Canning Equipment
(Not an actual picture of my canning tools)
Pressure Cooker's- There are so many brands out there it's hard to find the one that works best for you and you can easily be led astray when they all sound so great. I mean electric? What the... Never heard of that before and yes I'm very skeptical! Here are a few tips to consider when choosing your pressure cooker.
Dos
- The bigger the better! I have a 23 quart pressure cooker and I love it! You might be thinking hey I'm not going to be canning that much maybe a total of twenty jars this year I should just get a six or an eight quart; it sure is cheaper. Wrong! Here is why
- Time: There are some foods like corn and beans that take a VERY long time to can. For example corn takes an hour in the pressure cooker, beans take almost an hour and a half. If you're doing twenty jars of beans and only have a pressure cooker that fits four jars at a time, then it would take you eight hours just to pressure cook your beans! That time does not include all the prep work that goes into it! With my 23 quart I can get twenty jars in at once! And even then, I still got a ridiculous headache of how long it took to can beans and my pressure cooker is huge! So invest the extra thirty bucks and buy yourself a big one. You won't regret it!
- Obsession: I grew up with canning my entire life and still when I moved out on my own I wasn't that interested. Finally I started getting into it more this last year and the more I canned the more I wondered, huh can I bottle that? There's so much food that you can preserve and it tastes WAY better and is WAY cheaper then store bought. Which was actually a surprise for me with some foods. Once you start up it will be hard to stop.
Don'ts
- The right material makes all the difference in the world. You need to keep in mind what kind of stove top you have. Do you have an electric? Or gas burner?
- Glass stove top: I've heard some people say that their pressure cooker doesn't work on their glass top stove. I then think to myself... Wha?? I have a glass top and so do both of my sisters and ours always works. So what's the big deal? I had to find out. I did some research and found that pressure cookers tend to come in two different materials, stainless steal and aluminum. If you have a glass top DO NOT buy a stainless steal pressure cooker. The reason why is that Aluminum transfers heat better through the pressure cooker then stainless steal and therefore works better on glass top stoves.
- Gas burner stove top: It doesn't matter as much the material you use for this type of stove because the heat relays better. However aluminum is not only cheaper but lasts just as long.
- What time of year you buy your pressure cooker is very important. Why? Well you spend a fair amount of money on this piece of equipment. You want to make sure it works to the best of it's ability.
- DO NOT buy your pressure cooker in the winter time! Think about it, summer time is when it's canning season. When all of the products are at their best and cheapest. If you buy a pressure cooker in the winter you will have nothing to test it on. Any malfunctions then could be overlooked and when you find them out it would be pass the window of return. If you do buy in the winter the only food that I can think to use as a test food is beans, you can find dried beans to can year round at your local grocery store.
And of course I most definitely have a favorite brand for a pressure cooker. My 23 quart is cheap but effective and compared to others is WAY better. I highly recommend this one to anyone who's interested in canning. Here's a link to the best pressure cooker I've ever used.
Canning Tools-Like I said before there are a lot of different brands for canning. Canning tools are relatively up to the same standards. So it's not a bad idea to go cheaper.
Dos
- If you're a first time canner it is definitely a good idea to buy a set of canning tools. There are several sets that you can get each good in their own way but I bought this set based on that it has several of the tools I really needed and was a good price. All of the other tools that come with a set are usually a bonus but are not necessary; even though they do come in handy occasionally.
- You can also buy these tools individually if you want more then one. I tend to like having at least two funnel's on hand. These are the basics you want to look for when buying in a set or individually.
- This should go without saying but don't buy canning tools, that you'll be dipping into very hot and boiling water, that don't have protective plastic covering the metal. You are buying most of these tools to help make it easier for you. These tools will not be any help if they get hot and burn you. I've been burned a lot and my fingers are calloused beyond repair, learn from my mistakes!
Canning Jars-Buying the right jar makes a big difference. How long will the jar last? How expensive is it? How well will it store my food? All of these are factors you have to think about.
- There aren't really any dos and don'ts for canning jars. Just make sure to buy sturdy glass ones. The two brands that I see regularly are Ball and Kerr, but I prefer Ball. The jars are slightly squared and they're easier to store and stack. Plus Ball seems more like the brand I find better in my region. This is just a personal preference though. You can usually find canning jars in your local grocery stores around canning season, but if you live in a region where there's not much demand for them you might want to purchase online. There are a lot of different sizes to choose from and you should choose accordingly depending on what food you're canning. As we continue I will tell you which jars I prefer for which foods.
- Quart Regular Mouth Jar's
- Quart Wide Mouth Jar's
- Pint Regular Mouth Jar's
- Pint Wide Mouth Jar's
- Half Pint Regular Mouth Jar's
Well that's about it! If you have any other questions please feel free to ask. But this should get you through the beginning and hopefully I helped you find the products that work best for you. Happy canning!
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