First thing is to buy the Ball Blue Book. Cost about $6.00 at Walmart or any store that sell canning supplies. There's loads of info on the web also.

The best website is the National Center for Home Food Preservation. They have a free course you can take, loads of recipes, and clear directions.

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP

Yep, NCHFP. For example I linked their instructions on canning meat below.

You'll also want to do some practice runs with your pressure canner (which one did you get? weights or gauge?) using jars of water with food coloring in them to get used to using it correctly. Check out the NCHFP instructions on Using a Pressure Canner.

Lastly, browse through the many great discussions here. :^)

Welcome to home canning!

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Canning Meats

And if you still have questions, don't hesitate to ask here. Everyone is extraordinarily helpful!!

Welcome to our addiction!

Deanna

No wax seals, no fats, eggs, dairy, or pasta, as basic no no's. If your making jellies and jams, you only need a big pot that will hold the regular canning jars and give you at least 2 inches of boiling water above the jars, as well as them being elevated off the bottom by at least a half inch or more. The big pot should also have a cover. A stove capable of high heat and well controllable low heat for pressure canning. Glass cook tops on soves are not suitable, no matter what claims are made.
Good luck and SAFE, happy home canning!

I pressure canned the Chili Con Carne recipe from the NCHFP site (actually I bought the book as well) as my first real pressure canning challenge. I came out very well.

The trick is to follow the rules carefully. Just because commercial companies are able to can cream or noodles does not mean it can safely be done in home canning equipment.

Be sure to follow the canner's instructions carefully to avoid doing things like boiling the canner dry. When canning meats with long processing times the water level can get really low in the canner if running with a weigh and you leave the heat up too high under it.

Yes, there are recent posts about a boiled out PC. It was damaged beyond repair..

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I looked up the Ball Blue Book on Amazon and there are several different versions ranging in date from 1937 to 2004.

I'll stop into Barnes and Noble this weekend and look through the versions they have.

I bought a National #5 pressure canner. It's very heavy, aluminum with thick wooden handles. It looks to be in great condition. Even had the factory paper bag inside with the list of parts and features included--2 colander pan bails, short and long rack pins, a lifting rack, a 'trivet' looking bottom insert, 2 half-round pans with handles.

I did a test-drive according to directions I found on this site: http://www.missvickie.com/workshop/testdrive.html

The gasket leaked in several places so I stopped, ordered a new gasket and new gauge (why take chances?) and am waiting for the gauge to arrive. The gasket came last night and I test-drove it again. No leaks. I let the steam vent for 3 minutes and closed the vent-thing.

The vent-thing, and I hope someone tells me the actual name is a 1 x 1 inch barrel-shaped thing with a black knob on top that says Open-->. It's pretty loose and doesn't have much of a turn radius, but does stop the steam when closed.

The pressure came up to 15 pounds within a few minutes and I adjusted it to stay there or a little above by turning down the gas. After a bit I turned it off and let it depressurize by itself.

My husband picked up the glass jars yesterday and I'm anxious to start but will wait for the new gauge and the Ball book. I also picked up a canning kit--can lifter, funnel, magnetic lid picker-upper and 2 other things.

One immediate question I haven't seen addressed in my internet reading--if I want to can raw chicken and it's currently frozen how do I handle that? Thaw it in the fridge, the microwave, par-boil?

Okay, another question--from experience, does meat taste better when canned raw or cooked?

I appreciate all your time and thank you for answering my basic questions.

Dianne

I looked up the Ball Blue Book on Amazon and there are several different versions ranging in date from 1937 to 2004.

Please buy only the current/latest edition. Safety rules have changed substantially over the years and only the most current edition will reflect all of those. Old, outdated books on canning should be avoided.

National #5 pressure canner. National is the old company name for what are now Presto and I "think" the #5 is a 16 quart but I'm not sure. So this is quite an old canner if stamped National.

If it is a Presto then you need to purchase the 3 piece Presto weight set for it. Gauges are not accurate (you'll find many discussions here about this) and need to be tested/recalibrated annually. It is getting harder and harder to find someone to do that.

The vent-thing, and I hope someone tells me the actual name is a 1 x 1 inch barrel-shaped thing with a black knob on top that says Open-->. It's pretty loose and doesn't have much of a turn radius, but does stop the steam when closed.

I'm assuming you are describing the counter weight. It is what jiggles to let out excess steam so the canner cannot be OVER-pressurized. The 3 piece weight set replaces that and if it will fit, sits loosely on the steam pressure valve - and costs about $12.00.

15 lbs.? Are you high altitude?

Venting should be for 10 mins. not just 3.

Please be sure to use the guidelines provided by NCHFP (linked above) rather than any of the mistaken random info websites out there.

As to the chicken - we prefer ours canned cooked first but it is a personal taste preference. We only can fresh chicken, never frozen.

Hope this helps. ;)

Dave

Dian57. Why waste money on a dial gauge. They are not accurate and should never be used to read accurate pressures. Commercial pressure gauges used in factories are something else as they are calibrated using special standards, and have built in adjustments. These cost many hundreds to thousands of dollars. Even for that weights are far more accurate and will never wear out or change controlling pressures, unless you filed them down to changed their physical size and shape. Stay with the old dial gauge as its just used to show you that if the needle is pointing to something other than zero, it has pressure inside. Sending a dial gauge out for calibration used on a PC, will usually give you a conversion chart that will tell you what readings on the dial actually are in pressure. On most cases they can be off by 3 or more pounds. Even for that, many are not 'linear'. Which simply means a difference in a reading and actual pressure ranging from 1 pound to up to 10 pounds difference at higher pressures. Imagine adjusting heat to get a 10 pound pressure on a dial gauge, only to find out it has been off many pounds. You could be canning at 15 or more pounds and no even know it!

To echo what Dave said, I believe in the past we've discussed some not-up-to-current-standards methods and recipes from missvickie.com. Be sure you are using the modern method from Ball, an extension service website (such as Penn State or Colorado State), or the NCHFP.

And there's a new step, I think it's the 10-minute wait between removing the weight and opening the lid - check the guidelines or search for it in one of Linda Lou's posts here (she's a Master Food Preserver so she stays up to date).

If you're canning frozen chicken, be sure that's an approved method from the NCHFP. I don't can meat so I'm not sure, but you have to follow it exactly! If it says fresh chicken, the chicken cannot be partially frozen, it won't heat sufficiently in the specified processing time.

Happy and safe canning to you!

Melissa

For that model of canner it cannot be used with the three piece weight set. I got rid of an old one for that reason.
The dial gauge will be relied upon with that old model. Be sure you get even the new gauge tested since we test many new ones that are off by as much as 4 or 5 lb. You cannot be confident that a new gauge will be accurate. If a gauge is off by more than 2 lb. high or low, it would need to be tossed. I can't stress enough the importance of getting your new gauge tested before you use it. Contact your local county extension office for that service.
You have a petcock on that. It is not like the current counterweight. As you said, you open and close it by turning it.
Also, along with the new gasket, be sure the little overpressure plug is soft and pliable, too.
As for the chicken, thaw in the fridge, then process. I suggest a raw pack. I prefer using broth in mine as it makes the meat have good flavor. I then use the broth for soup, chicken pot pie, etc.
It is so easy to open a jar of soup, drain off the broth, then add some noodles and cook. Then I add the chicken. The chicken just falls apart, so I don't cook it with the noodles.

Good heavens, a petcock! I should have thought of that as Mom used to have one eons ago that got tossed back in the 70's but after all these years it never occurred to me that any of them were still around.

That has got to be a really old canner because they haven't made those for 50 years. Not since they discovered the potential explosive hazards associated with them! If it is indeed a petcock canner, and I don't doubt Linda Lou at all, then there is every chance that this canner simply isn't safe to use for anything other than growing flowers in.

Dianne - I STRONGLY urge you to consider investing in a proper canner before undertaking any home canning. Your and your family's safety needs to be your first concern.

Dave

OK let's hear the petcock stories from you long-time canners! Didn't someone get plums on their ceiling? I'm sure there have been much more serious results as well.

Dave, good point - personal safety is as important as food safety.

Dianne, now you have at least 2 reasons to buy a brand-new canner, to avoid the petcock and to get weights instead of a dial. One reason for each kind of safety. :-)

Melissa

After reading all the warnings about the National canner I've decided to change direction.

Last night I remembered a never-used T-Fal Safe2 pressure cooker in the back of the cupboard. It's small, but fits 4 pint jars nicely. It locks together by the lid sliding counter-clockwise. There is a removable pressure regulator. And the instruction manual was in the pot.

I had to order the Ball Blue Book as it is currently out of stock and not available at Barnes & Noble. I'll wait and see what to do before defrosting any chicken.

Better plan?

The never-used T-Fal Safe pressure cooker may not be safe to pressure can the chicken. You must use a pressure canner. You may cook in a pressure canner but you must not can in a pressure cooker.

ARGHHHH!

Off to buy a new canner!

What is the advantage of cooking food in a pressure cooker over conventional pots and pans?

I found the ball blue book at menards and walmart right by the canning jars
I can understand the arrrgh a fellow new canner myself I read on here long enough to figure out I should have a 23qt presto and got one for christmas(: So far I have used to make some chicken broth I think they say 16 quart is the smallest to use for canning
Some things cook a lot faster in the pressure cooker brown rice for example

I made beef stew this week using my pressure cooker. I had perfectly cooked meat in 20 minutes. 1 can of beef broth was added with the beef chunks. After cooking, I cooled the cooker under running water. You would never cool down this way when canning. I then thickened the gravy and added the separately cooked carrots and potatoes. I don't cook the vegetables with the beef as they tend to become softer than I like.

Yep, cooking in a pressure cooker is wonderful stuff - fast and tender and full of taste. We oldies at our house do it all the time. Great for the cheaper cuts of meat.

But sorry, you cannot can in them. They aren't large enough and the small size voids all the processing pressure and processing times in the canning recipes. This is explained in more detail in the Using a Pressure Canner instructions at NCHFP. Minimum approved size for canning must hold 4 qt. jars. I "think" Mirro makes a 12 qt. that is approved but not sure. The Presto 16 and 23 qt. are tested and approved and the weight set works on both.

There are several past discussions here on the advantages of the Presto 23 qt as well as price discussions, specials, discounts etc.

Dave

A presto 23 quart BRAND NEW on Amazon is less than $100 now. I got one last summer for $76 or so, and free shipping. There is a 22 quart Mirro (T-Fal) pressure canner/cooker there as well. The Presto 23 quart has gone up a bit, but the 16 quart Presto is priced at about $80 now

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon

I've ordered a Presto 16 quart canner, a weight regulator set and the Ball Blue Book. I have 5 cases each of pint and quart jars and two freezers full of meat.

Things should get pretty busy around here this weekend.

Since you've all been so helpful to me, any advice on labeling? Or am I jumping the gun and missing something more important?

My old pressure cooker is used mainly for steaming rice - great for that, but I stopped using it for long cooking, because I thought meats all took on a distinct flavor of the rubber ring.

It makes a great pot for boiling potatoes, and other types of general cooking tho - and has it's own place. Because it is aluminum, it should be avoided when cooking acid foods, however.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

Kitchen Krafts offers 2" round labels on sheets. They usually come preprinted around the edges of the rounds, but can easily be run though any printer. I use Print Shop to print them. A few years back, no one sold 2" round labels as 8.5X11" sheets, but now they do offer these. Mine were custom made by a company in NH, and I had to buy a thousand sheet minimum, and they are 12 rounds to a sheet with spacings vertically and horizontally. There, I was also able to specify a heavy glossy stock for the rounds. They work in either inkjet or laser printers. The Print Shop program has a custom label setup option too. Mine are printed as full bleed. That means the printing color and outer edges are all included in the printing and any over hanging printing outside the 2" circle will not affect the others nearby. My dad had a nice printed gummed label he had made some years ago. It was "Rogers Pickle Works" and the slogan "made by our own dirty hands". He was a comic as you can tell. I like the 2" rounds as they fit nicely on the lids of regular mouth canning jars. The labels get tossed once the jar is empty. In Print Shop, I even print a diagonal watermark on them stating "please return the empty jars". Pasting labels on the glass are OK, but sometimes hard to remove to reuse the jars. My labels are applied once they have cooled out of the canner.

Labels - nothing fancy here because those adhesive labels are a big pain to get off the jars for next year. We just use a marker to write what it is and the date on the lid since those get pitched anyway. ;)

Dave

PS: while waiting for the canner to arrive be sure to review the PC guidelines at NCHFP as they cover the 10 mins. venting, proper cooling techniques, how to avoid siphoning, etc. Lots of good info.

I never stick my labels on the glass, except the small jelly jar oval type. Even those are sometimes hard to remove. But 'Goo Gone' helps to get the adhesive off very fast, and will not cause any damages to skin, or plastics. Warming up the empty glass jars will also soften most adhesives so they can peel off easier.

I ordered a selection of different labels from Labelsbythesheet.com on the recommendation of someone on this forum, and found I liked the brown Kraft ones best, and ordered a bunch more of those. They look nice and homespun, show up well no matter what's inside (some of the coloured ones clashed unfortunately with some bright fruit concoctions!), AND they come off more easily than most, for some reason. I like the way my pantry shelves look with rows of jars that all have the same kind of label (I do get two sizes, one for jelly jars --- which I can a LOT in since we are a small household --- and one slightly larger, but still oval so it matches, for pint and a few 3-cup jars. I don't do anything bigger.)

Sometimes a trace gets left behind, and indeed a bit of Goo Gone takes care of it, but I find if I always put the label on in the same place then it doesn't matter. Life is too short IMHO to remove a hint of label goo from a spot I'm going to put a new label on anyway....

I keep meaning to get creative and do up some templates on the computer for them, but I always seem to spend the time canning instead, so I just write on them. Some of the posters here have done gorgeous labels on the computer!

One thing that's proved useful for me is that. while my labels are all the same, I use a different colour of felt tip marker for different products. Especially ones that look a lot the same --- tomato sauce vs. salsa vs. crushed tomatoes vs. tomato juice. That way it's even easier to spot from across the pantry what is what, what I'm running low on, etc.

Z