What canner do you use?
I’m always curious about things. Today it’s about what sort of pressure canner everyone is using. If you’d be so kind as to choose your canners below …
Results:
… made from scratch …
Canning
Interesting Canning Jar Seal Failure
They didn’t finish the jar!
I guess most people who can check the rim of their jars for nicks or chips. I typically run my finger around the edge to feel for them. This didn’t exactly work in this case.
When the lid on this jar didn’t seal, I looked at the rim of the jar to try and figure out the problem. And then, I looked again. It took me a good while to see it.
One section of the rim looks like it was just starved for glass in the manufacturing process. It’s nice and smooth – which is why I didn’t feel anything – but it’s apparently too thin to hold a seal.
I’m going to have to start inspecting more closely!
Canning Shelves
Where do you store all your home-canned food?
I bought heavy-duty shelving supports at my local home improvement center and mounted it on my basement walls. The shelves are parts of an old entertainment center donated by a cousin-in-law.
They can be adjusted to suit varying heights of jars or equipment.
Presto 21-B Pressure Canner Manual
Operating instructions for Presto’s 21-B canner.
While this manual originally came with a 21-B, it can be used for the 16 quart model as well. It includes recipes and canning times. As this is a vintage manual, please take into account that the currently-recommended canning times may have changed. The University of Georgia’s Center for Home Food Preservation is a great resource with USDA recommendations.
Models known to be compatible with this manual: 21-B, 16A, and 21A.
Click the link to see the manual in Adobe’s PDF format:
21-B Pressure Canner Manual
Presto 21-B Pressure Canner All Cleaned Up
Sometimes thrift-store finds clean up nicely!
I recently acquired a grungy Presto 21-B canner; it needed a bit of work. Of course, the gasket and over-pressure plug were old and dry and stiff. The gauge wasn’t sitting on zero and it needed a good old-fashioned cleaning.
When I removed the gauge, it stripped some of the threads out if it’s hole. I had to pick up an appropriately sized tap and die set (1/8 NPT) to clean up the threads so I could put in a new gauge. This resulted in the gauge turning ‘round more and facing toward the “back” of the canner. I used a Sharpie pen to draw alignment marks on the back side so I could still see the gauge.
Hopefully you can see there is less grunge on top of the lid than there used to be.
I used a bit of Bar Keeper’s Friend and a scrubbing pad on the rust stains on the inside bottom of the canner. A nylon brush and a bit of Dawn dishwashing liquid around the edges of the lid and the top of the canner, took care of most of the grunge.
See my 21-B canner page for the parts list for this canner and other similar models. I’ve also posted a scan of the 21-B manual.