What follows is, per the author, not an entry for the final writing contest. (There are only 24 more days, so get your entries in soon for your chance to win the PSD book of your choice!) She's just contributed this review for the benefit of all of us. Thank you, Anonymous!
I’ve been canning for over 50 years. When I was a child, it was just a part of life that we raised
almost all that we ate, and we canned a lot of it. We canned and canned and canned. For years
after becoming an adult, I boil bath canned for fun and presents. After getting married in my
30s and having a family, I canned more. Now that my children are grown and the world is
getting crazy, I’m canning more and more. As an aside, I’m also dehydrating and freezing more
too. We preserved meats in lard growing up, but that is not going to happen for me now. So, I
am canning. We eat meat and I found that my storage was low on protein.
The great meat canning adventures happened when canned meats skyrocketed in price. Next,
shrinkflation reared its ugly head and the cans were smaller for the same cost. The final straw
came when there was a significant reduction in the amount of meat in each can. I decided I
would dust off my pressure canner. I did and all was well until I spied the new electric pressure
canner. Oh. My. Goodness. I watched a video or two and was enthralled. Could canning be so
very easy? My husband bought me one and I am in heaven. It is much easier. It isn’t necessarily
quicker, and you do need to be home and attentive during the canning process, but it is easier. I
still have my regular pressure canner and will keep it for lots of reasons that have been
discussed at length here.
Quick note: For the most part, I only can pints now that we are a smaller family. I’ve only used it
to pressure can; however, there is a water bath option that I’ve still to try.
Here are some things I have found…
1. The canner is expensive and does require continuous electricity. I bought the Presto 12-
quart stainless steel electric pressure canner for around $300
2. I no longer have to lift or get someone to lift the heavy canner as the inside piece comes
out. Only 3 quarts of water is needed for canning.
3. Raw pack meat stuck together. I boiled it for 10 minutes upon opening just in case. After
that batch, I cook the meat first.
4. It heats the jars (yes!) and I fill them with filtered water that I use in the filling process.
Saves dumping the jars of hot water out and refilling. Of course, that won’t work with
other recipes – say, beef stew. Works great for chunk beef, chicken, and pork.
5. My rings are rusting quicker. The first time I left the canner to cool and went to bed. It
wasn’t pretty, but the food was fine. The rings were rusty. Now, I can early enough in
the day to take the jars out when the canner says it’s cool enough and things are better.
I’ve had rings for decades, so I’m taking better care now and washing them quicker.
6. I appreciate that I do not have to fuss with altitude. It’s automatic.
7. I followed the directions and ran a practice canning through first. Worth the time and
effort. I still follow the directions precisely each time with directions in hand. Just in
case. There was a learning curve, but it isn’t that difficult and the directions are pretty
good
