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Canning: it isn't just for gatherers

Hedgelj

Senior Member
Supporting Member
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Mohicanish
I water bath can pickles but know nothing about pressure canning. Can I get a how to including recommended items to buy?
 

Hedgelj

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,145
178
Mohicanish
Okay read through the thread.
1) Recommendations of canners to buy or avoid?
2) Link for the maple jalapeno is dead, please post it sounds delicious
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,691
177
Ohio
there are two types of pressure canners. the kind with a rubber gasket seal and the kind with metal on metal seal. the former usually being considerably more expensive. sometimes you can find mint condition used canners on Ebay or Craigslist. All-American is considered to be the best of them all, but also the most expensive. these things will last ten lifetimes if cared for. I have two All American canners in two sizes, plus a very old Ward's 19, circa 1940, which is the first pressure canner I ever owned. I bought it on Ebay for $10, put another $50 or so in with a new pressure gauge and new bake-lite wingnut handles, plus some work to clean it up nicely. I got my big 21qt AA at a garage/moving sale I found on craigslist. looked as if it had never been used. I stole it from them for $100. I paid full price for the AA 915. unless you do a bunch of canning, you probably don't need three full size canners. the cheaper ones with a gasket seal will work fine, too, but the seals wear out and can fail from being cut, burned, etc. what you need really depends on how much canning you intend to do and how much you want spend. if you intend to do more pints than quarts, I'd suggest getting a 21qt size because you can stack two layers of 8 pint jars in them. these canners all will only fit 7 quart jars.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
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Appalachia
Did some cleaning and rearranging this weekend. Pretty well stocked with jars at the moment.

20200321_161055.jpg
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,691
177
Ohio
As a Christmas gift last year I got a pack of Harvest Guard re-usable canning lids. I was reluctant to try them on canning squirrels and venison for fear of wasting high value food. Green beans are not so valuable to me, so I'm giving these a shot. The cost of name brand lids is getting pretty ridiculous like so many other things that these might make a lot of sense if they function as advertised. For a very long time there were no disposable lids, so I'm hopeful that these work and I can save some money. The packaging says they can be used 7-8 times before they should be replaced. We'll see. These are barely more effort than disposable lids. Fingers crossed. Anyone here ever used these or something similar?


IMG_4155.jpg
 

Hedgelj

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,145
178
Mohicanish
As a Christmas gift last year I got a pack of Harvest Guard re-usable canning lids. I was reluctant to try them on canning squirrels and venison for fear of wasting high value food. Green beans are not so valuable to me, so I'm giving these a shot. The cost of name brand lids is getting pretty ridiculous like so many other things that these might make a lot of sense if they function as advertised. For a very long time there were no disposable lids, so I'm hopeful that these work and I can save some money. The packaging says they can be used 7-8 times before they should be replaced. We'll see. These are barely more effort than disposable lids. Fingers crossed. Anyone here ever used these or something similar?


View attachment 182038
Tattler are the only ones I've heard of that are resusable.
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,691
177
Ohio
These are, as far as I can tell, exactly like the Tattlers and also made in USA. These were easy to use, that is to say I did not find them to be inconvenient or more difficult to use than metal lids, and every jar sealed. I tried to pull a lid off with my fingers but I could not break the seal. If they hold the seal for as long as is necessary, then I will happily keep using them. I did a little math and if we can re-use these gaskets 8 times it reduces the cost of each lid to $.11, ten times and that is down to a nickel compared to $.50 to $.60 per metal wide mouth lid. Not exactly a huge savings for people who only seal a hundred or so jars a year, but it will be nice to always have some on hand.

Amazon.com: Harvest Guard Reusable Canning Lids - 50 Wide Lids and Gaskets: Home & Kitchen

IMG_4157.jpg

IMG_4158.jpg
 
These are, as far as I can tell, exactly like the Tattlers and also made in USA. These were easy to use, that is to say I did not find them to be inconvenient or more difficult to use than metal lids, and every jar sealed. I tried to pull a lid off with my fingers but I could not break the seal. If they hold the seal for as long as is necessary, then I will happily keep using them. I did a little math and if we can re-use these gaskets 8 times it reduces the cost of each lid to $.11, ten times and that is down to a nickel compared to $.50 to $.60 per metal wide mouth lid. Not exactly a huge savings for people who only seal a hundred or so jars a year, but it will be nice to always have some on hand.

Amazon.com: Harvest Guard Reusable Canning Lids - 50 Wide Lids and Gaskets: Home & Kitchen

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View attachment 182067
Let me know in 9 months?
 
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"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,741
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North Carolina
These are, as far as I can tell, exactly like the Tattlers and also made in USA. These were easy to use, that is to say I did not find them to be inconvenient or more difficult to use than metal lids, and every jar sealed. I tried to pull a lid off with my fingers but I could not break the seal. If they hold the seal for as long as is necessary, then I will happily keep using them. I did a little math and if we can re-use these gaskets 8 times it reduces the cost of each lid to $.11, ten times and that is down to a nickel compared to $.50 to $.60 per metal wide mouth lid. Not exactly a huge savings for people who only seal a hundred or so jars a year, but it will be nice to always have some on hand.

Amazon.com: Harvest Guard Reusable Canning Lids - 50 Wide Lids and Gaskets: Home & Kitchen

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View attachment 182067
We’ll be using these next year….. Thanks for the heads up, Jamie!
 
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Jamie

Senior Member
5,691
177
Ohio
I live in a rural area and sometimes it is difficult to find enough lids locally when it is canning season, and they are expensive at the grocery or TSC. I started buying lids in bulk during the scamdemic just in case shit got really bad, so I have plenty. I'll be curious to see how these fare canning squirrels. The jars always loose some of their greasy liquid from expansion while cooking and that can interfere with seals. I've put up a lot of rats and only ever had one jar fail to seal with metal lids and I think that one lid was defective and I did not notice when I put it on the jar. That jar simply did not pull the vacuum when it cooled, so I knew it was bad and ate that jar the next day. I'll be keeping an eye on these 7 quarts for the next several months, but I cannot see any reason why they would just stop working and the seal failing just sitting there. I would be more concerned about these seals failing with water bath canning than I am presssure canning.