Cooking TipsCanning Using Presto Canners
Presto canners are easy to use. A Presto canner is lightweight and has thin walls made from aluminum or stainless steel. Most of them come with twist on lid and are fitted with gaskets. couple of them come with screw down knobs. They have a safely vent, a weighted steam vent and removable racks. Dial gauge is also fixed for indication of pressure. Presto canners can handle one layer of smaller jars or they are deep enough to accomodate two layers of small jars.
The jars in the canner do not need to be completely filled with water. There are directions written on the canners which will tell you how many cups of water are required for the exact amount of pressure. The vent of the pressure canners need a certain lenght of time to boil the water inside the jars with the lid on. It makes the steam to push out the air on it and makes the jars filled with only steam and boiling water. Both the boiling water and the steam have the same temperature at 240 degrees F. Since there is no air inside the jars, the heat is conducted easily to all the jars.
Some tips to use a presto canner are:
During processing, do not let the pressure drop. Turn the burner on if the pressure starts to go down. If the pressure goes down below the recommended amount, increase the heat and bring the canner"s pressure to the recommended pressure. Read the instructions carefully if you are 1000 ft above sea level.
Vent the presto canner with steam for the specified length of time. This will prevent the air to trap inside the closed canner. The air trapped will lower the temperature and give the results in processing. Pressure canners need to be vented in 10 minutes before sealing.
Leave the steam vent uncovered and lock the canner lid if you want to properly use the canner. The canner needs to be on high heat until the water generates steam. This steam can be seen escaping through the vent port.
There are many benefits of canning and preserving. Financially, the more canned food you eat, the less you pay for groceries. If the canned food was picked from your garden, it is even less expensive.
Canning requires more than one person. It is a good way to spend time with the family and teach the new generation the skills of canning. It is an art which should not be lost.
Certain food items are not available round the year. Canning will help you to eat the item through out the year. Presto canners will help you to relish the food items the year round. Canning should be enjoyed and the tradition should run in the family. It is very similar to harvest for the farmer"s family. Presto canners help you to enjoy and share the art of canning with your family. It will make you feel proud the results.