right now

right now

Jun 27, 2011

No helmet required!

Today was the day to test drive the new All-American pressure canner!  Ridiculous what excites some of us, isn't it?

Salsa Time!


Don't ever ask me for a recipe for salsa, since I don't use one, it just depends on what I have!  This brings me to one of the best reasons to pressure can - you can use those "homemade style" recipes since pressure canning will ensure the salsa is safe.  With steam canning you have to use certain amounts of tomatoes, not too many peppers in ratio to them, and have to add lots of acidity.  With pressure canning, you would just use the processing time equal to the most time required for the lowest acid ingredient, such as peppers.


I apologize in advance for the fact that my video doesn't show the entire process.  Being a beginner with pressure canning, I was worried about reading manuals, timing, and making sure I was doing everything "right".  Maybe I can do a better "how-to" video some day when I try meats, since by then I won't be stressing every step.  These are more of a "first impression" collection of clips :), basically a "what to expect" for newbies to pressure canning.

Note, I did not wear a helmet :) - actually there is no reason to be scared using this thing, there are several safety stops in function on this canner, and the most likely bad thing to happen would not be an explosion, but rather steam burns from not paying attention or not waiting long enough for the canner to depressurize before opening when you are finished.








A note for anyone considering buying one of these and unsure of what size to buy- 

Check out the photo below, and note how much room there still is...



For those of you who frequently buy veggies or fruits in bulk, like by the bushel or crate and process them all on the same day, you will need the larger size.  For most people with a normal size garden, I think you would be fine with the 915.  The 915 is what you see above, and there are 6 pints of salsa in there with room for several more.  You can also stack pints.  It will hold 7 quart jars for the larger loads like tomato sauce.  Of special note is that this is exactly 1/2" wider than the large burner on my cooktop - if you have a ceramic glass, coil or any other regular electric style stove, you won't be able to safely use the larger size, this is the one you want.  If you need the larger size you will have to have a gas range or be doing it outside on a propane burner.  For people that process throughout the season as I do, one batch of pickles one week, a batch of sauce as tomatoes pile up, etc this 915 will do the job wonderfully!  I was scared that I ordered too small a unit until I actually used it, I found if I would have ordered the larger I would have had to return it, as it would have been too big for my glass cooktop.  For those of you who can 50 quarts of peaches when they come in season, however - you may need the biggie!

All in all - this thing is a breeze!  Easy to read gauges, awesome manual, heats up in just minutes as there is only a few inches of water to deal with, the lid security is amazing, made in the USA, and I saved the best part for last...

No more "sterilizing" jars!  That's right - you just wash your jars normally and set them someplace clean to fill, but you don't have to heat up a huge pot of water to boil the jars since the long hot pressure will safely sterilize your jars while canning!  You will still want to do your lids, however, since those sealing strips need to be softened.

17 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting about this. We have an old pressure cooker, but we're afraid it doesn't work anymore. We don't know what to do. We've heard you can have them tested but don't know how to do it. Any idea? The salsa looks great!

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  2. Awesome that it worked so well for you the first time!! Congrats!!
    Judy

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  3. I have never pressure canned salsa because I feared it would make the salsa too liquid like. Let me know how it turned out. I like to keep the salsa as chunky as will allow. I am very curious now.

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  4. Jody, I know you should be able to take your gauge to your local extension service, most will test them, although for some states they may have to be mailed to the university. If you are in a large city area however, they should be able to do it, call & check with the extension or 4-H office (they are both Dept of Ag offices usually located together in the same bldg)
    ***
    Judy, I'm psyched! Now you need to do a video of the grinder - didn't you get a manual one last year? I'm intrigued on how you like it a year later :)
    ***
    Jane, oooh a challenge! You're on! This particular batch I blended with my stick blender as it was cooking as I use some kinds of salsa as a cooking sauce and marinade, but I also love chunky ones. I've always frozen my chunky ones since I didn't have a canner but next batch I'll try chunky and let you know how it works.

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  5. And I'm so dumb.... just about everytime I say "gauge" in those videos I meant "weight" LOL... you all probably caught that and laughed at me... gauges, gauges, everywhere :)

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  6. We didn't laugh, we just read you mind. ;) I'm so glad you had a great first experience with your canner. It is a beauty, that's for sure! I wish you lots of happy food preserving adventures. I think Minnie Pearl is going to be happily well used. :)

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  7. Thanks for doing this run-thru for us to see the pressure canner in actual use. I'm going to be much less nervous to use mine for the first time after having seen you with yours. It kinda opens a whole new world of food preservation, doesn't it? I think this is going to be a real boon to you as long as you're in your present house with so little space for a big freezer! You go, Girl.

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  8. Patty, LOL!

    Mama Pea, I'm excited to try soups and stews actually - think of all the space I'll get back in the freezer!

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  9. Oh you are quickly converting me. We want to get rid of the freezer and this would make it possible. I think I'll put this on my must have list for next year.
    That sure would save time not having to sterilize the jars. Not to mention canning soups and stews would be amazing!

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  10. So glad you like it!
    Ribbit

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  11. Now that you have a pressure canner you can make your own Vegetable broth. I save all my scrapings and trimmings from my veggies (mushroom stems, carrot scrapings, celery ends, onion trimmings, etc) in a bag in the freezer. When I have a gallon bag of these scraps I put them in a big pot of water with thyme and pepper corns and boil it. Strain it, put it into jars and pressure can it and you have the best flavored, rich brown broth for using in a variety of ways. I always cook my rice in it and heat up my canned beans in it. Pretty much any where a recipe calls for water you can sub this veggie broth. No salt, no MSG. All flavor and basically free. When I am all done straining the broth I throw the veggie mush in the compost pile them. I get every nugget of nutrition out of my veggies before the trimmings go in the compost.

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  12. Yay for you! I mostly use mine for canning chicken stock. I hate having to defrost it, and I find that the gallon ziploc bags always end up with holes in them that you don't discover until half the contents has leaked out of the bag:( Canning saves time & freezer space!

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  13. gees the company should have given you this free for your good advertising. Since I have never used one--- you should have seen me watch your video Erin- lmao to think how I reacted -I kept backing away from the computer-brave woman you are and wonderful looking salsa

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  14. Sparkless, I think this is definitely an item that will pay for itself over time, it's built to last forever, and also we all know that homemade preserved stuff is priceless anyways :)

    Ribbit & Dani, it would be even better if the kids were in school so I could can in peace LOL!

    Pat & Lisa, I intend to do that - I'm glad now I've heard from someone who does it, so many people are afraid of doing stocks, soups and meats - I think it will be so nice to have and know what ingredients went into it!

    Alison, I have the same problem with ziplocs! I can't wait to do some stock.

    Judy, it really wasn't scary at all, but there is a nice manual that takes you through the steps nicely.

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  15. It is a thing of beauty. All one has to do is...be able to afford it!

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  16. WooHoo! See, it's not so bad afterall, is it? Makes ya wonder why you didn't do it sooner too! At least I felt that way at first!

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