Water Bath vs Pressure Canning

[broylz]

my goal this year beyond gardening is to learn to can what i grow. ive done a bit of research about it and there seems to be some argument about which method is more effective or safe. ive been told to get either or both at different times but i figured id get some more practical experience behind my decision.

what all should i expect to be able to can with either? is it that some foods can be pressure canned and some cant, or shouldn't? will one do the job of both, like a pressure canner can do anyhing a water bath can do but not in reverse?

as you can tell, i am very green to this but want to learn. i talked to my grandmother about it as i know she used to do some canning but hers was mostly tomatoes and pickles. she used a water bath only and said she never had any problems.

i plan on canning my own garden vegtables mostly but id like to be able to can my wifes fresh pasta souces and other meals of that nature. right now, i freeze individual servings but if i could can them, they would last longer and require less energy to store. or at least thats my thought process.

please help me out. thanks.

[Badger24]

Very good canning articles and info can be found at Backwoods Home webpage.
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/clay53.html

[American_Infidel]

You can waterbath can high acid foods like tomatoes and the like. Most everything else needs to be preesure canned. SInce I also can meat and other prepared meals, I invested in a pressure canner.

[ZombieGranny]

I like Jackie Clay, but some of the methods she endorses aren't safe, mainly due to changes in bugs and the food plants. Also she speaks of 'canning' dairy, which is definitely playing Russian Roulette.

Try here http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.html for the official guidelines.
Also try here http://mrssurvival.com/forums/index.php ... owforum=30 , especially the thread on what NOT to can. http://mrssurvival.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22916

[masterblaster666]

Marked for future use. I Cant Can at the moment but need the info anyways. Thanks.

[Bubba Enfield]

I can exclusively with a boiling water canner. I can tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, salsa, relish, jam, peaches, applesauce, and pickled eggs. Basically, BW is good for fruit, but the only vegetable you can BW can without pickling is tomatoes. If you pickle stuff, the extra acid makes BW safe to use. I want to one day get a pressure canner so I can do non-pickled veggies, as well as meat.

[broylz]

is it possible to use the pressure canner as a water bath if i dont use or seal the lid on it? trying not to buy too much gear so if i can do both with the pressure canner ill get one of those. if i need both, i guess ill do that too just dont want to waste the cash.

[ZombieGranny]

Yes, you can water bath in a pressure canner.
You don't need a special canner at all for water bath canning. Let me look for a source... be right back.
Here you go -
-
http://mrssurvival.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14590
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http://stason.org/TULARC/food/preservin ... anner.html

[broylz]

awesome, thanks. i will be looking for a pressure canner now

[American_Infidel]

Pressure canning also allows you to can quicker than water bath canning.

[Tater Raider]

Zombie Granny rocks! Thanks.

[kiwilrdg]

There is more than canning. If you have to eat an old rooster, milk cow, or other tough meat, it will be much more tender if it is pressure cooked before dicing it for a stew

Of course I use my canning pot for cheese making and scalding chickens before plucking so in summary....get both pans.

[Westbound]

is it possible to use the pressure canner as a water bath if i dont use or seal the lid on it? trying not to buy too much gear so if i can do both with the pressure canner ill get one of those. if i need both, i guess ill do that too just dont want to waste the cash.

Anything that can be canned in a water bath can safely be pressure canned.
One of the benefits of doing this is a sharp reduction in process time.
I have a pressure canner and a water bath setup. The water bath never gets used any more because of the ease and speed of the pressure canner.

[evilpsych]

Get a pressure canner.. It's worth it for the additional things you can can.. like on-sale stew-meats, ground beef.. green beans, corn, soups, etc. Get one that might be a little oversized for you now.. bigger ones sell better afterward and are usually built heftier.. a canner that you can fit 10 quart jars in is about right for most folks doing it on the stovetop..

btw.. what's your recipe for pickled eggs bubba? I love me some pickled eggs.. particularly when you use a lot of sweet-beet juice..

[RogerK]

Anything that can be canned in a water bath can safely be pressure canned.One of the benefits of doing this is a sharp reduction in process time.
I have a pressure canner and a water bath setup. The water bath never gets used any more because of the ease and speed of the pressure canner.

WB is there a reliable source for time conversion from w/b to p/c?

[ZombieGranny]

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/general/re ... nners.html
Low-acid foods must be processed in a pressure canner to be free of botulism risks. Although pressure canners may also be used for processing acid foods, boiling water canners are recommended for this purpose because they are faster. A pressure canner would require from 55 to 100 minutes to process a load of jars; while the total time for processing most acid foods in boiling water varies from 25 to 60 minutes. A boiling-water canner loaded with filled jars requires about 20 to 30 minutes of heating before its water begins to boil. A loaded pressure canner requires about 12 to 15 minutes of heating before it begins to vent; another 10 minutes to vent the canner; another 5 minutes to pressurize the canner; another 8 to 10 minutes to process the acid food; and, finally, another 20 to 60 minutes to cool the canner before removing jars.
-
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2009 revision
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/p ... _usda.html
Includes directions for both HWB and Pressure canning of the same recipes.

[evilpsych]

Although pressure canners may also be used for processing acid foods, boiling water canners are recommended for this purpose because they are faster.

Leave the lid off when you're wath bath canning acids then.

[RogerK]

Thanks Zombie Granny! That was what I thought.

As for leaving the lid off, it increases the amount of time and therefore the amount of energy used to can.

[Shadowsbane]

The canning dairy debate is a strong one also. You will undoubtably hear several cases where people have been doing it since the dawn of time without issue, and then hear all the horror stories of the opposite reaction. So choose, but choose wisely. Personally more often than not I would agree with Zombie Granny on this issue though.


Also the one time I pressure canned jelly, it didn't come out nearly as good.

[kiwilrdg]

Also the one time I pressure canned jelly, it didn't come out nearly as good.

Heat breaks down the pectin in jelly. That is why it is usually just wax sealed.

[mbaz73]

Here is our most recent foray into waterbath canning

The supplies








The process


















The finished product! 5 quarts of my wife's fantastic marinara sauce, good for at least a year in the pantry!

[Bubba Enfield]

Mbaz, that's a great post, and a great day spent canning!

[mbaz73]

Mbaz, that's a great post, and a great day spent canning!

Thanks!

[dynomike]

Probably a dumb question, but is a pressure cooker the same as a pressure canner?