Canning -- stove top or electric?

[MaggieBailey]

I grew up in a huge family and we canned everything! I would love to start doing it on my own, but am nervous! My mom always used a stove top canner, but I have seen the electric ones and think I would like to try that..... Does anyone have any tips for me? It's been years since I helped out at home with it, so I'm basically starting from scratch! Thanks so much in advance

 

[ChrisinNJ]

We have been doing a ton of canning the last few weeks. I have a stovetop canning pot. I can't say I have ever seen an electric one.

In the last few weeks we have made and canned salsa, peach preserve, sliced peaches in light syrup, pickles, pickled peppers and tomato puree. Just tonight we did bread & butter pickles & we are working on pickle relish now. I have 20lbs of roma tomatoes to peel & can tomorrow, and more kirby cucumbers to pickle as well. When fall comes we will can lots & lots of applesauce!

We are looking at getting a pressure canner next.

My only advice is to look online, or get a Ball canning book. Review proper jar sterilization & check the list of foods that can be water bath canned, and make sure you can them for the proper amount of time. You don't want to spend a lot of time (and it is time consuming) only to have failure & have to throw away what you worked on.

Good Luck! Have fun!!

 

[walkdmc]

Christine, since you're an experienced canner I'd love your opinion. I bought 25 pounds of small-ish round tomatoes from a local amish market. The sign on the tomatoes read, "perfect for canning". When I asked why they were perfect, they told me the size makes them easy to put in jars.

I've never canned before but wanted to try it this year and bought the 25 pound box of tomatoes. I picked up a Granite Ware 9-jar canning pot, a case of 1 qt. ball jars, the Ball canning guide, jar lifter, etc....you get the point, like $100 worth of canning tools.

I did everything I was supposed to and I wound up with...............are you ready?...............5 1/2 freaking jars of tomatoes. I really expected to fill 1/2 my pantry with those tomatoes and was so frustrated with the paucity of jars in the end. I was more upset about the amount of time and planning I put into canning than the money spent. I spent at least 3 hours between washing and sterilizing the jars and prepping the tomatoes.

Is there a learning curve? Did I buy the wrong tomatoes? How many jars will you get from your 20 pounds of Romas?

TIA.....since I'm ready to put my canning pot on a yardsale!!!

 

[Sadie22]

Walkdmc, Tomatoes are mostly water. Cooking them therefore reduces the quantity a lot, as you found. Didn't the Ball Canning book come with your canning supplies? If not, like ChrisinNJ said, get one. They're about $7 and tell you how many pounds of tomatoes are required to fill x pints or quarts. It's a guesstimate.

I had never heard of an electric canner. I have my mom's equipment. I have yet to can anything. I've been freezing a lot of produce this summer. I think four or five good-sized tomatoes yielded one container of sauce.

 

[SandrA9810]

Walkdmc: I'd take your canning stuff any day to give it a try. I really want to learn how to can, but I don't have a large enough pot to submerge the jars into it. I made some soup, and wound up putting them into the freezer for storage. Which thankfully the jars I bought were still good to go into the freezer.

I'd love to do something with strawberries and tomatoes I get all summer long.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Christine, since you're an experienced canner I'd love your opinion. I bought 25 pounds of small-ish round tomatoes from a local amish market. The sign on the tomatoes read, "perfect for canning". When I asked why they were perfect, they told me the size makes them easy to put in jars.

I've never canned before but wanted to try it this year and bought the 25 pound box of tomatoes. I picked up a Granite Ware 9-jar canning pot, a case of 1 qt. ball jars, the Ball canning guide, jar lifter, etc....you get the point, like $100 worth of canning tools.

I did everything I was supposed to and I wound up with...............are you ready?...............5 1/2 freaking jars of tomatoes. I really expected to fill 1/2 my pantry with those tomatoes and was so frustrated with the paucity of jars in the end. I was more upset about the amount of time and planning I put into canning than the money spent. I spent at least 3 hours between washing and sterilizing the jars and prepping the tomatoes.

Is there a learning curve? Did I buy the wrong tomatoes? How many jars will you get from your 20 pounds of Romas?

TIA.....since I'm ready to put my canning pot on a yardsale!!!

I feel your pain. The bread & butter pickle recipe was from the Ball book. We followed it closely, used a bit less onion than it called for. It was supposed to yield 7 pints, and we ended up with 5. My DH looked at me & said "wow, that was an aweful lot of work for 5 little jars." And it was.....but were were preparing the B&B pickles, the relish, and dinner all at the same time.

I am not sure how many jars I will get from my tomatoes. The tomato puree we made was all from tomatoes my neighbors & I grew & I didn't weigh them. It would have been alot more work, but we picked up a machine that actually does it for us, so I think we had all the tomatoes pureed in under an hour. This batch of romas I plan to peel & can whole.

How did you prep your tomatoes? Did you can them whole, just peel them? The easiest way to peel them, and other fruits is to drop them in boiling water for a minute or 2, then submerge them in ice water. The peels slip off easily after that. Then you can leave them whole or chop them & can them.

The pickles were easy as all I had to do was make a brine, wash the cucumbers, load the jars with the cold cukes, pickling spice, dill & garlic, pour in the brine & process. Between my garden & my neighbors' I have made about 10 quarts of pickles for the cost of the brine ingredients (kosher salt, sugar, vinegar, pickling spice, garlic & dill) & lids.

Also, as far as sterilizing jars, do you have a dishwasher? I put my jars in on the "sanitize" cycle & use them straight from there while they are hot. I have never had a problem doing this. I will boil them if they get cold or sit around too long after the dishwasher is done, but otherwise I don't bother, and have never had a problem.

I would say don't give up on it yet. Try a few more recipes for things in season, that you will enjoy, like maybe peaches or pickles. My DH & kids help with canning as well. Do you have someone you can work with to get through it faster & easier?

And since you mentioned garage sales, we purchased over 300 jars from people on craigslist! We saved a lot of money over buying them all new & you have to sterilize them anyway, so keep an eye out for bargains there & garage sales.

Good Luck!!

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Walkdmc: I'd take your canning stuff any day to give it a try. I really want to learn how to can, but I don't have a large enough pot to submerge the jars into it. I made some soup, and wound up putting them into the freezer for storage. Which thankfully the jars I bought were still good to go into the freezer.

I'd love to do something with strawberries and tomatoes I get all summer long.

I have a bunch of canning pots, my first one was from a garage sale & it came with jars for $5.00. I ditched it when I got my mom's pot (after she passed away).

Then last week on craigslist, we got a really great deal from an older italian couple who used to can like crazy but don't anymore. We bought a milling machine to puree the tomaoes & apples for our applesauce (this machine is about $400.00 if you buy it new), about 150 jars, a propane tank & a large outdoor burner that attaches to it, and 3 huge canning pots to go on that outside burner, the largest pot holds 20quarts, the smallest holds 12. All of that was $150.00.

The next day, my DH picked up 150 more jars for $45.00. So watch for cheap supplies...you can find them.

A new canning pot is only in a $21.00-$25.00 range, so it won't break the bank if you really want to try it.

As for the soup that you froze, you would have to pressure can that (Like a pressure cooker) They are about $200. and we are saving for a good one you get what you pay for with a pressure canner.

With a pressure canner you can do meats, so my soups and spaghetti sauces can be preserved.

 

[MrsPete]

I grew up in a huge family and we canned everything! I would love to start doing it on my own, but am nervous! My mom always used a stove top canner, but I have seen the electric ones and think I would like to try that..... Does anyone have any tips for me? It's been years since I helped out at home with it, so I'm basically starting from scratch! Thanks so much in advance

I've always done stovetop canning, but I'm very interested in an electric canner. I think I'd like it because I can lots of things like relish and applesauce -- things that have to cook on the stovetop. So I always seem to have "too much" going on there. If I had the electric model, I could put it on the counter on the other side of the kitchen and have a "prep area" and a "processing area".

Of course, it's the cost that's the problem -- I'd have to can a lot of stuff to make it worthwhile.

I did everything I was supposed to and I wound up with...............are you ready?...............5 1/2 freaking jars of tomatoes . . . Is there a learning curve?

Yes, there's a learning curve. You get faster, so it's less effort. And that does sound like a paltry amount of jars from 20 pounds of tomatoes. I wonder if it was really a full 20 pounds?

As for the soup that you froze, you would have to pressure can that (Like a pressure cooker) They are about $200. and we are saving for a good one you get what you pay for with a pressure canner.

For the benefit of the new canners, let's be clear: An electric canner is not a pressure canner. Canners break down into these groups:

Water bath -- this is just a pot deep enough to cover your jars with 2" boiling water. You can literally use a big stockpot IF you have something to keep the jars from contacting the bottom of the pot -- you can even bend a coat hanger into a "flower shape" to make this happen. The water bath is the easiest type of canning, but it isn't good for everything. You can do tomatoes, relishes, pickles, peaches, and more. If you're a beginner, this is for you.

Pressure canner -- As ChrisinNJ said, this allows you to can meats and more. It's more difficult than a water bath, and the processing time can be much more lengthy. You can use a pressure canner to do water-bath chores (just use it as a bit pot).

Electric canner -- this is a canner that has a built-in electric element, so you don't have to put it on the stove. The one I'm looking at buying is a water bath canner, and I'm not sure whether electric pressure canners are available.

 

[MrsPete]

I grew up in a huge family and we canned everything! I would love to start doing it on my own, but am nervous! My mom always used a stove top canner, but I have seen the electric ones and think I would like to try that..... Does anyone have any tips for me? It's been years since I helped out at home with it, so I'm basically starting from scratch! Thanks so much in advance

I've always done stovetop canning, but I'm very interested in an electric canner. I think I'd like it because I can lots of things like relish and applesauce -- things that have to cook on the stovetop. So I always seem to have "too much" going on there. If I had the electric model, I could put it on the counter on the other side of the kitchen and have a "prep area" and a "processing area".

Of course, it's the cost that's the problem -- I'd have to can a lot of stuff to make it worthwhile.

I did everything I was supposed to and I wound up with...............are you ready?...............5 1/2 freaking jars of tomatoes . . . Is there a learning curve?

Yes, there's a learning curve. You get faster, so it's less effort. And although the vegetables DO always seem to shrink as they're cut and cooked, that does sound like a paltry amount of jars from 20 pounds of tomatoes. I wonder if it was really a full 20 pounds?

As for the soup that you froze, you would have to pressure can that (Like a pressure cooker) They are about $200. and we are saving for a good one you get what you pay for with a pressure canner.

For the benefit of the new canners, let's be clear: An electric canner is not a pressure canner. Canners break down into these groups:

Water bath -- this is just a pot deep enough to cover your jars with 2" boiling water. You can literally use a big stockpot IF you have something to keep the jars from contacting the bottom of the pot -- you can even bend a coat hanger into a "flower shape" to make this happen. The water bath is the easiest type of canning, but it isn't good for everything. You can do tomatoes, relishes, pickles, peaches, and more. If you're a beginner, this is for you.

Pressure canner -- As ChrisinNJ said, this allows you to can meats and more. It's more difficult than a water bath, and the processing time can be much more lengthy. You can use a pressure canner to do water-bath chores (just use it as a bit pot).

Electric canner -- this is a canner that has a built-in electric element, so you don't have to put it on the stove. The one I'm looking at buying is a water bath canner, and I'm not sure whether electric pressure canners are available.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

I've always done stovetop canning, but I'm very interested in an electric canner. I think I'd like it because I can lots of things like relish and applesauce -- things that have to cook on the stovetop. So I always seem to have "too much" going on there. If I had the electric model, I could put it on the counter on the other side of the kitchen and have a "prep area" and a "processing area.

If stove space is a problem. Look into getting a burner that you can attach to a propane tank. (Like the kind they use to deep fry turkeys outside the house).
We have one and attach it to our barbecue tank, I send my DH outside to can the jars in an old washtub that fits 22 jars. Its much quicker and we can process alot more in a day than waiting for the jars to process 7 at a time on our stove.

We love canning with the whole family, we are doing pickles today.
We picked up a 50 lb basket at the farmers market yesterday.
The last batch is on the burner right now.

 

[beansmom]

sandra, as was said above, you cannot can soups in just a water bath canner...they MUST be pressure canned for safety.

OP, i suggest www.pickyourown.org ...a very good 'how to' site for canning. Yes, it takes a lot more food than you would think to fill those jars but it's very satisfying and I like knowing I can make things that you don't generally find on the store shelf like honey-spiced peaches or rhubarb conserve or really yummy apple butter...

you can also use any large stockpot for small batch canning...you can buy a 'Ball Discovery Kit' for about $12 at Walmart with all you need to start.

 

[mdrob214]

I only do stove-top canning in a water bath. I use this site for all my canning information. I came across it years ago.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation

According to the site: Quantity: An average of 22 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 14 fresh pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints.

It seems like an awful lot of work, but it's so worth it in December and January when I pull out jars of tomatoes for spaghetti sauce or chili. Yum! I don't think it would be worth it, though, to purchase tomatoes. I buy 10+ tomato plants each spring and get maybe 10 qt. canned. We do eat a ton of fresh tomatoes and give quite a few away in August and September.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

If stove space is a problem. Look into getting a burner that you can attach to a propane tank. (Like the kind they use to deep fry turkeys outside the house).
We have one and attach it to our barbecue tank, I send my DH outside to can the jars in an old washtub that fits 22 jars. Its much quicker and we can process alot more in a day than waiting for the jars to process 7 at a time on our stove.

Thanks for this! DH has a co-worker who is showering us with muscadines and somehow I promised to make jelly. I'm also kind of interested in making a few batches of Cinnamon sticks, ginger snaps and blackberry jam next summer. I haven't canned since I lived at home (and I married in college, so that's how long it's been). DH still doesn't know that I'm going to be visiting the thrifts and craigslist twice a week for a pot to do water baths and canning jars. I'm seriously thinking about becoming a buyer of old sheets, blankets and towels at yard sales for some local animal rescue groups AND buying as many canning jars as I can find. . .

 

[SandrA9810]

My main thing that I want to do, is can crock pot soups. I'd really love to make a huge batch over night to just can up during the day and save for later.

Is a pressure canner any different than a pressure cooker? My aunt has my grandmother's pressure cooker and that's one thing I'd kinda like to learn how to use the next time I visit Texas. My grandmother actually used to use it A LOT growing up, but I never watched her use it.

 

[auntmeme7577]

I love to do tomatoes, sauce,soups, applesauce and applebutter...all in the crock pot, but I freeze them in ziplocs. I guess I'm too impatient for canning. I save that process just for pickles.
Now I'm hungry

 

[ChrisinNJ]

How many jars will you get from your 20 pounds of Romas?

OK, I just finished my tomatoes so now I can answer your question. I used the 20lbs of Romas & another 10-15lbs of mixed tomatoes from my neighbor's garden & mine. I ended up with 6 quarts tomato puree (sauce) and 10 pints of tomato juice.

Here is what I did. I don't particularly mind the skins or seeds & I like my sauce a bit chunky, my last batch through the electric food mill was very liquid. So, I washed the tomatoes, cut off the stem end, cut them in half & sqeezed out a bit of the juice & seeds (by hand).

Next I ran them through my food processor (to make a chunky puree)& drained them in a fine strainer, reserving the juice that dripped out. I then dumped the pulpy tomatoes into a pot & brought it to a boil, then simmered it for about a half an hour. I ladled it into hot quart jars, added 2Tbsp lemon juice & 1tsp kosher salt to each jar, put the lids on & processed them in boiling water for 45 minutes.

While they were processing, I simmered the tomato juice at 190 degrees for 5-10 minutes, ladled it into pints, added 1Tbsp lemon juice per pint and processed them for 40 minutes in hot water.

Had I pureed it all through the food mill & not strained it. I would have had to cook it longer to reduce the liquid & thicken it. I probably would have ended up with 9-10 quarts of smooth puree (sauce).

 

[beansmom]

My main thing that I want to do, is can crock pot soups. I'd really love to make a huge batch over night to just can up during the day and save for later.

Is a pressure canner any different than a pressure cooker? My aunt has my grandmother's pressure cooker and that's one thing I'd kinda like to learn how to use the next time I visit Texas. My grandmother actually used to use it A LOT growing up, but I never watched her use it.

a pressure cooker is NOT the same as a canner.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/harvest/msg1212241712952.html

the above link will explain the difference

 

[walkdmc]

OK, I just finished my tomatoes so now I can answer your question. I used the 20lbs of Romas & another 10-15lbs of mixed tomatoes from my neighbor's garden & mine. I ended up with 6 quarts tomato puree (sauce) and 10 pints of tomato juice.

.

Thanks for getting back to me. My frustration has lifted and I feel happy everytime I look at one of my jars. Is it weird to find jarred tomatoes pretty? LOL. I'm feeling the urge to pick up some Romas and that machine you mentioned and give them a go since we're nearing the end of the season.

Thanks for the help everyone, I feel encouraged!

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Is it weird to find jarred tomatoes pretty?

Not weird to me, I think they are beautiful! I love the pickles with the garlic & spices floating in the jars. I think they are so pretty, I posted pictures on facebook.

Happy canning!

 

[SandrA9810]

In that link, it says that most pressure cookers are just not large enough. My grandmother's is quite old, and very large. Like large enough to hold a full bird or roast, and way larger than the burner. I know it takes up like half the space on the shelf. I guess I'll have to take a better look at it when I get back to Texas. In the house I grew up in, it was just the stove, there was no range hood above it. So there was plenty of room for cooking in it.