Pressure cooker canning

Michael said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water to get
things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

I suppose after you take out the cans you wait till you hear the lids
seal....like with boiling?

THANKS

Tomato sauce? Does that mean pureed tomatoes, or tomatoes with just a
little bit of onion, garlic, and basil, or... It makes a *big*
difference in the processing time. I'll find you some links later
unless Barb beats me to it.

You really ought to use a pressure cooker that is made for canning --
they have precision gauges or regulators, a rack for the jars, and
usually are bigger than a normal pressure cooker. But if your canner is
big enough to hold a few pint canning jars and you know it maintains at
least 10 psi pressure (most pressure cookers are about 15 psi), you can
probably do some canning in it.

Put enough water in to come halfway up the jars when all the jars are in
it. The extra water will help overcome the fact that you are using a
small pressure cooker. Seal it up but leave the steam vent open for
several minutes (5 minutes?) after it starts boiling to exhaust all the
air from the canner. Then close the vent. Begin timing when the vent
starts letting off pressure. When the time is up, turn off the heat and
let the pressure cooker cool down naturally. If you try to hurry it
along, the contents will boil out of your jars.

Buy a copy of the _Ball Blue Book_ (it's about $6) wherever you buy your
canning jars and lids.

That's all for now; more to come.

Best regards,
Bob

"zxcvbob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Buy a copy of the _Ball Blue Book_ (it's about $6) wherever you buy your
canning jars and lids.

That's a great book.

"Michael" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

You can't use pressure cooker! You can't put inside cans!

Quoted message said:

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

You can use pressure cooker only to cook the souce.

Quoted message said:

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water to
get things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

You don't need a pressure cooker. If you want to sterilize cans of tomatoes,
put them in a large pot with cold water. The water must be about 1 1/4 inch
over the top of cans. Then wait that the water boil and count 20-30 minutes.
Then turn off the fire and let the cans in the water till the water become
cold.
You have strilized your tomatoes cans. Simple.

Pandora

Quoted message said:

Then
I suppose after you take out the cans you wait till you hear the lids
seal....like with boiling?

THANKS

You know, I have that book and of course, I can't find it anywhere.

My cooker is a nice one...TFAL....6 1/2 quart. I can get 4 cans in at a
time. There is a high pressure setting and a low one.....which should I use?

I want to make some simple sauce with basil and these half a million Roma
tomatos in my garden.

How long (in minutes) after it comes up to pressure?

Again, the lids snap after they start to cool, right?

I don't know - my book's at home, and I don't use a pressure cooker. Never
had any reason to use anything but a simple canning pot. You've got to find
your book. It's skinny, so it vanishes between other books. 🙂

"Michael" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You know, I have that book and of course, I can't find it anywhere.

My cooker is a nice one...TFAL....6 1/2 quart. I can get 4 cans in at a
time. There is a high pressure setting and a low one.....which should I
use?

I want to make some simple sauce with basil and these half a million Roma
tomatos in my garden.

How long (in minutes) after it comes up to pressure?

Again, the lids snap after they start to cool, right?

Pandora said:

"Michael" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

You can't use pressure cooker! You can't put inside cans!

Quoted message said:

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

You can use pressure cooker only to cook the souce.

Quoted message said:

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water to
get things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

You don't need a pressure cooker. If you want to sterilize cans of tomatoes,
put them in a large pot with cold water. The water must be about 1 1/4 inch
over the top of cans. Then wait that the water boil and count 20-30 minutes.
Then turn off the fire and let the cans in the water till the water become
cold.
You have strilized your tomatoes cans. Simple.

Pandora

If you're doing tomatoes without a pressure canner, you need to add a
tiny amount of lemon juice or citric acid, and even then I think the
processing time is longer than 20 or 30 minutes.

Bob

"zxcvbob" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pandora said:

"Michael" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

You can't use pressure cooker! You can't put inside cans!

Quoted message said:

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

You can use pressure cooker only to cook the souce.

Quoted message said:

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water to
get things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

You don't need a pressure cooker. If you want to sterilize cans of
tomatoes, put them in a large pot with cold water. The water must be
about 1 1/4 inch over the top of cans. Then wait that the water boil and
count 20-30 minutes. Then turn off the fire and let the cans in the water
till the water become cold.
You have strilized your tomatoes cans. Simple.

Pandora

If you're doing tomatoes without a pressure canner, you need to add a tiny
amount of lemon juice or citric acid, and even then I think the processing
time is longer than 20 or 30 minutes.

Bob

Oh no Bob! I sure you the time of sterilization for a tomatoe sauce is 20-30
minutes and that is enough (make 30 minutes if you want be in peace).
It is a life that my family make tomatoes canned like this. Here in Italy,
expecially in southern Italy use to make tomato purée in this way.
We use very large alluminium pot (like the ones used in restaurant) or great
iron tanks (when we have a great quantity of cans to do). In this case, we
envelop every bottle or can in a newspaper sheet (just to evoid the
breaking of the bottles).
In this way the tomato purée is preserved for one Year and more.
Cheers
Pandora

In article <[email hidden]>, "Michael"

Quoted message said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water to
get
things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

I suppose after you take out the cans you wait till you hear the lids
seal....like with boiling?

THANKS

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/tomato_intro.html
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/tomato_sauce.html

I don't find any specific information about canning in metal cans,
though. And I don't know diddly about it.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> 8/3/05 New York-Vermont tab (a
couple pictures added to the 7/29 note on 8/5)

In article <[email hidden]>, zxcvbob

Quoted message said:

Michael said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water
to get
things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

I suppose after you take out the cans you wait till you hear the lids
seal....like with boiling?

THANKS

Quoted message said:

Tomato sauce? Does that mean pureed tomatoes, or tomatoes with just a
little bit of onion, garlic, and basil, or... It makes a *big*
difference in the processing time. I'll find you some links later
unless Barb beats me to it.

I win, I win! :-P

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can3_tomato.html
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/tomato_sauce.html
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/tomato_veg_juice.html
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/tips/summer/home_preserv_tomatoes.html
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/uga_can_tom.pdf
http://72.14.207.104/u/nchfp?q=cache:5Sw5z67Ld98J:www.uga.edu/nchfp/publi
cations/uga/uga_can_tom.pdf+tomato+sauce&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8%20targ
et=nw

Quoted message said:

Put enough water in to come halfway up the jars when all the jars are
in it. The extra water will help overcome the fact that you are using

Quoted message said:

a small pressure cooker. Seal it up but leave the steam vent open

for several minutes (5 minutes?)

10 minutes, after you see steam coming from the vent. And where'd you
come up with the "halfway up the jars" thang? I'm just curious. You
know me. (Remind you of anyone who used to like to scream "Cite your
source."?

Quoted message said:

Buy a copy of the _Ball Blue Book_ (it's about $6) wherever you buy your
canning jars and lids.

Theoretically. www.homecanning.com, too; someone said they're pretty
fast with a delivery - I don't know that myself.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> 8/3/05 New York-Vermont tab (a
couple pictures added to the 7/29 note on 8/5)

In article <[email hidden]>, "Michael"

Quoted message said:

You know, I have that book and of course, I can't find it anywhere.

Make sure it's one of the most recent ones. Current one has a
cheesecake-y looking thing on it with a pile of berries (blacks?) on top.

Quoted message said:

My cooker is a nice one...TFAL....6 1/2 quart. I can get 4 cans in at a
time. There is a high pressure setting and a low one.....which should I
use?

I think that size is too small to qualify for canning. I've asked the
folks at the NCHFP, but who knows when they'll reply? Somewhere in the
recesses of my mind I remember someone at the U of MN saying that
8-quarts is the minimum size for a pressure cooker to function also as a
pressure canner. But I can't prove it yet.

Quoted message said:

I want to make some simple sauce with basil and these half a million Roma
tomatos in my garden.

Quoted message said:

Again, the lids snap after they start to cool, right?

Dunno. Never canned in cans.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> 8/3/05 New York-Vermont tab (a
couple pictures added to the 7/29 note on 8/5)

In article <[email hidden]>, "Doug Kanter"

Quoted message said:

I don't know - my book's at home, and I don't use a pressure cooker.
Never
had any reason to use anything but a simple canning pot. You've got to
find
your book. It's skinny, so it vanishes between other books. 🙂

"Michael" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You know, I have that book and of course, I can't find it anywhere.

My cooker is a nice one...TFAL....6 1/2 quart. I can get 4 cans in at a
time. There is a high pressure setting and a low one.....which should I
use?

I want to make some simple sauce with basil and these half a million
Roma
tomatos in my garden.

How long (in minutes) after it comes up to pressure?

Again, the lids snap after they start to cool, right?

Doug are you also aware of the NCHFP (National Center for Home Food
Preservation) site at the U of Georgia? www.uga.edu/nchfp/ for
starters. Nice site; easy to navigate.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> 8/3/05 New York-Vermont tab (a
couple pictures added to the 7/29 note on 8/5)

Michael said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water to get
things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

I suppose after you take out the cans you wait till you hear the lids
seal....like with boiling?

THANKS

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.html

If you can't find your Ball Blue Book or it is an old one, use the
site above. Read the whole thing carefully.

I believe that you need a canner or pressure cooker that has 5 and 10
pound pressure settings or a dial gauge.

--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral, 48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

"Melba's Jammin'" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Again, the lids snap after they start to cool, right?

Dunno. Never canned in cans.

He's canning in jars, not cans.

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>, zxcvbob

Quoted message said:

Put enough water in to come halfway up the jars when all the jars are
in it. The extra water will help overcome the fact that you are using

Quoted message said:

a small pressure cooker. Seal it up but leave the steam vent open

for several minutes (5 minutes?)

10 minutes, after you see steam coming from the vent. And where'd you
come up with the "halfway up the jars" thang? I'm just curious. You
know me. (Remind you of anyone who used to like to scream "Cite your
source."?

I made it up ;-) Since Michael wants to use his pressure cooker of
dubious size and heft for canning, the extra water will add a lot of
"thermal mass" to compensate for the canner maybe being too small and light.

Bob

Michael said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water to get
things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

I suppose after you take out the cans you wait till you hear the lids
seal....like with boiling?

THANKS

You need a pressure *canner* not cooker to pressure can low acid foods.
These are entirely two different things. While you can use a pressure
canner to cook larger roasts you *cannot* use a regular pressure cooker
to can. A good site to visit and learn about safe home presserving
including the proper equipment to use is
http://foodsafety.cas.psu.edu/canningguide.html

zxcvbob said:

Michael said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water
to get things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

I suppose after you take out the cans you wait till you hear the lids
seal....like with boiling?

THANKS

Tomato sauce? Does that mean pureed tomatoes, or tomatoes with just a
little bit of onion, garlic, and basil, or... It makes a *big*
difference in the processing time. I'll find you some links later
unless Barb beats me to it.

You really ought to use a pressure cooker that is made for canning --
they have precision gauges or regulators, a rack for the jars, and
usually are bigger than a normal pressure cooker. But if your canner is
big enough to hold a few pint canning jars and you know it maintains at
least 10 psi pressure (most pressure cookers are about 15 psi), you can
probably do some canning in it.

Put enough water in to come halfway up the jars when all the jars are in
it. The extra water will help overcome the fact that you are using a
small pressure cooker. Seal it up but leave the steam vent open for
several minutes (5 minutes?) after it starts boiling to exhaust all the
air from the canner. Then close the vent. Begin timing when the vent
starts letting off pressure. When the time is up, turn off the heat and
let the pressure cooker cool down naturally. If you try to hurry it
along, the contents will boil out of your jars.

My pressure canner came with specific instructions as to how much water
to use, the venting step that is necessary before bringing the vessel
upto pressure. Personally I wouldn't try this method. There are too
many ifs involved. The OP would need a rack for the bottom. Then at 15
psi the food will likely be mush anyway.

My suggestion to the OP would be make the sauce then freeze it and not
take the chance. I both freeze and can a variety of tomato sauces.
Those frozen come out just fine.

Quoted message said:

Buy a copy of the _Ball Blue Book_ (it's about $6) wherever you buy your
canning jars and lids.

That's all for now; more to come.

Best regards,
Bob

Pandora said:

"Michael" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

You can't use pressure cooker! You can't put inside cans!

Quoted message said:

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

You can use pressure cooker only to cook the souce.

Quoted message said:

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water to
get things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

You don't need a pressure cooker. If you want to sterilize cans of tomatoes,
put them in a large pot with cold water. The water must be about 1 1/4 inch
over the top of cans. Then wait that the water boil and count 20-30 minutes.
Then turn off the fire and let the cans in the water till the water become
cold.
You have strilized your tomatoes cans. Simple.

I agree with you except some hybrid tomatoes are not acidic enough. One
recommendation is to add lemon juice or citric acid to each jar before
sealing. This will ensure proper acidity so the tomatoes can be canned
in a BWB. Bernardin's tomato sauce recommends 1 tbsp lemon juice or 1/4
tsp citric acid, 1/2 tsp salt (optional) and 1 - 2 tsp dried herbs per
500 ml jar of tomato sauce using hot pack method. Their website is
http://www.homecanning.com/index.asp for more great recipes.

Quoted message said:

Pandora

Quoted message said:

Then

Quoted message said:

I suppose after you take out the cans you wait till you hear the lids

Quoted message said:

seal....like with boiling?

THANKS

zxcvbob said:

Pandora said:

"Michael" <[email hidden]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm going to make some tomato sauce and can it.

I've never used my pressure cooker for this.

You can't use pressure cooker! You can't put inside cans!

Quoted message said:

How long does it take using a pressure cooker?

You can use pressure cooker only to cook the souce.

Quoted message said:

Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water
to get things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

You don't need a pressure cooker. If you want to sterilize cans of
tomatoes, put them in a large pot with cold water. The water must be
about 1 1/4 inch over the top of cans. Then wait that the water boil
and count 20-30 minutes. Then turn off the fire and let the cans in
the water till the water become cold.
You have strilized your tomatoes cans. Simple.

Pandora

If you're doing tomatoes without a pressure canner, you need to add a
tiny amount of lemon juice or citric acid, and even then I think the
processing time is longer than 20 or 30 minutes.

Bob

Bernardin indicates 35 min for 500 ml (1 pt) jars, 40 min for L (qt jars).

In article <[email hidden]>, "Doug Kanter"

Quoted message said:

"Melba's Jammin'" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Again, the lids snap after they start to cool, right?

Dunno. Never canned in cans.

He's canning in jars, not cans.

This made me think metal cans:
"Do you immerse the cans entirely in water or just put in enough water
to get things going?...(like you do when you're cooking with it)

I suppose after you take out the cans you wait till you hear the lids
seal....like with boiling?"
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> 8/3/05 New York-Vermont tab (a
couple pictures added to the 7/29 note on 8/5)