Welcome! ;) First tell us which pressure canned brand and model we are talking about. That can make a difference.

Yes, Presto says no but that is legalese and hundreds of us do it on gas burners with no problems. It all depends on the BTU power of your burner. Especially high power ones over 35,000 BTUs can screw the processing time and overheat the pot causeing a possible warp. But FAIK no grill burner is that high a BTU rating.

Your stove - that's up to you. For some models, it voids the warranty. If you PC has a flat bottom it may work fine but if the burner cycles off and on under it then it won't do at all.

As to the corn - the total is 1" head space left after the water is poured on. Hot pack has the corn heated through in the water before putting it in the jars. Raw (cold) pack is cold raw corn right to the jars and then boiling water poured over it.

The corn will absorb some of the water while processing (especially if you use raw pack) so I have found that what works best is to fill the jar a little over 3/4 full of corn and then pour on the water, remove air bubbles, add more water, cap and process. That way when done all the corn will still be under water.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Hello again!

Presto 23 qt pressure canner/cooker Stock No. 01781 -- yes flat bottom

I have done tomatoes etc on my glass stovetop and I think it may cycle; not sure; but I had no clue it wouldnt do...but we've not had issues in the past few yrs of me canning on it
Warranty is gone anyway w/the stove lol.
RE: corn; which way tastes better? obviously fresh lol...but..

and I did read something about a test run; food coloring etc...would that be beneficial for me to see where my stove lies in cycling if it does?
(I need dummy instructions for that tho!)

Oh yes, practice runs are always beneficial - not only for checking out the stove but for learning how to use the PC too. Preventing siphoning by learning to control your heat levels is a bit of a learning curve. If your burner cycles then it won't keep the PC pressure holding steady and rising and falling pressure creates all sorts of problems.

Presto 23 qt - ok have you ordered the 3 piece weight set for it? If not you will want to. You can read all about that here too. I have the same model and have used it on by propane burner for 3 years now with no problems. My burner is quite high in BTUs (35,000) so I have to use it on low with some care. As long as your BTUs are lower (most gas grills burners are 12,00 or less) you'll be fine.

Corn - which? Hard to answer. Some prefer frozen over canned, some canned. Some like raw pack and some hot pack. I much prefer hot pack and so does the wife. Try both and see which you prefer. I don't find them to be all that different is flavor but hot pack has less waste associated with it IMO.

Dave

Hubby said he'll pick up a container of propane tomorrow as we just ran out.

I'm not sure the corn will last til we get the weights (ordered online)..we may have to try it tomorrow w/o weights..I'll have to read up on what the weights do anyway and how to tell if we need them/how to use them etc..

And there is no place even semi-local to check my gauge that came with my canner..I read that it could be up to 4lbs off...should I just err on side of caution and just assume it is off?

One last question; how long does your propane tank seem to last when canning? it may differe I know; but just in a ballpark..

(ducking now cause I'm sure you are tired of answering these questions; but I surely appreciate it!)

The advantage of the three-piece weight set is you can use the 10-pound weight and then it doesn't matter if the gauge is off or not. The gauge becomes the "back-up."

In fact, when the weight is rocking you can look at the gauge and tell by the setting (which should read 10.5 psi) how close to accurate it is.

Then it doesn't matter if you can get the gauge tested or not.

Even though your stove is out of warranty, it's worth calling the manufacturer to find out if your glasstop is recommended for canning or not. Some are, some aren't. (Unless your manual gives that information.)

The manufacturer can also tell you if the burners are steady heat or if they cycle on and off. (Again, if the manual doesn't indicate.)

Carol

And there is no place even semi-local to check my gauge that came with my canner..I read that it could be up to 4lbs off...should I just err on side of caution and just assume it is off?

No, use the 15 lb. counter-weight that came with it to semi-test the gauge during one of your practice runs. Run the pressure up to where the counter-weight begins to jiggle/rock slowly but steadily and then note what the gauge reads. Should read approx. between 15.5 and 17 lbs. That way you will know how much it is off. Keep in mind that over pressure canning is still safe. UNDER pressure canning is not so always err on the high side.

My burner is separate and my tank is used just for canning and lasts about 1 month with daily use. All depends on the BTUs of your burner and how much pressure canning you do. :)

Dave

THank you about the semi-testing!! Will definitely do that tomorrow a/m!!!

So will it be safe to can the corn after I find out how much/if any it is off? I dont need the additional weights for right now right? What would those be used for anyway?

What would those be used for anyway?

As Carol said above.

Weights are accurate and remain consistently accurate. Gauges are just references. They are NOT accurate and don't remain so. The semi-testing technique I outlined will make it safe for you to process the corn now but do not count on your gauge long term.

So you do need to order the weights and then plan to rely on them for future canning. Lots of discussions here about them and the "whys" for them. ;)

Dave

Hi momagain,

I have the exact pressure canner (Presto 23 qt.) and can on my glasstop stove with no problems. If you're really concerned, you can call your stove/oven manufacturer and check to see if your model will support canning equipment.

I have a Frigidaire glasstop that's only 3 or 4 years old. I call the company and they told me no problem, as long as I use the largest burner on my stove.

Yes, Presto gauges can be off. I know mine is 1 1/2 pounds off, so I have to account for that when I pressure can. I had to send my pressure gauge to another friend here on the Harvest forum and have her test it at her local extension agent, but you can send it to Presto and have them test it too (which makes no sense to me...why don't they tell you when you buy the thing?)

Good luck! You'll do fine; I promise!

Does your burner cycle? Mine definitely does; checked it out!

The best thing I've found to cook on is my Coleman single burner camp stove. Tried a variety of other things, portable ranges, a terrible whirlpool stove-top from many years ago, but you just cant beat that camp stove. The thing is basically a single burner that sits atop a green propane cylinder. Its only 10,000 BTU's, so it wont burn your pot up if you use it correctly and it uses about half of that bottle for a really long canning job. Ive done two canning jobs now and the thing runs perfectly for regulating the pressure. You just place your canner on it on a level surface, load it up, open and light it, set it to a decent flame and get your head of steam up. Once you have vented out the air and have the steam coming out for about ten minutes, place on your weights and let it pressurize. Once you reach operating pressure, lower the flame a to a reasonable level keeping the weights rocking and let it go until done.

One word of caution though. Make sure you use the little stand that the bottle sits in to give your stove a good wide base, and don't let children bump into this. As long as its centered and you don't kick it or something, it will stay there with no problems.

You can get a stove like this at any wally world :)

If you don't like the height of the thing, Ozark Trail makes a two burner camp stove with two 6000BTU burners on it that sits flat and low. It's in the ballpark of 28 bucks. It takes longer to heat obviously, but you cant beat a gas flame for heat regulation.

That's just my 2 cents. I'm sure everybody has their favorite way of heating PC's, but for me a gas flame does the best.

I hope this helped, and don't be afraid of your equipment. There's nothing really fancy about it, Just get to know it and go to town. Just set up your gear and follow the recipe timetables and pressures.

Momagain,

Yes, my stove cycles on and off. As long as the pressure stays stable, you're o.k.

I stay pretty close to the stove when I pressure can, as I've found I have to tweak and retweak the burner temperature to keep the pressure from either spiking or dropping during canning. It's a pain, but necessary.

This is what I do: When bringing my canner up to pressure, I have the burner temp set med-high/high. BEFORE it reaches 10 lbs. (usually around 7 lbs.), I start tweaking the temp down juuust a little so it doesn't overshoot 10 lbs. too quickly. Once it reaches 10-11 pounds (and I start timing), I monitor the pressure by either tweaking the temp up or down for the burner.

The key is to slowly bring your canner up to pressure. If you bring it up too fast, it's going to be harder to stabilize at 10 lbs. Also, rapid spikes in pressure will cause siphoning from your jars (loss of liquid).