Boiling bath vs Pressure canner?

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I've done jelly, and with tomatoes I stew then freeze- but in a bumper crop year the freezer gets filled with just a couple things. I also have a dehydrator, but it only goes so far.

Boiling bath method (say for tomatoes) requires acidification- how much does it change taste?

Is a good pressure canner worth it? Thinking about going full boat and getting an All American if I do get one.
 
When I hot water bath tomato juice, it calls for a couple tablespoons of lemon juice per quart of juice. I can't tell any difference, but I'm not a tomato juice connoisseur either.
 
Once you start using pressure canner it is difficult to go back. They really are great although a bit costly to get. Still, they last a lifetime for you and then your grandchildren. We have a couple of them; different sizes. Sure cuts down on the time to process too.
 
It is something I'll be researching as we are going to put up some batches of soup and spaghetti sauce in a few weeks. I thought pressure was for preserving meats.
 
It is something I'll be researching as we are going to put up some batches of soup and spaghetti sauce in a few weeks. I thought pressure was for preserving meats.

+1
tomatoes with some added salt should be fine - my family has canned sliced peppers in crushed tomatoes, salt, garlic and basil for 3 generations (in this country, anyway) using the water bath method. That said, i would love to pressure can some venison. Gotta get the venison first, though..;)

Buona Fortuna!
 
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You need pressure to do meats, but it's a bonus on veggies as it cuts down cook time and reduces need for additional acidity.

Looks like a good investment, though I may be at about peak or just past it on tomatoes for the year. Here's the haul from Tuesday, got similar on Thursday (more habaneros Thurs). The big tomatoes are really producing softball+ fruits like crazy.

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Pressure cooker all the way. My big pressure cooker is just the right size for brewing, too. Big stainless steel pot will never ever wear out!
 
Pressure cooker all the way. My big pressure cooker is just the right size for brewing, too. Big stainless steel pot will never ever wear out!
I haven't seen good stainless ones- even the All American was aluminum. Do you recall the brand name on yours?

Having one with a stainless pot that I could use separately would be ideal. My big pots are el cheapo and need replacement
 
you got me, looked it up and it's aluminum. Presto 23-quart.
 
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It is something I'll be researching as we are going to put up some batches of soup and spaghetti sauce in a few weeks. I thought pressure was for preserving meats.

You've already learned on this but I'll add that we can venison every year and always use the pressure canner. Usually put the pint jars in the small one and the quarts in the larger one. Canning meat like this, the meat will keep for years if need be.
 
You've already learned on this but I'll add that we can venison every year and always use the pressure canner. Usually put the pint jars in the small one and the quarts in the larger one. Canning meat like this, the meat will keep for years if need be.

Never tried canned meat. How does it taste? Do you just use it for stew?
 
I have an All-American 20qt pressure cooker that I got several years ago on ebay to can venison. It's missing the poundage-weight. I bought that cooker to use on the firepit, didn't get a deer that season so I put it on the cupboard in the workshop and it's been there since. Where can I get the poundage adjustment weight for it? I'll have to check on ebay.
 
Never tried canned meat. How does it taste? Do you just use it for stew?
canned meat is AWESOME. Great in stews, casseroles, or right out of the jar. I'd say its probably the best way to preserve venison, but you definately need a pressure cooker. That kills of the nasties in those jars.
 
Never tried canned meat. How does it taste? Do you just use it for stew?

When you can meat it definitely changes the flavor (for the good) and also tenderizes it. For canning, we cut usually into 1" or less cubes. We just jam the meat in and add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart for venison. Would be about the same for beef.

You can use the meat for anything that you normally would use it for. I like the venison just warmed up nicely with lots of margarine in the pan to keep the meat good and moist. You can also just open a jar and fix a sandwich if you want. After all, the meat is already cooked.
 
When you can meat it definitely changes the flavor (for the good) and also tenderizes it. For canning, we cut usually into 1" or less cubes. We just jam the meat in and add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart for venison. Would be about the same for beef.

You can use the meat for anything that you normally would use it for. I like the venison just warmed up nicely with lots of margarine in the pan to keep the meat good and moist. You can also just open a jar and fix a sandwich if you want. After all, the meat is already cooked.
This is what we do with most of the meat we harvest. Love it!
 
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We hot water bath and pressure can. The you pick site that Fishingpol posted is an excellent reference. So is the Ball blue book. Follow directions and you will be safe and have a lot of good food. My grandparents canned everything without a pressure canner. With nine kids they had to provide a lot of food. Life was tough in northern Maine. No one got sick, but those methods are not reccomended today. Heavy use of salt etc.
With all those tomatoes, consider salsa. You can dill green tomatoes. They are even crisper than those made from cucumbers and taste just the same.
 
I have not used a boiling water bath to can for years. A pressure canner can do so much more, and it saves water to boot. It won't heat your kitchen up like a BWB will, either.
Tougher cuts of venison, rabbit and squirrel are just made for canning. There is nothing I love more on a cold winter night than a jar of venison, with the juice slightly thickened, on top of a bed of mashed potatoes.
I have just recently discovered (I must be a real slow learner, I've been at this for nearly forty years!) that if you have a Presto canner with a gauge, you can used the graduated weight with it, and you don't have to mind the numbers on the gauge as much, and you get a much more even pressure. Once you creep the heat down to where it will maintain, you can ignore it until the time is up.==c
 
I have not used a boiling water bath to can for years. A pressure canner can do so much more, and it saves water to boot. It won't heat your kitchen up like a BWB will, either.
Tougher cuts of venison, rabbit and squirrel are just made for canning. There is nothing I love more on a cold winter night than a jar of venison, with the juice slightly thickened, on top of a bed of mashed potatoes.
I have just recently discovered (I must be a real slow learner, I've been at this for nearly forty years!) that if you have a Presto canner with a gauge, you can used the graduated weight with it, and you don't have to mind the numbers on the gauge as much, and you get a much more even pressure. Once you creep the heat down to where it will maintain, you can ignore it until the time is up.==c
That waited thing is an additional purchase. I don't have one, but can see the advantage of not having to sit with it and constantly adjusting the stove. Is it any better with gas or electric? I was loosing fluid from my jars until I learned to hot pack them them first. Now my jars remain full. I just pressured canned summer squash with tomato. In the winter, I cook some elbow pasta, brown some spicy sausage, put it all together and enjoy some comfort food.
 
That waited thing is an additional purchase. I don't have one, but can see the advantage of not having to sit with it and constantly adjusting the stove. Is it any better with gas or electric? I was loosing fluid from my jars until I learned to hot pack them them first. Now my jars remain full. I just pressured canned summer squash with tomato. In the winter, I cook some elbow pasta, brown some spicy sausage, put it all together and enjoy some comfort food.
Yes, it is about $3-4 more for the weight; but I found that since I now have electric, it was hard for me to regulate pressure because of the fluctuations associated with an electric element. All the years I had gas, no problems. For me, it was worth the couple of bucks. I don't care to hot pack, just call me lazy.;)
 
We got citric acid in a jar - it's granules - and add I think 1/2 - 1 tsp per quart. Whatever the Ball book says. Done using hot water bath but I forgot to clear airspace so some of my jars have bubbles. Oops.
 
We got citric acid in a jar - it's granules - and add I think 1/2 - 1 tsp per quart. Whatever the Ball book says. Done using hot water bath but I forgot to clear airspace so some of my jars have bubbles. Oops.
Love those granules. Better than adding lemon juice which adds too much fluid to some things like salsa. No detectable change in flavor
 
My wife did some of the hot bath but I talked her into the pressure canner and we never looked back. That was about 50 years ago....
 
And here I've been trying to talk my wife into a hot bath. I'm going the wrong direction ;)
 
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