What I've Learned About Pressure Canning

I have had my pressure canner for 3 years now. It is a very old one and it didn't come with instructions.  I have never seen anyone use a pressure canner and had to figure it all out so that I could can up lots of great foods.

So, I have been using it and learning with each batch. I'd look online to trouble shoot my problems and I think after 5 batches this year I have finally got it down!  I found a lot of my questions answered on the Presto Canning Website.   I especially had a problem with losing the liquid in the jar during processing.  I am happy it's still safe to eat, but of course, I want to do it right!

The main steps I have learned are;

• Leave 1" head space in the jars for vegetables
• Once all jars are in the canner, bring the water to a boil on high, with the lid on and the vent open, for 10 mins to heat up all the contents.
• Once you have processed the jars for the proper length of time, take the canner off the heat and let it come down to 0 pressure on it's own. Do not take off the weight or open the vent. This takes about an hour!

I found out that higher elevations need more pressure. So, I am at 3000ft here and at this elevation, I need 15lb of pressure.

One more thing that I have found to help a lot has to do with our well water.  Our water leaves a white mineral build up in all my canners and especially on the aluminum racks in the canners. I read that if you add 1 tsp of vinegar to the water in the canner, this will not happen and it's completely true!

I'll leave you with a picture of some potatoes I canned up tonight.

Thanks for stopping by!

This post is linked up to Raising Homemakers Growing Home A Better Mom Happy and Blessed Home Homestead Barn Hop Time Warp Wife Savings 4 Six Serving Joyfully Hope in Every Season Living Well Spending Less
Raising Arrows