Pressure Canners

[mattl]

Since we seem to be in "Food" mode this weekend at AW I thought I'd toss out another question.  I've canned a lot, but never pressure canned.  One of my relatives was telling me about the great beans she cans and I looked for a recipe, but it says to process at 10lb pressure.  I might like to experiment and do a few pint jars but I have no idea what my home pressure cooker uses for pressure.  It's just a good old Mirro stainless steel pot with the jiggler top.  I don't want to invest in a pressure canner, I have no idea how much I'd use it, so I'd like to try my regular unit.

 

Anyway she says the beans are wonderful and they make a great, quick meal.  I've been shifting to a plant based diet so this is something I might like and use.  She uses Great Northern and other beans but she also cans beef and chicken, way too much work for me.

 

[westie2]

Pressure gauge

Matt we have a 10 quart (wilo hold 4 quart jats or pint jars.  We also haave a bit Presto canner that wil hold 7 wuarts.  For the Mirro we have the older weight that has the 5 10 15 holes to use for the different pound pressure.

 

Here is a picture of ours.  One up to pressure we let it jiggle about 3 timews a minute not a constant jiggle.  Our old Presto has the pressure gauge.

 

[norgeway]

I have..

A presto and a Maid of Honor 'Ancient Sears", Your regular cookers are all 15 pounds, if it is a newer Mirro, it will have a rocking guage like a Presto, but if older you can use the three hole weight, I can beans all summer, I put them up in pints because a pint is just right for Donald and I a meal,.It is very simple, first run your jars thru the dishwasher, while that is running, of course have your beans strung and broken, "I use Contender beans so there are no strings", wash beans thru at least three or four waters till clean, place in a large kettle, cover with water, bring to a boil, meanwhile put 2 quarts water in the canner,add a little vinegar or cream of tartar, that way the water will not turn the inside of the canner black, when beans boil a few minutes,fill the jars and add 1 tsp canning salt,be sure to have liquid in jars to about 1/2 inch below rim, do not use table salt because the iodine can discolor canned goods, have your lids in a saucepan of simmering water, place one on each jar, put a ring on each jar, tighten finger tight, place in canner, put on lid, let it start steaming, time it seven minutes, then place weight on vent, when 10 pounds is reached, time it 20 minutes, then remove from heat, let pressure go down by itself, then when indicator reads zero or when no steam escapes when you nudge weight, take off weight or open petcock and remove lid, place jars on a towell and cover with a towell till cold, remove rings and pick up jar by,the edge of the lid to test the sealas the jars cool though, you will hear them seal, they make a metallic click, then the lid will be pulled down, if any lid is not pulled down, or comes off when you pick it up be the edge, its not sealed...It sounds complicated but really isn't, I helped Grandmother from the time I was old enough to set on a stool and watch the pressure guage!!!

 

[kenmore71]

Do you have the instructions that came with the cooker? They should tell you what the operating pressure of it is. Most cookers that are 20 years old or older that don't have a dial gauge use the "jiggler" that Westie pictured above.

If you are going to pressure can, I would HIGHLY recommend that you purchase a reputable canning book. Probably the best book for the beginner all the way up to moderately advanced is the "Ball Blue Book of Food Preservation." Most hardware stores that sell canning supplies also stock this book. Last one that I saw was about $12 new. Definitely worth the investment. Canning in a pressure cooker takes a bit of experience to really get the knack for it. Once you get that down, though it's really very simple. I run about 300 jars through my pressure canners (I have 3, small-4 qt, medium-12 qt, and large-22 qt) every summer.

Any low acid food that you want to can without pickling it needs the higher temperature that a pressure canner provides to safely kill the organisms that cause food to spoil and also possibly grow the deadly botulism. 10 lbs. of pressure at sea level raises the internal temperature of the canner and jars to approx. 240 degrees. 5 lbs. is around 225 and 15 lbs is around 252.

 

[sudsmaster]

Canning IS a lot of work.

Full pressure on a stovetop unit should be around 15 lbs, which is also the minimum pressure (and related temp) used to autoclave surgical instruments/supplies (for 15 minutes, as I recall). I think the electric ones get up to around 10 lbs.

Green beans, not being acidic, definitely would need pressure cooking. When I bought this house, as is, a patio cupboard was full of home-canned green beans and cauliflower in glass jars. Most of them were dated 20 years earlier. And most of them "looked" ok, but a few had obvious mold contamination. I didn't risk trying any of that 20 year old home canned fare; didn't even want to open any, despite the possible value of those old jars.

Meat would probably be even more demanding of pressure and temp - probably 15 lbs for at least 30 minutes. A lot depends on the size of the jar (bigger takes longer) and the acidity of the food being canned.

I remember when I worked in a lab at a public health school being informed that tomato paste was one of the food products most likely to fail canning. Because it's not acid (despite being from tomatoes) and it's a great growth medium for bacteria. It's a reason why tomato paste usually comes in those small cans - for better sterilization results. Years later I had an old can of tomato paste rupture and leak in my cupboard. Took me a while to find it since it was in the very back of a deep cabinet. What a mess. I toss any such cans with any sign of bulging... I've seen big cans of institutional size tomato paste at restaurant supply stores. I always wonder how safe that stuff is.

I grow a fair amount of green beans and other veggies in the same garden today. Usually any excess gets given away at work, or blanched and vacuum packed and frozen in the chest freezer. I tried making my own jams and preserves one year... they came out good but I remember it was like having a second job. The freezing is much less work.

 

[westie2]

Norgeway/Hans we like the contender beans too but our favorite is the Purple pole bean we got our seed start from an great
aunt many years ago and keep seeds from year to year.  They are great and turn green when cooked or canned.  No strings and a great bean taste.  Since you pints have you ever tried frenching them.  We  have a bean frencher we got from Gurney's works breat and fast.  Gurney.s also sells the purple beans.  Have you ever tried the cold pack for green beans?   WE snap just like your or french and rinse them then pack into the hot jars from the DW abd haaqve boiling water to put in. 

We put the salt on then add the boiling water get the bubbles out then wipe the rims place the lids and ring and tighten them an put in the canner.  Works great for us.

 

Kenmore71/Mark you can as much as we do.  We call a canner full is both our small and big canner together.

 

[westie2]

Purple pole beans

Here is a link to the purple pole beans at Gurney's.  The ones we have we call Aunt Doodles (her nickanme as she was Flora Mae) beans.

Customer Favorites | Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co.

Unsure which variety to choose? Consider our customer favorites. Many of these customer favorites—from asparagus to strawberries and blueberries, to tomatoes, squash and corn, have stood the test of time—and are reliable and flavorful.

gurneys.com

 

[westie2]

Bean frencher at Gurney's.  We got ours from here many years ago as a free one because we got the deal of after purchasing x amount of dollars you could oreder free somany dollars worth.  It is easy to use. 

Customer Favorites | Gurney's Seed & Nursery Co.

Unsure which variety to choose? Consider our customer favorites. Many of these customer favorites—from asparagus to strawberries and blueberries, to tomatoes, squash and corn, have stood the test of time—and are reliable and flavorful.

gurneys.com

 

[westie2]

Back to canning

It is work but to us it is a money saver and much better for us.  When we do green beans we get home from work and change clothes then pick the beans.  Have a light summer, put our jars in the DW and we both start snaping beans and when done (we have a big stainless bowl that when rounded we call a canner full (both canners) and we get them all ready.  Sure takes both to get things done when you both work. 

 

[kenmore71]

Canning pressures/temperatures:

Here are general pressure & time requirements for pressure canning for altitudes of sea level to 1000 feet. Higher altitudes require higher pressures in order to achieve the same temperatures. Times remain unchanged.

Medium acid vegetables (green & wax beans)
pints 20 minutes, quarts 25 minutes at 10 lbs.

Low acid vegetables (potatoes, celery, shelled green peas)
pints 35 minutes and quarts 40 minutes at 10 lbs.

Very-low acid vegetables (sweet corn, pumpkin, squash)
pints 75 minutes and quarts 90 minutes at 10 lbs.

Anything that contains meat (red or white) or fish
pints 75 minutes and quarts 90 minutes at 10 lbs.

15 lbs. of pressure is not recommended for canning at altitudes below 1000 feet because it achieves temperatures that destroy nutrients without gaining any bacteria destroying benefit.

All of the info above is taken from a USDA publication from about 5 years ago.

 

[mattl]

Lots of good info!

 

But the beans I'm talking about are dried beans, navy and such soaked and partially cooked.  I would think a bit more pressure is OK, better than less.....

 

I'll have to dig out the book for my pressure cooker, I think I know where it is, just have not looked at it in ages.

 

[westie2]

Matt here is a great link on how to can dried beans to make them canned.  We make our own chili and can every fall winter to use.  Takes over an hour to can this meat dish.

 

 

http://www.food-skills-for-self-sufficiency.com/canning-dried-beans.html

 

[mattl]

Thanks!   That is just what I was looking for.  Maybe I can fond a cheap canner on CL...

 

[hunter]

Canners.

PLEASE get a good book, like "So Easy to Preserve" (done by the University of Georgia extension services, Google it, you will find their website).

A lot of the things that used to be said, like "If you have a canner of 8 quarts you can use it but let it process 10 minutes longer" are no longer said.

Living at > 1 mile in altitude I pressure can EVERYTHING at 15 psi.

Also, here is something else that is important:

Many modern pressure cookers (except, maybe Fagor) claim they are 15 psi. My Kuhn Rikons do this. They are NOT. They are .8 bar, which is .8 * 1 atmosphere, which is ~11.5 psi. They can climb through 15 psi until they get to the point where they start venting (which I think on the K-Rs is 1.2 bar, or about 17 psi). However, you cannot really tell what the pressure is.

I am a big fan of weighted gauge pressure canners. I have a 22 quart "All American" pressure canner that I bought at an estate sale, and use it regularly in the summer - if I'm not pressure canning, it's a great boiling water bath. I use it on a glass cooktop, which the maker tells you not to do, but they admitted to me that they say it only because someone may drop it on the stove. If your stove can take the weight, you can make your own choices.

My Kitchenaid WILL take up to (I think) 75 pounds per burner. T his is what I do:
Put empty canner on stove top
Fill with water using another pot
bring to boil and use
let cool completely
dip water out
remove canner.

There's then no chance of dropping it on the glass.

FOr pressure canning you only need 1-2 inches of water in the bottom of the canner, so that's less weight.

Buying stuff at supermarkets not on a good sale I don't find really cost effective. I did do a LOT of Colorado peach jam this year, when Safeway had the peaches on sale for .33/pound. I also only buy C+H sugar, as I find cane rather than beet sugar does better for things, so that adds some cost - though I do buy it in large quantities when canning fruits.

 

[mattl]

Hunter, thanks, good info.  I much prefer cane sugar, and use it when I find a deal, but those are few and far between now days.  I never do yard/estate sales - got too much of my own - but I may tell a few people I know who do to keep an eye out for a pressure canner.

 

[norgeway]

Purple beans!

I never heard of them!! I will try them next year, I have cold packed beans before also, Dons Mom does, also, she wont use a pressure canner, so she does hers hot water bath, 3 hours, I dont have time for that , I was raised with a Presto.My Grandmother believed pressure canning was safer, but there are lots of people still doing there canning the old way, and ive never heard of anyone getting sick.

 

[xraytech]

My grandmother usedtodo her beans hot pack into pint jars(blanch beans in salted water for 5 minutes and fill jars) after placing lids and rings on she would use he water bath canner to process for 3 hours or longer if quarts, as she is deathly afraid of pressure cookers. I on the otherhand also hot pack my beans into pint jars, I use my elctric pressure cooker and process for 20 minutes on 10 lbs.

 

Other than the beans all my other canning(tomatoes and jellies/jams) is done via the open kettle meathod of cooking the product completely and then filling hot jars with the hot product and then I seal and invert jars and cover with a towel no processing in water or under pressure. Now applesauce I will process in water for 7 minutes

 

[washerboy]

Matt:
I've done quite a bit of canning; well lots..nothing better than home canned. I've noticed some of the advice above on times to process...your best bet is to get a book and follow the instructions. If your not careful you can end up making yourself and whomever you feed sick. I've never had any problems but there have been a few times when a lid didn't seal correctly. Rule of thumb by grandmother taught me..check the lid before opening then smell the contents of the jar; you'll know at that point to proceed and head for the trash can.

Since you have a pressure cooker/canner; you might want to consider cooking your dried beans under pressure; they take about 45 minutes. Brown beans are great cooked underpressure and you can by-pass the overnight soaking. Just put 3 times the amount of water as the beans are going a soak up a lot of the water as they cook.

I love the way my house smells when I'm canning green beans or peas. I've canned freash corn once with no problems but I've heard stories of folks not having good success with corn. Happy Canning!!!

 

[norgeway]

green beans..

I cook my green beans in a pressure cooker, 15 lbs for 5 minutes, no added water, just what clings to them from washing them, I add a teaspoon or so olive oil, salt pepper and a teaspoon of sugar, now if im cooking them for a crowd, or special dinner, I cook them with pork.