Pressure Cookers

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xraytech

xraytech

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Location
Rural southwest Pennsylvania
I have some questions regarding pressure cookers.

About 9 years ago for Christmas I received a Cooks Essentials electric pressure cooker. I have never really used it much, however I'm now very interested in canning chicken and beef.

My questions are: is my electric pressure cooker suitable for canning?

If not may I get suggestions on what brands of stovetop pressure cookers are recommended. I'm thinking I'd want an 8 qt model. I'm also very unsure of using a stovetop model. I'd assume it's easier to regulate on my sensi-temp burner.
Any tips and info are greatly appreciated.
 
I don't know about canning, but I think with a stove top pressure cooker you have way more control of the heat settings than with an electric pressure cooker. The Cooks Country television show just discussed pressure cookers this morning. They much preferred the stove top models over the electric models because of this.
 
For all canning

You use 5 or 10 pounds of pressure, most low acid veggies are canned at 10 pounds, I use 5 pounds for high acid stuff like tomatoes, if the pressure can be regulated to 5 or 10 pounds an electric cooker would be fine, Flex Seal made a large electric canner in the late 40s.
 
Not for all canning

The Kansas Extension office recommends 15 lbs for green beans and most low acid foods. 

 

Meats are recommended to can at at least 240 degrees, or 15 lbs.  Most small electric pressure cookers can't reach that pressure.

 

My Mother has always used Mirro Pressure cookers.  The Jiggle weight is easy to use, and parts are always available. 

 

I would recommend contacting your local Agriculture/Extension agent to verify what is recommended in your area. 
 
I have

Never heard of 15 pounds for any canning,,,Donalds Mother cans everything by hot water bath, as everyone used to do,I don't believe its dangerous, but im sure not going to boil a big pot of water for 3 hours!! I can do 2 or 3 canners full of beans in the time it takes her to do 1.I do my green beans for 25 minutes at 10 pounds which is what the Presto book says to do.
 
Maybe you live at a lower elevation

Hence the advice to check with local AG agency.  The phone call is easier to make before you get botulism. 

 

Botulinum spores are very hard to destroy at boiling-water temperatures; the higher the canner temperature, the more easily they are destroyed. Therefore, all low-acid foods should be 

sterilized at temperatures of 240° to 250°F, attainable with pressure canners operated at 10

to 15 PSIG. PSIG means pounds per square inch of pressure as measured by gauge. The more 

familiar “PSI” designation is used hereafter in this publication. At temperatures of 240° to

250°F, the time needed to destroy bacteria in low-acid canned food ranges from 20 to 100

minutes. The exact time depends on the kind of food being canned, the way it is packed into 

jars, and the size of jars. The time needed to safely process low-acid foods in a boiling-water 

canner ranges from 7 to 11 hours; the time needed to process acid foods in boiling water 

varies from 5 to 85 minutes.

 

 

 

Adjustments for Pressure Canner

Altitude in Feet Dial Gauge Canner Weighted Gauge

Canner 0-1000 1<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">1 10</span>

1001-2000 11 15

2001-4000 12 15

4001-6000 13 15

6001-8000 14 15

8000-10,000 15 15

 

[this post was last edited: 9/7/2015-01:58]

http://ucfoodsafety.ucdavis.edu/files/26457.pdf
 
my mother & grandmother

have always canned green beans at 10 pounds for 20 minutes, that's what her mirro-matic recommended way back when.  I bought myself an All American canner when I got my house and did the gardening thing...it doesn't have a rubber gasket to fool with.  I later gave it to my mother and she's still using it almost 20 years later with no problems.  It uses the round triple weight jiggler like a mirromatic does.
 
The "way back when" is the problem here...for instance, the newest Ball Blue Book (which is authoritative...may even be a republishing of USDA guides) now has you spike tomatoes with lemon juice to get the acid levels up...the newest varieties are lower in acid than heirloom varieties. Moral of the story...don't rely on "momma's history recipes" for canning---get the current information.
 
Last time I canned tomatoes I did the lemon juice thing...they tasted like fresh tomatoes when they were later eaten! Just looked at the Ball Blue Book online and it's still 20 minutes at 10 pounds pressure for pints of green beans and 25 minutes for quarts, so Mother is still doing it right. Green beans are about all we can anymore, she freezes most other vegetables. We just don't really like the taste of frozen green beans so we just pressure can them. After each batch comes out of the canner, we count the "pops" as each jar seals...if one doesn't seal for whatever reason, it will be cooked for dinner the next day.
 
Since the question was about canning meats, I checked several sources including the blue ball book and the instructions with my canners. Meats are canned at 10 pounds. Adjustments have to be made for higher altitudes. Unless the directions for your electric pressure cooker specify how you do exhausting of the air in the jars, it probably should not be used for canning. My Presto canner calls for exhausting steam for 10 or 15 minutes before putting the weight on the vent pipe.

Ground beef should be browned before canning. I was surprised to read about forming the meat into patties before browning then using wide mouth quart Mason jars in which to stack them before processing. I have canned Sloppy Joe stuff successfully at 10 lbs, but that is acidic with the tomato sauce. The Heat Minder set at 250F holds 10 lbs in a canner.

One of my grandmothers canned meat and I have to tell you you have to do something with it to make it look appetizing. It is fine if you want to turn chicken into pot pie, chicken & dumplings or chicken salad, but to just heat it up out of the jar and plan to serve it does not make for a great presentation.
 
I still believe

Food spoilage depends on cleanliness of preparation, for instance, when I fix green beans, I wash them thru 7 sinksfull of water after stringing and breaking, I run my jars thru the dishwasher, and boil the lids, then I bring the beans to a boil before packing in the jars with a tsp of salt, then I exhaust the canner for 7 minutes, then process, Truthfully, I have eaten beans canned by hot water bath method all my life, All my Aunts on Dads side did it that way, and have never heard of anyone getting sick, my maternal Grandmother used a Presto beginning in 54 and that's how I learned to use a pressure canner, the main reason I use it is not because im afraid of the water bath method, but because its so much more convienent, Most people around here can tomatoes by simply cooking them and putting then in the jars then sealing them, no other processing, I do mine like Martha Stewart because they are just plain better, I pack then raw into my jars then process in the canner at 5 pounds..they come out like fresh .
 
My Grandmother

Always canned her meats in the oven.  She would link the sausage, or chunk the meat then she would brown the links, she would then pack in the jars and cover with grease.  She would place the packed jars in a roasting pan and fill the pan with hot water, then placed them in the oven of her woodstove. 

 

Something tells me that the USDA wouldn't recommend that method any longer.  

 

Cleanliness during preparation is important, but botulism is a very hardy anaerobic bacteria.  Processing at 10lbs is not unsafe,if you are reaching the target temp,  but what is it hurting at 15lbs besides possibly overprocessing a little bit?  I don't think it would be as over processed as boiling in a water bath for 11 hours or so. You do need to adjust for altitude.   Ball no longer recommends that you boil the lids prior to processing in the pressure cooker.  

 

Once you un-jar your food, did you mother tell you to boil it at least 20 minutes before serving?  Mine always did.

 

[this post was last edited: 9/7/2015-15:26]
 
I really admire you people that can your own foods, both in and out of a pressure cooker. It's a lot of work but when you're finished you have something you can be very proud of. Back in the SF Bay Area there were always tons of fresh fruits and vegetables available for canning. You could grow a lot of things at home.

 

Here in the Desert it's a different story. Dates, table grapes and cantaloupe are about the only things grown locally. Who cans dates? Things like tomato plants, which normally like heat, are barbequed in the desert sun. This thread reminded me that I have a large Mirro canning pressure cooker in the closet that was a gift. I'll probably never use it. As far as regular pressure cooking, the electric unit beats the manual one hands down.
 
I've never actually canned anything myself, but when I was a kid I was around it every Summer. My paternal Grandmother canned just about everything, She and Grandpa owned a full city lot next to their home in Richmond, Calif. Grandpa planted the entire lot in vegetables and he grew everything. Grandma owned a dry cleaners in El Cerrito, Calif, that she worked in everyday taking in the dry cleaning and doing alterations. Then during the summer every night after dinner she would can Grandpa's vegetables in her 2 large canners, I believe one was a Mirro and the other either a Wearever or Presto. I think that they each held 8 quart Mason jars at a time. Those canners would be singing away on her OKeffe and Merritt gas stove until at least 10 pm. She canned green beans, tomatoes, corn, beets, sauerkraut, mincemeat, rhubarb, peaches, pears, you name it Grandma canned it. Of course she also made her own jams and jelly, and they were so good! Every night at dinner they would be on the table to go with her homemade biscuits. They had a big basement and the canned jars were lined up like soilders down there. And I do recall that she used to say that you needed to boil or at least heat home canned green beans for 20 mins. to be sure that any possible botulism was killed. The summer my Dad died my Mom tried to can tuna because she used to serve us tuna sandwiches all the time and she thought this would be a good way to economize, since she saw that she could buy a whole Albacore tuna for $5.00. Well she spent a whole day canning that tuna and got I believe 6 pints. The tuna was delicious, but that was Moms last foray into canning! Too much work for her, and I don't blame her.
Eddie
 
Re Heating canned food....

I discovered if you heat your canned food in a pressure cooker to 15 pounds then serve it ,it improves the taste ..Sometimes beans can have a "canned" taste.
 
Hans, it is a safety thing. The food needs to be boiled for 10 minutes in an oxygen atmosphere to destroy any potential botulin toxin. Since the air is exhausted from a pressure cooker at the start of cooking and the food surrounded by steam, it would not get the benefit of the exposure to oxygen if reheated that way.
 
So, here is a related question regarding pressure cookers.

Does the internal temperature of a pressure cooker vary with changes in altitude? If it does vary, does it vary to the same degree as atmospheric boiling is effected??

I'd assume considering the physics of a weight/gravity/oriface regulator that the internal pressure (temp) is pretty much fixed with changes in altitude. Pressure is set based on the area of the oriface and the weight attempting to seal it. I suppose there could be a tiny variance due to the pressure against the weight from the outside air pressure.

A Bourdon tube pressure guage will read increased pressure at higher elevations since it's reading is relative to the outside pressure.

Just a curious pondering.
 
Yes

Water boils at a lower temperature at higher altitudes, thus the need to increase the pressure in the vessel in order to increase the boiling temperature.

..."As atmospheric pressure decreases, water boils at lower temperatures. At
sea level, water boils at 212 °F. With each 500-feet increase in elevation, the
boiling point of water is lowered by just under 1 °F. At 7,500 feet, for example,
water boils at about 198 °F. Because water boils at a lower temperature at
higher elevations, foods that are prepared by boiling or simmering will cook at
a lower temperature, and it will take longer to cook."

. . ."Even at sea level, meat and poultry (as well as low-acid vegetables and
fish) must be processed using a steam pressure canner. If using a dial
gauge at high altitudes, the pressure in the canner must be increased
by 1 pound of pressure for each 2,000 feet above sea level. If using
a weighted gauge, the 15 pound weight must be used at all altitudes
above 1,000 feet. You do not need to add additional processing time if
the pressure of the canner is adequately adjusted."

"All home-canned foods should be canned according to USDA or USDAendorsed
recommendations. Low-acid and tomato foods not canned
using these methods present a risk of botulism. If there is a possibility
that any deviation from the USDA-endorsed methods occurred, boil
low-acid and tomato foods in a saucepan before consuming to prevent
the risk of botulism. At altitudes below 1,000 feet, boil foods for 10
minutes. Add an additional minute of boiling time for each additional
1,000 feet elevation (for example, at 3,000 feet, boil for 12 minutes).
Spinach and corn should be boiled for 20 minutes at all altitudes. This
is due to the high density of these vegetables."

There is a chart in the publication I listed.
In Wichita where I live we are 1,299 feet above sea level. We are supposed to, and I do, use the 15lb weight.

Hans--Mocksville has an elevation of 889 feet, so you are good at 10 lbs. [this post was last edited: 9/8/2015-09:07]

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/shared/PDF/High_Altitude_Cooking_and_Food_Safety.pdf
 
So, what brand pressure cooker would be reccomended.
I'm thinking most likely an 8 qt size. I don't want to spend a lot on one.

I was considering a Fagor model but it only does 7 lb and 15 lb of pressure.
Not sure if it would matter if I canned meat at 15 lb instead of 10?
 
Buy the Fagor!

I too have been following the PC posts here and also did see the Cooks Illustrated TV show on PBS. My library had the CI pressure cooker cookbook and after looking through it, I bought the 8 qt. Fagor PC and have been very happy. I've had great success with risotto and even did the roasted chicken recipe to great success. A long time friend has both the 6 and 8 qt. Fagor's and is using them on his portable induction burner and loves them. He's had PC's for many years. I'm a novice... My 2 cents! Greg
 
If you are going to can in quart jars, you need the height of the 12 or 16 quart canners. If you are canning in pints, you can get by with a smaller cooker. I have used the 8 qt Mirro for overflow from the 16 quart canners. I think it holds 3 or 4 quart jars, but it is the old style from the 50s. I don't know if Mirro makes an 8 quart pressure cooker/canner now. I guess it depends on how much canning you plan on doing. It's one thing if you have a large, air conditioned area for canning and something else entirely different if you don't. Our grandmothers and their children went through hell putting up produce.
 
Our grandmothers and their children went through hell

Can you imagine on a woodstove in a one room cabin? Grandma had to can at night, because she had to borrow the canner from her neighbor and have it back in time for the neighbor to do her canning the next morning.

These were depression and then WWII times. Grandma didn't have her own Kettle and later a Pressure cooker, until the 60s or 70s. She didn't have an automatic washer until 1974, never owned a dryer, hated the gas range because it didn't cook like her woodstove.
 
Re vintage canning!

My Maternal grandparents raised a huge garden, had hogs and chickens, and canned EVERYTHING on the 1934 Majestic woodstove in a Revere copper washboiler, my Aunt and my Mother remembered how hot it was in August and September with that huge boiler on the stove boiling away, Mother said it was there job to bring in wood, She said it would hold 16 quart jars, and to can green beans or corn you had to boil them 3 hours, just like Dons Mother does now,My Mother said the house was so hot at night you couldn't sleep at all, many nights they slept on the poarch...you have to remember ,they didn't get electricity until 1938, when Mother was 9 years old, and didn't have a electric range until 1954.Hog killing time wasn't so bad, because you had to do that in cold weather, but vegetables had to be done in HOT North Carolina summer...HUMID HOT Summer!!!!
 
I had an elderly teacher for algebra who graded in red ink. He described poor tests as looking "like a south Georgia hog killing."

That wood stove had to be stoked pretty hot to keep that wash boiler full of water at a rolling boil. I've always thought the expression, "hotter than the hinges of hell" was a graphic and accurate description of a very hot kitchen. I guess the alliteration helps. I heard of people who used a wood stove in a tin-roofed shed, maybe like a wash house, for canning to keep the horrible extra heat out of the house when there was already too much heat in there.
 
Some of the old houses in Illinois where I lived had summer kitchens that were away from the main house where the canning, baking, cooking was done to keep the heat out of the main house.

The house my Mom was raised in was just a two room, dirt floor, log cabin. The amazing part is my Grandmother raised 17 children in that cabin. Mom said they would take their bedding and sleep outside during the summer where it was cooler.

I didn't mention, Grandma canned in gallon jars for that size family. Now that's a lot of Peeling, Snapping, stuffing and boiling. Not to mention they had to haul their water a mile from the spring.
 
My Mom has always canned tomatoes the same way her mother did- boil the tomatoes (along with onions, celery, and green pepper) for 45 minutes to an hour, then boil the lids and rings, and put the jars in a sink full of scalding water. Put in jars, lid, ring, and set on a towel to cool. No one has ever been sickened to my knowledge, and they are delicious. We may lose a jar or two some years, if they unseal, look funny, or smell bad, they are thrown out. Most recently we just run the jars in the dishwasher on sanitize and heated dry, and use from there. My "Grandma" also does them the same way, and cans green beans and applesauce via hot water bath. We also do jams and jellies occasionally and those are not water bathed, just sealed and left to cool. Have not lost a jar of properly made jelly yet. Did lose a whole batch of sugar free grape jelly a few years ago though.
 
They (The U.S.D.A) cautions using the water bath method on low acid canning, even tomatoes are cautioned since their acidity has decreased with new varieties.

Just because no one has gotten sick is from luck, not policy. Because we cannot see or taste Botulism, we do not know when it is present; so we must assume it is there in all items and process them accordingly.

Having always done it and not gotten sick, is like the man that never wears a seatbelt and has never been killed in a wreck. He may be lucky all the rest of his days, or could meet the guy running a red light at the next corner.
 
In reply 22 I mentioned a one room cabin, and in 25 I said a two room.  I am not making up stories, my mother corrected me.  They had two rooms as they counted the loft where the kids slept as a second room.  I actually have a picture of that cabin over my mantel now.   

 

This picture was made from a small about 3x3 black & white photo,.  A few years ago my Aunt had a woman in their home town, Eldon, MO paint a full size picture and colorize it.  My Mom liked the picture so much that my uncle had it copied and then I had it framed for my mother.  

 

 

[this post was last edited: 9/10/2015-21:36]

iheartmaytag-2015091021305104309_1.jpg
 

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