containing food is different.

How does a pressure canner work

A pressure canner uses pressurized steam to sterilize the food by killing all the bacteria and microorganisms in it so that the food items are safe to keep in the fridge to be used for a long time. Pressure gauge on the lid is used to vary the temperature by increasing or decreasing the pressure.

As steam is hotter than the boiled water the sterilization of the cans is better and more effective. Pressure canner can heat up to 240 F or more at increased pressure by either the weight or by the burner flame. When the less acidic foods are sealed at this temperature they are good to go for months.

Types of the pressure canner

Based on the regulating system of the pressure on the lid of a pressure canner the pressure canner is divided into two subcategories that are:

1. Pressure canner with dial gauge

Dial gauge pressure canner has a dial on the lid that shows the pressure inside the pressure canner. You can check all the time that either the pressure is at the required PSI or not and alter it by regulating the flame of the burner.

Although the accuracy and maintaining a constant pressure all along is achievable with this type of pressure canner they require complete attention and aren’t self-regulating. So for precision-loving people, these are a good fit but they will take your hour or more for continuous monitoring that you won’t prefer usually.

2. Pressure canner with a weighted gauge

In a weighted gauge canner, you have weight available on the steam valve that applies pressure required from 5, 10, or 15 valves whatever you prefer according to your location altitude. This weight jiggle every minute and release some steam indicating that the pressure canner is at its required pressure and the food is being cooked or sterilized properly.

This kind of pressure canners are self-regulating and maintain the pressure without you watching over. With the ease of no monitoring comes a drawback of limited pressure options that are only 15, 10, or 5 PSI, contrary to the dial gauge in which you can select any intermediate pressure.

As with glass top stoves, canning is to be done with extreme care so weighted gauge canners are the best pressure canner for glass top stove due to proper monitoring and pressure regulation with no increase in pressure even if you are not there.

Benefits of using a pressure canner

You must be thinking now that why on earth you should buy a pressure canner that is not too cheap, plus with all those frozen vegetables and meat available in the market doing so at home is an extra task. Well here are some major advantages that using a pressure canner to can your foods implies. Let’s have look at them:

• Fresh and safe

With a pressure canner, the food is preserved with its original taste and texture, so you will get your meat or soups as fresh and tasty as they were canned.

• Cost friendly

All that frozen food costs you a fortune every month with a somewhat less appetizing taste, while when you pressure can your food at home that saves you a lot of money and is also tastier and healthier

• Store without freezing

Pressure canned food is good to be kept on a shelf or kitchen cupboard and won’t require you to keep them in freezers or cold boxes to prevent them from getting stale.

• Customized as per your taste

For people who are allergic or want to cut some spices or salt from their diet, pressure canning their food is great as they can add whatever ingredient they like and don’t have to read the ingredients table on each frozen product before buying.

Step by step guide for pressure canning

Now while we are now well convinced about buying a pressure canner and what great benefits it has, let us dig into the procedure of pressure canning your vegetables, fruits, soups, or steaks. Follow this step by step easy guide to pressure can your food conveniently and perfectly.

1. Pre heat empty jars

Fill your pressure canner with water and heat it to boil. Well, you must be thinking about how much water in the pressure canner should be filled? , you can only fill 2 -4 inches on the bottom of the pressure canner as it works with steam, not the boiling water.

Heat the jars for 3- 4 minutes and then take them out

2. Fill the food items in the jars tightly

Now fill the jars tight with anything you want to store like beans, peas, soups, or meat so that the container is filled completely

3. Use a spatula to remove any air bubbles

With the help of a rubber spatula moved along the walls of the jar or press down the food a little to remove any air bubbles in the jar.

4. Wipe the rim and lid of the jars

Now wipe the rim and the lid of the jars to remove all moisture and lock them tightly onto the jar that it’s not openable easily.

5. Place in the heated up pressure canner

Now with 2 to 3 inches of simmering water place all your jars to be pressure canned carefully and lock the lid of the pressure canner with no weight on the pressure vent.

6. Let it heat for 10 minutes without a pressure gauge

Without any weight let the water steam up and leave through the vent pipe for 10 minutes

7. Place the gauge and steam for the required time

Once the pressure is created place the regulator and let the jars steamed for a suggested time at the proper pressure to seal the jars completely

8. Depressurize and unlock the lid

Keep in mind to first open the vent pipe to relieve pressure, then remove the weight or dial gauge and then unlock and open the lid.

9. Let the jars cool down

Now let the jars cooled down for 12 to 24 hours outside in the air.

10. Check the lid for proper seal and store

Check with fingertips that either the lid is sealed or not and if there are complete seals then you can safely place them on the shelf or fridge as you like.

What foods are good for pressure canning?

Although any kind of food item can be pressure canned it is more preferable for items that are low in acidic value and can be kept in an acidic preservative like vinegar in pickles. Here is a list of some products that are good to be pressure canned

• Meat and meat stocks/ broth
• Vegetable soups or broths/stocks and beans, tomatoes or potatoes, etc.
• Baked beans or cooked chili
• Pasta or pizza sauce that contains onions, tomatoes, or mushrooms in them
• Any soups or cooked stews

Which items you should avoid using in a pressure canner?

While you aim to pressure can your food here are some items that you should never put in a pressure canner, as they won’t get preserved and also will cause a mess. These items to be avoided are:

• Any kind of dairy products be it milk, yogurt, cream, or butter
• Starchy foods like pasta, spaghetti, or rice
• Eggs and egg dishes
• Thickeners like flour or cornflour
• Coconut or almond milk.

FAQs

1. How much water can you put in a pressure canner?

There are only 2-3 inches at max water requirement in a pressure canner to create steam for canning jars.

2. Is pressure canning better than boiling water?

As steam is more pressurized and hotter than boiling water the process is better and more effective

3. How much a pressure canner cost?

On average, a pressure canner costs a thousand dollars and more depending on the capacity and quality.

Summing it up!

Hopefully, you found this article helpful in getting the know-how about what is a pressure canner and it’s working and canning procedure.

Pressure canning is for sure one of the best way to preserve you low acid content food items so that you can enjoy your favorite vegetables off-season or have a homemade can of soup available after you came back on a chilly evening to the home

Follow our easy guide to can your food to perfection.

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Best of luck with your first canning session at home!