When the power goes out..and living in Louisiana..it does...You often face losing items in your freezer, lacking a generator I would advise having keeping your "old" non-electric canning equipment handy...
Of course! You couldn't pry my All American Canners out of my cold dead hands, those babies aren't going anywhere! I run their 40 quart and 30 quart models regularly for big batches, and they're incredible. If you're doing big batches, or need an option for when the grid's down then obviously those are the better choice, no question.
But for small batches, or putting up leftovers without a fuss, this this is great. For most people, that's all they need and they just want to put up a few jars now and then...the only thing stopping them is being scared of the whole process. I'm really excited that this thing will get more people into canning for the first time.
We’re off grid, so I have to pick and choose where my electricity goes! All American Canner all the way! Could see where an urban homesteader would love it!
I love my Presto Digital Canner! It was SO worth the investment. I had a standard pressure canner for more than a year and never used it. Got the Digital canner and I’ve used it quite a few times with great success. I love how easy it is to control the pressure (a challenge I have now that I have tried the stove top canner because my stove is a little wonky). Wish the digital canner was a bit bigger but it’s been terrific for all the reasons you outlined.
Yup! You summed it up right there...it makes it a lot easier to do so you actually use it rather than let it collect dust.
It sounds like you have a presto dial guage canner for your stovetop canner, and those are really tricky to use unles syou have a really nice high end gas stove. They do really poorly on anything wonky, or on electric or coil stoves where you can't adjust the heat quickly. You also have to baby sit them the whole canning time.
The All Americans are infinitely better for wonky stoves, as they maintain pressure with a weight and it's much more hands off. Not as hands off as the electric one, but a lot easier than the presto. If you want more capacity, the All American Canners are an excellent choice. I finally bit the bullet this year and bought their battleship of a canner (the 40 quart), though I'd been using the 30 quart for years and it's worth it for me for sure.
Hi Ashley, thanks for this article on canning. I am “homesteading” as much as I can in my backyard city lot, hoping to grow a majority of my food this year. I planted enough potatoes in hopes to harvest 50 lbs! Peas, lettuce and spinach are growing in my zone 6b since I discovered winter sowing. Now I just need to figure out how to over-winter those without a root cellar (in my cement floor basement) as well as winter squash, etc. I look forward to learning more from you and becoming more self-sustaining!
Nice! We tend to get about 50 lbs of potatoes out of a 4x8 raised bed when planting yukon gold, so hopefully you're as luck as we are in terms of yields. I don't have a real root cellar either, just a cement floored basement, but provided you're growing the right storage varieties they tend to do pretty well that way.
So glad to have you along, and I hope this season goes well for you!
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to get your email this morning. I run out of freezer space every year by the end of gardening season and having a ceramic top stove isn’t conducive for canning. I was unaware that there was finally an electric canner. This is going to be life changing for me. Thank you so much for sharing and going into so much detail!!
I'm so glad this was helpful to you! Your comment is actually really helpful to me too, as I forgot to even mention glass stove tops, which can't handle the weight of most canners. I forgot to talk about that altogether, I'll have to go add that. Thank you!
I have both the presto electric canner and the instant pot max duo after watching a very scientific test done by the woman from Red Rose Homestead. The woman is a math/physics professor. Sadly my max duo quit working. However I did love it very much. I’m currently using the presto brand. I was deathly afraid of the big older dial canners. I’m finally hearing about people using the electric ones, and LOVE the fact that you are acknowledging them. If more people like you endorse them, the more people will be willing to accept and use them. This would open the world of food preservation and self reliance to many more people! Thanks for sharing!
What about the Megachef and Nesco digital pressure canners? A comparative testing would be great if you could research and report on these more affordable models.
I have the Nesco and I'm going to have a review of that one shortly, hopefully later this month. The quick answer is that one MIGHT be ok for pressure canning, in certain situations and at certain elevations, and you may need to process things for a longer time...but not always and I don't feel great recommending it for that reason. There are a lot of ifs with this one, and I'll go into that in more detail when I write up the final review.
The Utah state extension reviewed the nesco canner and tested it, and it failed their testing, depending on elevation so they don't recommend it either.
That one's around $130 to $160, so it costs about half as much as the Presto Electric.
However, if you're looking for an inexpensive option that 100% works, you want the presto stovetop canners, either their 16 qt or the 23 qt. Both of those work, no question, and they're in the $120 to $160 range.
The megafesa canners aren't quite big enough for pressure canning, as the biggest one they make is a 12 qt. A canner has to be able to fit at least 4 quart jars inside to be a large enough pressure chamber to dependably circulate the steam (that's one of the reasons the nesco isn't ideal, it's very small).
But in this case, most of the megafesa canners are just to small to fit jars into. Their 12 qt is actually more expensive than the presto 16 qt, so if you're looking for an inexpensive pressure canner, it's the presto stovetop models all the way.
I will get back to you on the Nesco one though.
If you come across any that are at least 16 qt in size and less expensive than the presto stovetop model, let me know and I'll see if I can review them. I'm all about finding economical options, so long as they dependably work.
Before I purchased my digital canner I watched many Rose Red Homestead YT videos and reviews of digital canners. And that is why I was comfortable purchasing the Nesco.
Instant Pot does make an electric canner, and I have one! Rose Red Homestead (YouTube) tested all the electric canners several months ago and although I don’t remember all the details, the Instant Pot Max was shown to be very safe. It has a digital readout of temperature, pressure, and time. Unfortunately, it only holds 4 pint jars at a time, but I still use it often and feel absolutely comfortable using it. Do you have information that it’s not safe?? Thank you.
So I actually watched all the Rose Red Homestead videos when I was preparing this review, and she does an excellent job there. I am really impressed by her testing, and she is a truly excellent source for information in general. She does, however, put a lot of caveats into her videos that her testing is designed to test things just at her house, at her conditions and at her elevation...which is absolutely true.
She does a spectacular job of talking through primary sources and how her research is done, and I can't find any fault with it for her home use. She does, however, say that her work is not repeatable everywhere, and not applicable to every situation. This video is a particularly good example of that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juzmXRfKOKg
Is it likely that you're totally fine canning in your instant pot? Yup.
Is it certain that it's a safe canning method? No.
Instant pot actually removed their recommendations for canning in it from their website, and now says that it's only good for water bath canning jams/jellies etc in their own literature. Though instant pot used to say you could pressure can in the instant pot max, after more testing, here is what it currently says, which dances around the point a bit...but in the end they only endorse it for water bath canning:
"Pressure canners require a minimum of 15 psi for safe canning of low-acid foods, such as meat.
Most Instant Pot electric pressure cookers operate within a range of 10-12 psi, which is safe for water bath canning of high-acid foods, such as jams and chutneys.
Modifying cooking times, ingredients, or temperatures can be dangerous. Use the exact time, temperature/pressure, and method specified in the recipe to protect the food from harmful bacteria, molds, and enzymes. Read and carefully follow the instructions provided in the USDA’s Complete Guide to Home Canning."
Their own temperature charts, posted on instant pot's website, actually show that it can dip below the safe processing temperatures during normal operation.
In 2019, they were having 3rd parties test the instant pot max independently to verify that it's safe for canning...and their posts at that time say they're hoping to confirm it's safe for canning soon. Shortly there after, instead of doing so, they said "you can only water bath can in it."
I can only assume the results of their 3rd party testing showed it failed. And if you look at the instant pot website, they don't even sell models with a canning feature anymore. The instant pot max is no longer in their active product line, nor is any pot with a canning setting.
That said, just because it can dip below the safe processing line doesn't mean it will...and even if it does, it doesn't necessarily mean that the food is not still processed at temperatures that will kill botulism. It's complicated.
It's not guaranteed sufficiently to continue calling it a "pressure canner" as instant pot found, but it still likely works fine in many places and conditions. It depends on the level of certainty you're comfortable with when it comes to canning, and rose red homestead goes into that too in her video linked above.
Thank you for this article. I have the instant pot max and am dismayed to learn that it’s not safe. I also have a Carey and would like to know why you do not consider that as also as safe as the Presto you reviewed.
Great question. I was SO EXCITED about the Carey when I learned about it, but then when I did more research I learned that it's just basically an off brand instant pot with all the same issues as the regular instant pot.
I talk through all the reasons in this article, which is wicked long because I wanted to be comprehensive, but basically all of the issues that apply to the instant pot also apply to the Carey: https://creativecanning.com/instant-pot-canning/
The Utah state extension service specifically tested the Carey in 2019 when it came out, and they found that it didn't dependably reach kill temperatures for botulism. It did better than the instant pot...but still, it didn't always hit the right temperatures in their testing.
Part of that is due to the chamber size, and since it's so small it heats and cools very fast...and that heat up and cool down time is part of the "process time" when you're working with a stovetop canner. It ensures that the center of the jars hit the right temperature for the right amount of time.
But it's also just failed to maintain the right temperature for the whole process time.
There's a shorter explanation of the reasoning behind not using both the instant pot and the carey from the USDA here, and it really goes through the main points quickly (they're less long winded than I am):
Thank you. So if I want to just can a few pints from a dinner roast, I would be better off getting the Presto or a smaller All American traditional canner. (My large one is hard for me to fill.) But it sounds like a smaller volume would have the same drawbacks of heating and cooling too rapidly even if it was vented properly and maintained pressure. I have to think on this.
So the smaller All Americans and Presto canners are tested and fine, as the minimum line the USDA set is canners that can hold 4 quart jars. The all americans and presto canners can do that.
Before I learned about this new presto canner I actually bought the smallest all american canner for the exact same reason you describe...my big one is just too much for a few jars of leftovers. That's why I have three All Americans at this point, the 40 quart for crazy big batches, the 30 quart which is my go to for most things and now their smallest one.
Then I got this electric one to test, thinking I'd just sell it on craigslist after my review...and I'm keeping that one instead. Now I'm thinking about selling the smallest all American on craigslist instead, since I actually like the electric one much better for small batches. (The other stovetop all americans are still my go to for big batches though, and I'll never get rid of those.)
I wholeheartedly share your views about the Digital Pressure Canner. I'm an old guy who's family has canned food for decades (or more!) I have a number of pressure canners due to family passing, etc. Alone now, I purchased a Presto Digital Pressure Canner because of the ease and convenience. I love it. With this canner, I can load it up after supper, get it to the vent stage and press the button - then go into the TV room and fall asleep watching the news while the canner does the rest, safely. I can't say enough about this canning tool. Indeed you are right when you say it will change how canning is done. More meals in a jar recipes, please!
Now that I have this little guy I'm going to be doing a lot more small batch meal in a a jar canning recipes because it makes it so darn easy. I don't have to tend it, and just as you say, I can load it up and leave it. In my case, I'm reading bedtime stories while it's running, and since our house is a one room cabin I can actually put the babies to bed while it's doing it's thing.
good morning. i am definitely in the 'interested in canning & yet am completely daunted by the idea' category. as a total newbie i'm wondering if freezing food better maintain nutrients? ... or are canning & freezing pretty much equal in this regard? thank you!
It depends on the type of food. Some things do much better frozen, other things actually do better canned (especially if you're going to cook them before eating them).
Freezing degrades pectin in fruits, so it's not ideal for jams. For plain fruits, some do a lot better frozen than canned, like strawberries and blueberries. Other are actually better quality canned, like peaches.
Nutrient differences are minor, with the exception of vitamin C, which is really heat sensitive and degrades a lot in canning.
Freezing is great for things like peas and green beans, that are only cooked for short periods before eating...but they're cooked to high heaven when canned.
Meats, soups, broths and other meal in a jar things do better canned than frozen.
So really, it's a mixed bag.
We put up a lot of food in a year, and I have three huge chest freezers. That's a lot of space, but still not enough for homegrown food for a family of 4. I freeze what freezes best, and can the rest...which is a lot.
Most people don't have that kind of freezer space though, and don't like the fact that everything will be ruined if the power goes out....which argues for more canning and pantry storage.
Anyhow, the arguments are good either way.
One of the big reasons we got into canning was I was making a lot of broths and stocks, and they were taking up huge amounts of freezer space...and I was storing them in plastic. Plastic leaches things into food, even "food safe" plastic, especially if it's undergoing temperature changes as it does in the freezing/thawing process. Glass is really a much better option.
If you do opt for freezing, freezer safe jars are a good way to go, as they're glass.
Anyhow, that's a long winded reply...and maybe doesn't get to the heart of what you're asking. But in a nutshell, there are pros and cons to both methods, and it's all about where you're at, what you're preserving and what your goals are.
Ashley, you haven't talked much about the freeze dryer. Contrary to all of the sites out there, I have not been able to reconstitute food as well as others do. Has this been your experience? I am very interested in the Presto canner because it would be lovely to put up some leftover food and be able to eat it without adding water!
I have had mixed success with my freeze dryer in terms of re-hydrating things as well. Some things are truly excellent, and others just won't re-hydrate well. We did chicken korma, for example, and I could never get the chicken pieces to re-hydrate. I even cooked it on the stovetop trying to boil water into it, but the center of the pieces were still dry.
I remade the recipe, but this time I diced the chicken very finely, and it did rehydrate well and was delicious.
I think the thing is, people out there say you can cook the same way you otherwise would and just throw your leftovers in there, but that's not quite right. The pieces, especially for meat, need to be much smaller than you'd make in your general cooking.
If you look at mountain house meals and other camping meals, you see that too. They have very small pieces, and obviously they don't make every meal under the sun...only those that re-hydrate well. I think there's a learning curve to figuring out what dehydrates well and what doesn't.
We did thai shrimp curry with rice, and it was amazing as a just add water recipe. Everything was chopped very small, etc. But if you look at camping meals, there are a lot of curries like that too.
So I think the key is realizing it has limitations, and it's not the "you can put anything into it" machine that people say it is. Even fruits have been a mixed bag...I love strawberries and raspberries out of it, but kiwi wasn't any good.
I do still love it, and we put up plenty of food with it that we couldn't otherwise, like eggplant, but thus far, I've held off on writing a complete review as I feel like I have to work with it more to really nail down what it can do and what it can't.
(Up until now mine worked flawlessly from a mechanical perspective, but this week, it's having a vacuum problem...I remember you had that happen when yours first arrived. Here's hoping I'm able to resolve it quickly, as it's my first mechanical issue with it and I'm crossing my fingers.)
I read somewhere that you need to soak things for a number of hours to rehydrate them. I plan to use the FD mainly for fruits and veggies in their original state, so that should work. Kind of a bummer that it doesn't do a good job with kiwi, as that was one of the things I was looking forward to! I watched one video where "Retired at 40" did just cooked rice. It would be great to make a huge batch and then freeze-dry it for an instant addition to a meal.
I'm amazed that you remember that I had the vacuum issue! It was daunting to get started, mainly because it had to be plugged in and running while I was adding wet silicone! I was always taught that water and electricity don't mix. I was told that the part I was going to add silicone to was not "running" and was not a concern. I quote, "No one's been electrocuted yet!" Anyway, once I opened the back (seemed like 400 screws needed to come out.) and got to doing it, it really wasn't so bad and went quite quickly. Did they send you the videos? If not, I probably can locate them and send them on. When I opened my machine up, it did not look like the video. I had to peel off a foam coating, and that did not match the video, so don't fret when you get to that point.
thank you for your "long winded" reply. i appreciate every word! it definitely gets to the heart of my question. freezer safe jars & an electric canner are definitely going on my shopping list! ♥️
My wife was an old time Iowa State Univ. Home Ec teacher. Her research and teaching was that home canned fresh foods are often superior to frozen. Hair splitting differences, but definitely nutritious food.
I pressure can bone broth on a regular basis and this would make my life so much simpler. :) Thanks for sharing! I clicked through to read your review and then it went straight into my amazon cart.
Hi Ashley! I know there's been a Cary pressure canner out for a while, but I have heard from many people that that one is not approved by the government because of a lack of ability to test that it holds correct pressure during the entire canning process. Do you know if the Presto is approved? Or what makes it different from the Cary? I would LOVE to get an electric pressure canner, but I have been hesitant to do so because of what I heard about the Cary.
I was excited about that one too when I saw it, and I actually bought one for review...and then I did more research and was really disappointed that it's basically just an off brand instant pot. I am still going to review it, as I still do have it, but it's so sad because that little thing is 1/3 the cost of the presto...it would have been spectacular if it worked. Oh well.
Check out the InstaPot Max. It has a canning feature, the others do not. Cans 4 pints, perfect for me. And I've only been canning about a year thanks to that InstaPot. Haven't used it for anything else but canning. It is on my agenda tho. Thank you for this wonderful site.
When the power goes out..and living in Louisiana..it does...You often face losing items in your freezer, lacking a generator I would advise having keeping your "old" non-electric canning equipment handy...
Of course! You couldn't pry my All American Canners out of my cold dead hands, those babies aren't going anywhere! I run their 40 quart and 30 quart models regularly for big batches, and they're incredible. If you're doing big batches, or need an option for when the grid's down then obviously those are the better choice, no question.
But for small batches, or putting up leftovers without a fuss, this this is great. For most people, that's all they need and they just want to put up a few jars now and then...the only thing stopping them is being scared of the whole process. I'm really excited that this thing will get more people into canning for the first time.
We’re off grid, so I have to pick and choose where my electricity goes! All American Canner all the way! Could see where an urban homesteader would love it!
Unsure why your links are not working in this article, Ashley. Must be my settings 😔
Oh no! Well maybe try viewing it online here and hopefully the links work there instead of in email?
Here's where you can find the newsletter: https://ashleyadamant.substack.com/p/using-an-electric-pressure-canner
Sorry it's not working!
It was my device! Didn’t realise until links from another source wouldn’t open either. Fixed with an update. Thanks for your support.
I love my Presto Digital Canner! It was SO worth the investment. I had a standard pressure canner for more than a year and never used it. Got the Digital canner and I’ve used it quite a few times with great success. I love how easy it is to control the pressure (a challenge I have now that I have tried the stove top canner because my stove is a little wonky). Wish the digital canner was a bit bigger but it’s been terrific for all the reasons you outlined.
Yup! You summed it up right there...it makes it a lot easier to do so you actually use it rather than let it collect dust.
It sounds like you have a presto dial guage canner for your stovetop canner, and those are really tricky to use unles syou have a really nice high end gas stove. They do really poorly on anything wonky, or on electric or coil stoves where you can't adjust the heat quickly. You also have to baby sit them the whole canning time.
The All Americans are infinitely better for wonky stoves, as they maintain pressure with a weight and it's much more hands off. Not as hands off as the electric one, but a lot easier than the presto. If you want more capacity, the All American Canners are an excellent choice. I finally bit the bullet this year and bought their battleship of a canner (the 40 quart), though I'd been using the 30 quart for years and it's worth it for me for sure.
Hi Ashley, thanks for this article on canning. I am “homesteading” as much as I can in my backyard city lot, hoping to grow a majority of my food this year. I planted enough potatoes in hopes to harvest 50 lbs! Peas, lettuce and spinach are growing in my zone 6b since I discovered winter sowing. Now I just need to figure out how to over-winter those without a root cellar (in my cement floor basement) as well as winter squash, etc. I look forward to learning more from you and becoming more self-sustaining!
Nice! We tend to get about 50 lbs of potatoes out of a 4x8 raised bed when planting yukon gold, so hopefully you're as luck as we are in terms of yields. I don't have a real root cellar either, just a cement floored basement, but provided you're growing the right storage varieties they tend to do pretty well that way.
So glad to have you along, and I hope this season goes well for you!
Very timely all things considered. Thank you.
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to get your email this morning. I run out of freezer space every year by the end of gardening season and having a ceramic top stove isn’t conducive for canning. I was unaware that there was finally an electric canner. This is going to be life changing for me. Thank you so much for sharing and going into so much detail!!
I'm so glad this was helpful to you! Your comment is actually really helpful to me too, as I forgot to even mention glass stove tops, which can't handle the weight of most canners. I forgot to talk about that altogether, I'll have to go add that. Thank you!
I have both the presto electric canner and the instant pot max duo after watching a very scientific test done by the woman from Red Rose Homestead. The woman is a math/physics professor. Sadly my max duo quit working. However I did love it very much. I’m currently using the presto brand. I was deathly afraid of the big older dial canners. I’m finally hearing about people using the electric ones, and LOVE the fact that you are acknowledging them. If more people like you endorse them, the more people will be willing to accept and use them. This would open the world of food preservation and self reliance to many more people! Thanks for sharing!
Oops- that should have been Magefesa, not megachef🙄
What about the Megachef and Nesco digital pressure canners? A comparative testing would be great if you could research and report on these more affordable models.
Definitely!
I have the Nesco and I'm going to have a review of that one shortly, hopefully later this month. The quick answer is that one MIGHT be ok for pressure canning, in certain situations and at certain elevations, and you may need to process things for a longer time...but not always and I don't feel great recommending it for that reason. There are a lot of ifs with this one, and I'll go into that in more detail when I write up the final review.
The Utah state extension reviewed the nesco canner and tested it, and it failed their testing, depending on elevation so they don't recommend it either.
That one's around $130 to $160, so it costs about half as much as the Presto Electric.
However, if you're looking for an inexpensive option that 100% works, you want the presto stovetop canners, either their 16 qt or the 23 qt. Both of those work, no question, and they're in the $120 to $160 range.
The megafesa canners aren't quite big enough for pressure canning, as the biggest one they make is a 12 qt. A canner has to be able to fit at least 4 quart jars inside to be a large enough pressure chamber to dependably circulate the steam (that's one of the reasons the nesco isn't ideal, it's very small).
But in this case, most of the megafesa canners are just to small to fit jars into. Their 12 qt is actually more expensive than the presto 16 qt, so if you're looking for an inexpensive pressure canner, it's the presto stovetop models all the way.
I will get back to you on the Nesco one though.
If you come across any that are at least 16 qt in size and less expensive than the presto stovetop model, let me know and I'll see if I can review them. I'm all about finding economical options, so long as they dependably work.
Before I purchased my digital canner I watched many Rose Red Homestead YT videos and reviews of digital canners. And that is why I was comfortable purchasing the Nesco.
Instant Pot does make an electric canner, and I have one! Rose Red Homestead (YouTube) tested all the electric canners several months ago and although I don’t remember all the details, the Instant Pot Max was shown to be very safe. It has a digital readout of temperature, pressure, and time. Unfortunately, it only holds 4 pint jars at a time, but I still use it often and feel absolutely comfortable using it. Do you have information that it’s not safe?? Thank you.
So I actually watched all the Rose Red Homestead videos when I was preparing this review, and she does an excellent job there. I am really impressed by her testing, and she is a truly excellent source for information in general. She does, however, put a lot of caveats into her videos that her testing is designed to test things just at her house, at her conditions and at her elevation...which is absolutely true.
She does a spectacular job of talking through primary sources and how her research is done, and I can't find any fault with it for her home use. She does, however, say that her work is not repeatable everywhere, and not applicable to every situation. This video is a particularly good example of that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juzmXRfKOKg
Is it likely that you're totally fine canning in your instant pot? Yup.
Is it certain that it's a safe canning method? No.
Instant pot actually removed their recommendations for canning in it from their website, and now says that it's only good for water bath canning jams/jellies etc in their own literature. Though instant pot used to say you could pressure can in the instant pot max, after more testing, here is what it currently says, which dances around the point a bit...but in the end they only endorse it for water bath canning:
"Pressure canners require a minimum of 15 psi for safe canning of low-acid foods, such as meat.
Most Instant Pot electric pressure cookers operate within a range of 10-12 psi, which is safe for water bath canning of high-acid foods, such as jams and chutneys.
Modifying cooking times, ingredients, or temperatures can be dangerous. Use the exact time, temperature/pressure, and method specified in the recipe to protect the food from harmful bacteria, molds, and enzymes. Read and carefully follow the instructions provided in the USDA’s Complete Guide to Home Canning."
Their own temperature charts, posted on instant pot's website, actually show that it can dip below the safe processing temperatures during normal operation.
In 2019, they were having 3rd parties test the instant pot max independently to verify that it's safe for canning...and their posts at that time say they're hoping to confirm it's safe for canning soon. Shortly there after, instead of doing so, they said "you can only water bath can in it."
I can only assume the results of their 3rd party testing showed it failed. And if you look at the instant pot website, they don't even sell models with a canning feature anymore. The instant pot max is no longer in their active product line, nor is any pot with a canning setting.
I really go into lots of detail in my post on this here, including things specific to the instant pot max: https://creativecanning.com/instant-pot-canning/
That said, just because it can dip below the safe processing line doesn't mean it will...and even if it does, it doesn't necessarily mean that the food is not still processed at temperatures that will kill botulism. It's complicated.
It's not guaranteed sufficiently to continue calling it a "pressure canner" as instant pot found, but it still likely works fine in many places and conditions. It depends on the level of certainty you're comfortable with when it comes to canning, and rose red homestead goes into that too in her video linked above.
Thank you for this article. I have the instant pot max and am dismayed to learn that it’s not safe. I also have a Carey and would like to know why you do not consider that as also as safe as the Presto you reviewed.
Great question. I was SO EXCITED about the Carey when I learned about it, but then when I did more research I learned that it's just basically an off brand instant pot with all the same issues as the regular instant pot.
I talk through all the reasons in this article, which is wicked long because I wanted to be comprehensive, but basically all of the issues that apply to the instant pot also apply to the Carey: https://creativecanning.com/instant-pot-canning/
The Utah state extension service specifically tested the Carey in 2019 when it came out, and they found that it didn't dependably reach kill temperatures for botulism. It did better than the instant pot...but still, it didn't always hit the right temperatures in their testing.
Their results are here: https://extension.usu.edu/preserve-the-harvest/files/foodsafetyelectricpressurecookers.pdf
Part of that is due to the chamber size, and since it's so small it heats and cools very fast...and that heat up and cool down time is part of the "process time" when you're working with a stovetop canner. It ensures that the center of the jars hit the right temperature for the right amount of time.
But it's also just failed to maintain the right temperature for the whole process time.
There's a shorter explanation of the reasoning behind not using both the instant pot and the carey from the USDA here, and it really goes through the main points quickly (they're less long winded than I am):
https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/electric_cookers.html
Thank you. So if I want to just can a few pints from a dinner roast, I would be better off getting the Presto or a smaller All American traditional canner. (My large one is hard for me to fill.) But it sounds like a smaller volume would have the same drawbacks of heating and cooling too rapidly even if it was vented properly and maintained pressure. I have to think on this.
So the smaller All Americans and Presto canners are tested and fine, as the minimum line the USDA set is canners that can hold 4 quart jars. The all americans and presto canners can do that.
Before I learned about this new presto canner I actually bought the smallest all american canner for the exact same reason you describe...my big one is just too much for a few jars of leftovers. That's why I have three All Americans at this point, the 40 quart for crazy big batches, the 30 quart which is my go to for most things and now their smallest one.
Then I got this electric one to test, thinking I'd just sell it on craigslist after my review...and I'm keeping that one instead. Now I'm thinking about selling the smallest all American on craigslist instead, since I actually like the electric one much better for small batches. (The other stovetop all americans are still my go to for big batches though, and I'll never get rid of those.)
I wholeheartedly share your views about the Digital Pressure Canner. I'm an old guy who's family has canned food for decades (or more!) I have a number of pressure canners due to family passing, etc. Alone now, I purchased a Presto Digital Pressure Canner because of the ease and convenience. I love it. With this canner, I can load it up after supper, get it to the vent stage and press the button - then go into the TV room and fall asleep watching the news while the canner does the rest, safely. I can't say enough about this canning tool. Indeed you are right when you say it will change how canning is done. More meals in a jar recipes, please!
YES! Exactly this!
Now that I have this little guy I'm going to be doing a lot more small batch meal in a a jar canning recipes because it makes it so darn easy. I don't have to tend it, and just as you say, I can load it up and leave it. In my case, I'm reading bedtime stories while it's running, and since our house is a one room cabin I can actually put the babies to bed while it's doing it's thing.
Love it!
good morning. i am definitely in the 'interested in canning & yet am completely daunted by the idea' category. as a total newbie i'm wondering if freezing food better maintain nutrients? ... or are canning & freezing pretty much equal in this regard? thank you!
It depends on the type of food. Some things do much better frozen, other things actually do better canned (especially if you're going to cook them before eating them).
Freezing degrades pectin in fruits, so it's not ideal for jams. For plain fruits, some do a lot better frozen than canned, like strawberries and blueberries. Other are actually better quality canned, like peaches.
Nutrient differences are minor, with the exception of vitamin C, which is really heat sensitive and degrades a lot in canning.
Freezing is great for things like peas and green beans, that are only cooked for short periods before eating...but they're cooked to high heaven when canned.
Meats, soups, broths and other meal in a jar things do better canned than frozen.
So really, it's a mixed bag.
We put up a lot of food in a year, and I have three huge chest freezers. That's a lot of space, but still not enough for homegrown food for a family of 4. I freeze what freezes best, and can the rest...which is a lot.
Most people don't have that kind of freezer space though, and don't like the fact that everything will be ruined if the power goes out....which argues for more canning and pantry storage.
Anyhow, the arguments are good either way.
One of the big reasons we got into canning was I was making a lot of broths and stocks, and they were taking up huge amounts of freezer space...and I was storing them in plastic. Plastic leaches things into food, even "food safe" plastic, especially if it's undergoing temperature changes as it does in the freezing/thawing process. Glass is really a much better option.
If you do opt for freezing, freezer safe jars are a good way to go, as they're glass.
Anyhow, that's a long winded reply...and maybe doesn't get to the heart of what you're asking. But in a nutshell, there are pros and cons to both methods, and it's all about where you're at, what you're preserving and what your goals are.
Ashley, you haven't talked much about the freeze dryer. Contrary to all of the sites out there, I have not been able to reconstitute food as well as others do. Has this been your experience? I am very interested in the Presto canner because it would be lovely to put up some leftover food and be able to eat it without adding water!
I have had mixed success with my freeze dryer in terms of re-hydrating things as well. Some things are truly excellent, and others just won't re-hydrate well. We did chicken korma, for example, and I could never get the chicken pieces to re-hydrate. I even cooked it on the stovetop trying to boil water into it, but the center of the pieces were still dry.
I remade the recipe, but this time I diced the chicken very finely, and it did rehydrate well and was delicious.
I think the thing is, people out there say you can cook the same way you otherwise would and just throw your leftovers in there, but that's not quite right. The pieces, especially for meat, need to be much smaller than you'd make in your general cooking.
If you look at mountain house meals and other camping meals, you see that too. They have very small pieces, and obviously they don't make every meal under the sun...only those that re-hydrate well. I think there's a learning curve to figuring out what dehydrates well and what doesn't.
We did thai shrimp curry with rice, and it was amazing as a just add water recipe. Everything was chopped very small, etc. But if you look at camping meals, there are a lot of curries like that too.
So I think the key is realizing it has limitations, and it's not the "you can put anything into it" machine that people say it is. Even fruits have been a mixed bag...I love strawberries and raspberries out of it, but kiwi wasn't any good.
I do still love it, and we put up plenty of food with it that we couldn't otherwise, like eggplant, but thus far, I've held off on writing a complete review as I feel like I have to work with it more to really nail down what it can do and what it can't.
(Up until now mine worked flawlessly from a mechanical perspective, but this week, it's having a vacuum problem...I remember you had that happen when yours first arrived. Here's hoping I'm able to resolve it quickly, as it's my first mechanical issue with it and I'm crossing my fingers.)
I read somewhere that you need to soak things for a number of hours to rehydrate them. I plan to use the FD mainly for fruits and veggies in their original state, so that should work. Kind of a bummer that it doesn't do a good job with kiwi, as that was one of the things I was looking forward to! I watched one video where "Retired at 40" did just cooked rice. It would be great to make a huge batch and then freeze-dry it for an instant addition to a meal.
I'm amazed that you remember that I had the vacuum issue! It was daunting to get started, mainly because it had to be plugged in and running while I was adding wet silicone! I was always taught that water and electricity don't mix. I was told that the part I was going to add silicone to was not "running" and was not a concern. I quote, "No one's been electrocuted yet!" Anyway, once I opened the back (seemed like 400 screws needed to come out.) and got to doing it, it really wasn't so bad and went quite quickly. Did they send you the videos? If not, I probably can locate them and send them on. When I opened my machine up, it did not look like the video. I had to peel off a foam coating, and that did not match the video, so don't fret when you get to that point.
thank you for your "long winded" reply. i appreciate every word! it definitely gets to the heart of my question. freezer safe jars & an electric canner are definitely going on my shopping list! ♥️
My wife was an old time Iowa State Univ. Home Ec teacher. Her research and teaching was that home canned fresh foods are often superior to frozen. Hair splitting differences, but definitely nutritious food.
I pressure can bone broth on a regular basis and this would make my life so much simpler. :) Thanks for sharing! I clicked through to read your review and then it went straight into my amazon cart.
Thank you, and I hope you love it as much as I do!
Hi Ashley! I know there's been a Cary pressure canner out for a while, but I have heard from many people that that one is not approved by the government because of a lack of ability to test that it holds correct pressure during the entire canning process. Do you know if the Presto is approved? Or what makes it different from the Cary? I would LOVE to get an electric pressure canner, but I have been hesitant to do so because of what I heard about the Cary.
Nevermind! I am reading your full review right now and see you are answering my questions!
I was excited about that one too when I saw it, and I actually bought one for review...and then I did more research and was really disappointed that it's basically just an off brand instant pot. I am still going to review it, as I still do have it, but it's so sad because that little thing is 1/3 the cost of the presto...it would have been spectacular if it worked. Oh well.
Check out the InstaPot Max. It has a canning feature, the others do not. Cans 4 pints, perfect for me. And I've only been canning about a year thanks to that InstaPot. Haven't used it for anything else but canning. It is on my agenda tho. Thank you for this wonderful site.
How many watts and amps does the electric pressure canner use?
I exist on a small solar system, 6 panels 8 batteries.