Re: [CH] pressure canners/cookers

YODA (yoda@clark.net)
Fri, 18 Sep 1998 10:00:28 -0400 (EDT) 

I use these small pressure cookers/canners a lot.
The nice large ones have pressure gauges, but you have a vent jiggler
which serves the same purpose.

If you have the single position jiggler (one hole) it releases
steam at 10 PSI above your current sealevel pressure.

If you have the 3 hole variety - it does 5, 10 and 15 PSI above current
sealeve pressure.

Make sure the jars a atleast 1/2 submerged in hot water and not sitting
directly on the bottom ( use a rack),  heat on high until steam vents,
attach jiggler, when jiggler "dances" reduce heat to moderate to moderately 
low and time from this point. Remove from heat at the suggested time and
allow to cool slowly out of drafts.  I get near 100% success this way.

I process very low acid items (green beans) at 20PSI (250F) in a big
canner.  My grandmother does beans in a waterbath and she always loses
some, and some just don't taste right.  Using the pressure canner I don't
lose any.

You can not heat water in a open vessel above the local boiling point.
At sealevel water boils at 212F/100C.  Bacteria spores can survive
this temperature.  Many algae and sulfur eating  bacteria can live
at 205F/96C ( boiling point of water in YellowStone National Park.
You need a pressure canner/cooker in the park just to reach the sealevel
boiling point.  


You get about 1.8F ( 1.0C ) increase in boiling temperature for every
pound of pressure you increase for small increases in pressure. <<30PSI


15 PSI is a boiling temperature of about 240F/115C  if you are near
sealevel. 

I only use a waterbath for jelly - everything else ( including tomatoes )
goes in the pressure canner.  

I have seen instructions to can vegetables using your dishwasher, but I
wouldn't recommend it.

> I've thought about using our pressure cooker for canning, but it 
> doesn't have a pressure gauge.  Seems risky, so I've stuck with 
> boiling water bath pickling in brine.  Have any chile-heads out 
> there ever used a non-gauge pressure cooker for canning with 
> satisfactory results?
> Rich McCormack (Poway, CA) macknet@cts.com

--
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