Presto 23 Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker

After watching pressure canning videos on YouTube I was interested to try my hand at canning vegetables, meats, and full meals. I have some older canning jars and a water bath but everything I was reading stated that in order to safely preserve low acid foods like meats and certain vegetables, they need to be done in a pressure canner (not to be confused with a pressure cooker).

Pressure canning is almost exclusively an American thing so almost all of the pressure canners are made in the USA. I did a websearch and found an Australian company OzFarmer.com.au had pressure canners and accessories in stock. A lot of the YouTube videos I watched showed the Presto brand being used, so that is the one I ultimately bought.

The Presto 23 Quart Pressure Canner has the capacity to hold 7 quart jars (946ml). With the addition of a second canning rack you can double stack smaller jars which means it can hold 20 pint jars (568ml) , or 26 half-pint jars (236.5ml). That's great if you are looking to increase your stores quickly. OzFarmer sell extra jars and lids, as do Kitchen Warehouse.

I've had the canner for less than a week now but in that time I've run four batches and now have many bottles of chicken breast, bolognese sauce, soups, stocks, butter chicken, beef stroganoff, and several different stews in jars on my shelf. It's a great way to use up some of the older frozen items and free up space in your freezer. I like batch cooking and the convenience of having pre-made meals at hand so I find it enjoyable.

The first run was a bit intimidating. I was trying to remember all the necessary steps to ensure a successful outcome but I mixed up a few things and had to start again. Thankfully it all worked out and by the second run of jars I felt a lot more confident and less fearful of the pressure canner. I attribute that to reading lots of how-to's, buying an e-book written for beginners, and watching a lot of really great women on YouTube sharing their own tips and tricks (my tip: start with a channel called Homestead Heart as every video drums into you the procedures for using your pressure canner).

Now I am looking at meat and vegetables on sale and stocking up when I see something at a great price. I can't wait to can my own tomatoes next summer.

Really works – Purchased a new Presto 23 Quart pressure cooker, it is huge, holds 20 pint jars or 7 quart jars. As a hobby I've been making jams, preserves and pickles for some years. I went looking for quality canned meat meals and found many products that are common overseas can't be purchased in Australia, I was interested in canned meats. Like canned beef, pork, chicken and turkey. I soon realised that I'd have to make them myself and after research found the Americans had perfected home canning of meats and meals. It's the only safe way to preserve meats for upto 12 months. I purchased 12 pint jars and went to YouTube to find hints and cooking methods. My first batch of 6 jars was Ham Hock and beans, my second batch of 6 jars was corned sivlerside. I was nervous at first double checking everything reading and rereading the instructions, but it worked perfectly. The second batch was a cakewalk. Woolworths had corned silverside at $8 Kg, and beef prices have rocketed due to the terrible drought, I put 3 Kg in the 6 jars. So that's what I'll do from now on when I see meat at a great price I'll can it for the future meals. 24 more pint jars on the way, what fun and saving money too.