Can you post details of the steps you followed so we can help determine what went wrong?

What type of pressure canner? Gauge or weight?
How much headspace in your jars?
Anything else you can share might help.

Deanna

Presto canner. New this year. Large. Gauge. (it has a weight, too.)
Two Kerr quarts with Kerr lids. One Ball quart with Ball lid. Both widemouth.
1 inch headspace.
We tried to time everything carefully and watch carefully. This was our first pressure canning (other than the testing)
Perhaps it is the last.

I also need ideas about how to remove about 1/4 inch of burned on gunk. So far, boiling water and dishwashing soap isn't doing much.

Thank you,

Carol is right, we need more lots more info please. ;)

However, that said, it doesn't take any special kind of stove or burner to get a working pressure canner up to pressure. You only need 10-11 lbs. for mincemeat unless you are high altitude. It can be done with any 8" electric or gas stove burner. My guess - you have a real problem with the canner.

Also, you if you lost 3 qts. of water that you had poured into the canner that too says there is a problem with the pressure canner. If the seal on the canner is in good shape, then once the weight is in place and slowly jiggling, only a very small amount of steam can escape from the canner. No way you can lose 3 quarts.

And the jars burped contents into the canner? That is canner problem too plus way too much heat. You did quarts for 90 minutes at 10 lbs. right?

If you have a gauge canner then the gauge must be way off.

More details please including brand, size, type, and age of the canner. ;)

Dave

Sorry, I guess we were posting at the same time. ;)
What size Presto? They make many models but some of them are too small to use as canners. It has to be 16 qt. minimum.

So you put 3 qts. of water into the canner, set the 3 jars in, and twisted the lid to lock it. Turn the stove on and let pressure build and steam vent for 10 mins. Did the auto lock pop up? Then you put the weight on, right? The pressure should have then slowly climb to 11 lbs. and then you adjust the amount of heat down to maintain the 11 lbs. for 90 minutes.

Did the weight ever begin to jiggle and dance? If so, what pressure was your gauge reading when the weight began to jiggle? The weight is the most accurate of the 2 but the standard weight with Presto is 15 lbs. and you only needed 11 lbs. so yours shouldn't have jiggled. That's why many of us buy the adjustable weight set for our Presto.

The 1/4" of burned on gunk is likely going to have to soak for some time - like 24 hours or more.

Was steam or water leaking out around the seal of the canner? With the weight on there just isn't any other way for the water to get out.

Sorry but it still sounds like a problem with the canner or the way it was used.
Dave

Hi,
It's a Presto 01781 23-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner
When we bought it, we tested it, and with an old propane stove we could not get enough heat to go above 5 pounds. We replaced the stove (twice) and the canner with water got to 15 pounds which we thought was the most we would need.

The water had boiled off and we recognized the cans had leaked (by the smell of burning sugar) after 50 minutes. At that point we turned the gas off and let it cool.

Five hours later, we are still taking turns chipping away at the burned on sugar.

During the cooking, there was also steam coming out of the little cup thing. Now I wonder if I put it on upside down.

And I wonder if I should have bought a bigger freezer.

Did you have that gauge tested before you used it ? I know you said something about testing, but I don't know if you meant the gauge at the extension office or just using the canner with just water to see how it worked. Gauges MUST be tested before use and each year if you are going to rely on the gauge. Even brand new gauges can be off by as much as 4 lb. You don't have a weight, you have a counterweight, only meant to allow pressure to build and hold it in. If you want to use the canner as a weighted gauge canner you need to buy a three piece weight set from Presto. Then, you use the weights, and with Presto you would keep it rocking at a gentle rate the whole time. You leave the dial gauge on, but just ignore it and use the weight.
You use 2-3 inches of water in the bottom of a pressure canner, not 3 quarts. Even if your manual says differently, you need that much water.
Sounds like your gasket is leaking if you lost all that water or the gauge was not tested prior to use. I agree, no other way for it to burn dry.
I am also assuming you vented it for the full 10 min. before putting the counterweight on.
I use Cameo cleanser for stainless steel and aluminum cookware. It is not expensive and works so well. If it were stainless, not aluminum I would suggest just oven cleaner, but it will not be good on aluminum.
You can expect the food to be somewhat soft due to the long time required to can it to be safe.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to use a pressure canner.

I think it was Deanna who asked the questions, all of which are important.

OK, well, first the easiest issue. If you put dishwasher detergent, not dishwashing soap, in the bottom with hot water and let it soak, that'll probably get the gunk off - or most of it anyway.

I guess my second comment is if pressure is dropping and you smell scorching, don't keep the canner cooking. Turn off the heat.

But we all get wise in hindsight and I've made my share of canning mistakes over the years. It's unfortunate you had such an unpleasant experience with pressure canning the first time around; I hope you don't give up.

I can think of one occasion when I almost boiled my canner dry when I was first learning and it was my fault, i.e. "operator error." Properly managed, the liquid loss after the canner is vented is pretty minimal, even over a long period of time.

I don't know if you were using 11 pounds pressure or 15, but I'd guess the heat was higher than necessary and steam was spewing out from under the weight pretty vigorously. Was the weight jiggling actively with lots of steam spewing? It should be just gently rocking with little steam spurts, not a stream of steam.

What you do with a gauge canner is fill the canner, put on the lid, turn the burner on high and keep it there until you've vented the canner the required 10 minutes. Then put on the weight. Watch the gauge. Assuming you're canning at 11 pounds pressure, when the gauge has crept up to 5 or 7 pounds, gently back off on the heat. Back off gradually, down to about medium, so that when the canner is at 11 pounds, you're at a moderate temperature where the gauge stays steady and only little puffs of vapor come out. Once the canner's at pressure, you don't need high heat to keep it there.

Regarding the spewing jars of mincemeat: Mincemeat expands during the processing, so you absolutely have to have 1" headspace, no less. In fact, and someone may disagree with me, I fudge the 1" rule for mincemeat and usually go 1 1/4". Also, fluctuations in temperature/pressure will cause contents to spew. That's why it's critical to back off on the temperature gradually and get it to a point where the canner is humming along happily at a moderate heat without any dramatic ups or downs.

This comes with practice as you get to know your stove and how your canner responds.

There is another possible cause of the water loss, which is a leak in your seal (the rubber ring). You could have a steady loss of liquid from a small drip at the back of the canner and yet be at pressure until the water runs out. But I'm assuming you would have noticed that kind of thing and mentioned it.

Let us know if our responses have clarified things. If not, come back and ask whatever's still not clear.

Carol

Leslie,

I will leave the help with the canning issues to the experts (I only to BWB). But I am VERY experienced at scrubbing out pots (I am forgetful and have burnt stuff onto the bottom of many of them!). It if's mostly sugary, it should all come off eventually.

As LInda Lou says, if it's stainless, then try oven cleaner as probably the fastest. But hot water & dishwasher detergent, changed often, will eventually dissolve away sugary stuff.

When you get down to the bottom, if it's still stained with a few bits burnt on, try simmering a Bounce sheet, or OxyClean.

You have my sympathies! I've always been leery of pressure canning because the possibilities for failure modes seem so many. Though I know many people enjoy it and have success, and I am tempted to try it for the wider range of veggies that can be put up than with boiling water.

But I'm glad we got an upright freezer first!

Good luck, I'll be watching to see how it turns out.

Zabby

Leslie,

Carol explained exactly what I was going to say. I have a 23 qt Presto as well and notice that I do have problems with "bubble over" and jars not sealing if the stove temperature (burner) is too drastic in fluctuation.

If you brought your canner up to 15 lbs (not sure what altitude you live in), then that is WAY too much pressure, even dangerous! Bring your canner up to pressure SLOWLY. I often turn my burner on high, watch till it gets around 5 lbs, then start turning down the heat little by little till it gets to 10-11 lbs. I found that if I had the burner on high the whole time, by the time it got to 10-11 lbs, the really high temperature would overshoot my pressure and I would have a lot of boil over in the jars. I then would find myself having to quickly bring the heat down, which is not good either. I often have to remind myself to keep an eye on the temperature when I pressure can because I'm so used to turning the burner on high in a BWB and leaving it pretty high for a good boil.

There should be a line etched inside the canner, I think under one of the handles, that shows where the water level should be. I often have to look for it in better lighting, but I maker sure the water I put in the canner goes to that line. It's about 2-3 inches up from the bottom of the canner.

Finally, Presto allows their pressure gauges to be off as much as 2 LBS out of the factory!!!! I found this out the hard way last year when Annie had my gauge calibrated and it was off by 1 1/2 lbs, brand new! So now I know when my gauge says 11 lbs, the pressure is really 13 1/2 inside the canner. It's good to know these things.

Don't give up! It does take practice to get the hang of pressure canning; I still get nervous when I do it!

When I put 3 inches of water in my pressure canner and add 10 pints jars, the water comes half way up the canner. If I were canning only 3 quarts, it would make a difference. I never can a partial load. Also, if the weight jiggled, pressure was reached and the gasket must be OK. I don't see the need for the extra power burner.
I think you processed at 15 lbs. What was it that you may have put on upside down?
I would suggest you do another run through using jars filled with water and no lids. Just pretend you are canning.

I can think of a time when my canner did come up to pressure but did have a leak in the gasket (a drip) in the back. The drip pan was full of water. So it is possible.

I have canned partial loads and haven't noticed any difference in function. I add the recommended amount of water regardless of the number of jars.

The suggestion about running a canner with just jars of water for practice is a good one. It will help you get comfortable.

Carol

It seems obvious to me that the pressure canner was not used correctly.

If you put just a little lye in the pot over night the gunk will come out. However, be super careful. do not touch the lye before or after. Safe way is to take the pot outdoors and fill slowly with water and pour it out.

lye is extremely caustic and can burn your skin off and burn holes in your clothing. nothing to play with.

Lye is sometimes called Draino it opens up plugged drains and will loosen up the dry crude in the pot.

I use a 2-In-1 Glazing Tool Set normally used for putting in putty on glass windows. the opposite side has a scraper at a nice angle that allows for scraping inside a large pot. So I no longer use lye. this tool can be found at all hardware stores and home depot. but this was the only picture I found on it.

Here is a link that might be useful: tool I use to scrape burnt pots

I'm not familiar with the Presto, but on my canner I have learned that I need to pay special attention to make sure the lid is on evenly before I lock it down. It has a tendency to go on a little crooked and if the high end is in back it's hard to spot....the first few times I didn't catch it until I saw some steam escaping from where it shouldn't.

Good luck! Pressure canning really is fun once you get the hang of it.

I'm following this thread too, with not a lot to add to the opinions but agreeing either the canner wasn't sealed, or the Gauge WAY off. 3 qts of water shouldn't escape from a sealed canner in less than an hour.

Leslie, I think the problem you had bringing it up to pressure should have been a clue something must be wrong with the assembly (operator error :)) or with the canner itself. I've never had anything but a basic lower-end electric stove - reaching pressure is no problem at all.

Shirley, I've watched my friends gauged canner come up to pressure with the lid not sealed, while hissing steam and dripping water at the sides so losing water fast. Both of mine are weighted and I haven't experienced that with my own.

I also can partial loads and it doesn't make any difference in how the canner performs. Once it's sealed, brought up to pressure, the contents/jars process the same whether doing 4 or 24.

I'd sure hate to see anyone give up on pressure canning because of one bad experience. It opens up so many more foods you can preserve. Yes, it does take some initial time to become familiar with the canner but no other special equipment is required. Even a small camping propane stove will work so I really don't understand the need for a special stove with a special burner. I have the same canner described and the counterweight on Presto canners, assuming it is the correct one for the canner, can't be put on upside down.

Assuming a properly working canner, once you get the hang of the basic steps, honestly its just as easy as using a BWB.

But in this situation, as it's described, there are just too many unanswered questions to know what the real problem was. Give it another try as suggested by the others AFTER first having the gauge and seal checked as that is the most likely explanation for the loss of the water.

Good luck. ;)

Dave

There was a thread from August about a ruined stockpot that had a ton of suggestions for getting the gunk off. It may help. I can't help with the questions on pressure canning because I'm not brave enough to try that yet. Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ruined new stockpot

I've had fairly good luck with my pressure canning experiences, save for a few thermal type "operator errors" but learned something from your posts today anyway.

When bringing the canner up to 11 lbs. I've always been in a hurry to get it there. Then must "babysit" the guage to make sure it stays on 11. So thanks for the helpful information to start adjusting at 5 lbs. - so that it won't over-pressure, then need to frantically turn it either up or down.

One suggestion that I might add about the canner is - be sure when the lid is put on, that it is turned to "lock" position, otherwise steam will escape also, and make sure the rubber ring is firmly seated in the groove inside - a loose ring will allow steam escape as well.

Just my 2 c's.

Hmmm learn something new everyday.

Bejay

Hi All,
I do not trust my gauge but cannot find the adjustable weight set mentioned above, Any sources?
Thanks

For Presto? pressurecooker.com or Red Hill General Store both have it.

Went to both sites and only found replacement parts, do you have a part #, 22 QT 01780 Presto
Thanks
Mark

Here's the page with the 3-piece weight at the top of the list. The little piece with the black knob is 5-pounds. Add one ring for 10 pounds and 2 for 15.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Presto Three-Piece Regulator