Super Canner
I had a pressure canner many years ago. Bought it at a hardware store. No guage, but presto 23-quart pressure cooker did the job. Did I sell it at a yard sale? Don’t know where it went, anyway.
Decided recently to can again. So I read tons of reviews, Internet articles, compared features and prices. The Presto 1781 is the one I decided on. Amazon had it with free shipping, which made this doll the perfect deal for me.
I have used it as a canner about 5 times already. Have not just pressure-cooked in it. Here are my observations: Easy to use. Follow the instructions in the book, and you are good to go. This baby is heavy! Moving it off the heat when it is full of jars is no small feat (especially when using as a boiling bath canner)! Eat a good breakfast! Half pint and pint jars stack nicely. I have not tried to can more than 7 quarts yet, so am not disappointed that the max is 7 quarts. I put up 7 qts of chili yesterday and my huge cookpot was pretty full. Any more would have been too much anyway.
When using as a boiling bath canner, be careful when taking the jars out, especially when putting up half pint wide mouth jars, as the jar lifters are not very long and you can burn yourself getting that bottom set out. While you can use long tongs for half pints, I tried and ended up with a mess of hot strawberry jam all over and inbetween the stove and cabinet. So, use a jar lifter and hold it tightly!
I like the guage on this canner. I have never used one with a guage before. After a couple of uses, I find I can take my eyes off it once it gets to correct pressure by the sound of the pressure regulator. It gets noisy when it gets too high. I live at 6800 feet altitude, and everything pressure canned has to be done at 14 lbs. 15 makes a noise and that’s my signal to lower the heat.
I have a ceramic top stove and have no issues with this canner on my stove top. The canner bottom is flat and heats up evenly.
I love this canner. Just wish it folded up when not in use–it’s a big honker!
Read more post at Excellent pressure canner at a great price!.
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