Preserving Food, Boiling Water Canning

[cHeroKee]

Canning

<dl><dt>Preserving Food, Boiling Water Canning, UGA 2005.pdf (http://www.birdflumanual.com/resources/Food_Preservation/files/preserveFoodBoilWaterCanUGA05.pdf)</dt><dd> The is the first of 2 articles on home canning by Elizabeth L. Andress, Ph.D., Professor and Extension Food Safety Specialist at the University of Georgia.
?Most boiling water canners are made of aluminum or porcelain-covered steel. They have fitted lids and removable racks that are either perforated or shaped wire racks. The canner must be deep enough so that at least one inch of briskly boiling water will be over the tops of jars during processing. Some boiling water canners do not have completely flat bottoms. A flat bottom must be used on an electric range. Either a flat or ridged bottom may be used on a gas burner. To ensure uniform processing of all jars with an electric range, the canner should be no more than 4 inches wider in diameter than the element on which it is heated.? :o16:</dd></dl>

[prairiemom]

One thing we learned (the hard way, after burning out two stoves :blush: ) is that if you can more than 1 batch a day, you should get a canning burner. It sits about 1/4" higher than a regular burner, keeping the burner from overheating. It costs about $30-35 and is way cheaper than fixing/replacing burnt out stoves.

[Banjo Picker]

Forget water bath canning. Use a large pressure canner. I can all of my food in one. Do fruit 8 minutes at 5 pounds. You can do around 15 pints at a time. Much easier than water bath. And it does't destroy the fruit like many people seem to think.
Banjo Picker

[skeller]

Pressure canning also doesn't heat up the house on a hot autumn afternoon.

[prairiemom]

Forget water bath canning. Use a large pressure canner. I can all of my food in one. Do fruit 8 minutes at 5 pounds. You can do around 15 pints at a time. Much easier than water bath. And it does't destroy the fruit like many people seem to think.

Yes, except by the time I vent it for 10 min and add in the cool-down time, it doesn't save me any time. I can only do 9 pts, you must have a taller pressure canner. For fruit I prefer qts.