17 replies to this topic

[Howie]

Finally found a pressure canner on craigslist at a pretty decent price this week. One of the big Mirro 22qt jobs. It's a bit older and will hold 7 quarts. This thing is massive. It will need to be used on the propane burner outside.For several years I've had a smaller one that would do about 6 pint jars. It worked, but one 3 quart starter would wipe out a whole batch of canned starter!! I never got a bigger pressure canner, as they are around $100. Didn't seem like good use of my money.So anyway, I'm stoked about this thing. Making a starter is absolutely one of my least favorite brewing activities, and not wanting to make a starter on a weeknight has kept me from brewing on numerous occasions.

[3rd party JKor]

I have a 23qt pressure canner. It works on the stove top. It doesn't take much heat to pressure can. Actually, using the canner on a propane burner can be dangerous because they put out too much heat, the regulators aren't sized to expel the amount of steam produced if you're heating it with 15k-20k BTUs. You'll end up popping the pressure relief.Oh, btw Nice score!

Edited by JKoravos, 05 November 2009 - 07:17 AM.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Finally found a pressure canner on craigslist at a pretty decent price this week. One of the big Mirro 22qt jobs. It's a bit older and will hold 7 quarts. This thing is massive. It will need to be used on the propane burner outside.For several years I've had a smaller one that would do about 6 pint jars. It worked, but one 3 quart starter would wipe out a whole batch of canned starter!! I never got a bigger pressure canner, as they are around $100. Didn't seem like good use of my money.So anyway, I'm stoked about this thing. Making a starter is absolutely one of my least favorite brewing activities, and not wanting to make a starter on a weeknight has kept me from brewing on numerous occasions.

really? it's like making a mini batch of beer and what's bad about that? my least favorite part is clean up...

[Howie]

I have a 23qt pressure canner. It works on the stove top. It doesn't take much heat to pressure can. Actually, using the canner on a propane burner can be dangerous because they put out too much heat, the regulators aren't sized to expel the amount of steam produced if you're heating it with 15k-20k BTUs. You'll end up popping the pressure relief.

When I was doing research about it online, there were many mentions made that it shouldn't be used on a flat-top stove. Don't know why. I think mine's older (the new 22qt models only hold 5 qt jars). I'll check the manual and see what it says.I have a camp stove I could use it on, I guess.

[Howie]

really? it's like making a mini batch of beer and what's bad about that? my least favorite part is clean up...

Yeah, it just takes forever with the sanitizing, weighing out DME, boiling and cooling, etc.

[3rd party JKor]

When I was doing research about it online, there were many mentions made that it shouldn't be used on a flat-top stove. Don't know why. I think mine's older (the new 22qt models only hold 5 qt jars). I'll check the manual and see what it says.I have a camp stove I could use it on, I guess.

I have a glass cooktop. I've heard people saying not to use it because it could crack the top. Frankly, I call BS. The weight of the canner is less than a big pot of sauce or chili. The manufacturers aren't going to put a product out there that can't handle normal cooking tasks. The only concern, IMO, is if the bottom of the pot or the cooktop is dirty. If there's a little pebble, or something, embedded in the bottom of the pot it could crack the glass. Just feel the bottom of the pot before you use it. If it's smooth, it should be fine. If not, sand it smooth.

[3rd party JKor]

BTW, canned wort ROCKS!

[HVB]

I really need to get a pressure cooker ..

[Howie]

What's everyone's process? Do you make a big batch of wort and then fill the jars, or do you just put DME, water, and nutrient in the jars and let it cook in the canner?When I did it before, I just put the DME, water, and nutrient in the jars and let them cook in the canner. Right now, I've got 6lbs of older Pils LME that I might use for starters. I guess that would make a bunch of starter!

[3rd party JKor]

What's everyone's process? Do you make a big batch of wort and then fill the jars, or do you just put DME, water, and nutrient in the jars and let it cook in the canner?When I did it before, I just put the DME, water, and nutrient in the jars and let them cook in the canner. Right now, I've got 6lbs of older Pils LME that I might use for starters. I guess that would make a bunch of starter!

I've done it both ways. Either way works. Obviously, making an AG wort is much cheaper. I get 2-row for ~50 cents a pound, so it's about $0.16/qt in malt. A quart of DME starter is more like $0.85/qt, if you're paying about $4/lb for the DME.

[stangbat]

I have the 40 qt one in blktre's picture. It has its pros and cons. I can't remember how many quarts I can fit inside, but the thing that makes it not necessarily better than a 20 qt canner is the fact that it takes a lot longer to cool down. blktre's cooker would be done and cooled down and mine would still have too much pressure and heat to open it. He could have his loaded up and ready for another round by the time I was cooled down. So any gains I had with being able to can more were offset by longer cool down times. If you are doing one batch, mine may be the best bet. If you are doing several and need to minimize turn around time, a smaller canner might be better.

[zymot]

My pressure cooker instructions specifically says not to use it on an outdoor burner.If you do so anyway, error on the side of caution and employ a low flame, stove type heat only. A pressure cooker failure of any type will be a pain in the neck. I got the Presto 23 qt from Amazon. They have a regular sale, something like "Appliance Fridays" and if you apply for an Amazon Credit card you get another $50.00 off. So I paid like $34 out of pocket for mine.

[Seven]

Is the pressure cooker absolutely necessary? My mom canned tomatoes for years and never used a pressure cooker. We still have canned tomatoes from 5 years ago that are fine.

[Howie]

Is the pressure cooker absolutely necessary? My mom canned tomatoes for years and never used a pressure cooker. We still have canned tomatoes from 5 years ago that are fine.

Depends on the type of food. If it's a high-acid food like most fruits, then water canning is okay. Lower acid foods need to be pressure canned.Water canning will kill MOST nasties, but you need a pressure canner to kill botulism spores.

[Seven]

Stupid botulism! Thanks for the quick reply Howie.

[xd_haze]

I think it has something to do with the diameter of the canner exceeding the usable space on the glass cooktop. My canner has a smaller part on the bottom, so that the canner only touches the burner. I doubt older canners have that feature.mike

I have a glass cooktop. I've heard people saying not to use it because it could crack the top. Frankly, I call BS. The weight of the canner is less than a big pot of sauce or chili. The manufacturers aren't going to put a product out there that can't handle normal cooking tasks. The only concern, IMO, is if the bottom of the pot or the cooktop is dirty. If there's a little pebble, or something, embedded in the bottom of the pot it could crack the glass. Just feel the bottom of the pot before you use it. If it's smooth, it should be fine. If not, sand it smooth.

[Howie]

I think it has something to do with the diameter of the canner exceeding the usable space on the glass cooktop. My canner has a smaller part on the bottom, so that the canner only touches the burner. I doubt older canners have that feature.mike

I think my camp stove is the answer here. I can do it outside, and the burner is no bigger than an average indoor gas stove.