When we decided to invest in an electric pressure canner, I spent months looking at what our options were and reviews. Surprisingly there were few options and the reviews were lacking in detail. In the end we chose the 12 Quart Presto Canner. I will provide the most detailed review possible for anyone also considering this kind of purchase.
First, the reason we wanted to get an electric pressure canner. We have pressure canners that are used on the stove. They work well and we will still use them sometimes, however they aren’t always ideal.
1. With high electric rates between 4pm and 8pm, running the stove during those hours during the hottest months of the summer also means adding heat load to the house which causes the air conditioner to run even more than it needs to.
2. Stovetop pressure canners require constant attention for hours. It takes quite a while to reach the required pressure for canning. Once that pressure is reached you have to keep constant watch on it turning the heat up a little bit, down a little bit. Too little pressure can result in a bad batch, too much could blow up your kitchen. It’s a bit nerve wracking.
3. Stovetop pressure canners are huge and require a massive amount of water. Unless you are canning every day for a few days in a row that water has to be dumped. I do use it for watering plants, but electric canners use much less water.
Our review
Thumbs up-
1. Once the canner starts the canning process you’re done. No watching it, no checking on it. At this point you can go to bed and pull out your jars in the morning.
2. Everything has come out perfect so far. Lids sealed and the vegetables look great.
3. Because it is easy to use, we are canning almost daily. This canner uses much less water than the stovetop canner and I am only needing to remove and replace the water every few days. I do change the water between vegetable types. After canning a couple batches of pickles, the water had a strong pickle smell, which will happen with any kind of canner.
4. You can water bath with this canner.
FYI-
1. You can only use pint and half pint jars. Quart jars can’t be used. For anything we need to can in quarts we will use our stovetop canners. For half-pints you will have to put a few lids in under the canning rack to lift the jars.
2. The canning process has five steps before the canning phase. It is a little challenging to follow the steps the first couple times you use it but becomes easy after that. The regulator does NOT go on the canner until the canning phase begins. NEVER use the regulator for water bath (boiling water canning), There are loud beeps that alert you to each phase and it takes much less time to get to the canning point than with a stovetop pressure cooker.
3. You can’t get past the jar warming phase. There is no way to skip it. Also, be sure you don't dump the water in the jars into the canner after they are warmed. This will add too much water for the canning or boiling phase.
4. When you aren’t using the canner, press the X button for three seconds then unplug the appliance. (Read all safety instructions in the manual before using).
5. I couldn’t find any electric pressure canners locally and had to buy one online. There are other canners that are smaller and several made by companies I’ve never heard of. You’ll have to triple check to make sure you’re getting this particular canner before you purchase it.
KEEP AND USE THE MANUAL AND QUICKSTART GUIDE
This is important. The manual has safety and proper use instructions, canning tips and canning recipes based on USDA recommendations. For example: there are instructions for both pressure canning and boiling water canning tomatoes. The amount of time you set on the canner for the boiling water method depends on if you pack them hot or raw. Hot is set for 40 minutes and raw is 85. These amounts of time need to be increased if you live at elevations above 1,000.
The Quickstart guide is a thick glossy sheet with pressure canning instructions on one side, boiling water canning on the other. Although I have these processes memorized, we keep the guide on the counter when we’re canning in case we need it for reference.
In short, if you are good with canning with pint jars this is an excellent investment.
Audrey L Elder
Fourteen Acre Wood
Great review! I'll be talking to Sandy.