I discovered that the (really) cheap stockpots I bought about 30 years ago work on my induction burner. I am loving waterbathing on the back porch. Maybe carry a magnet and check out the cheap stores and thrift stores?

I'm curious about the heat transfer plates, too. It'd be nice to be able to pressure can outside when it's hot.

I haven't had consistent luck with the magnet test confirming good to very good utility on an induction burner. Of course non-magnetic materials don't really work at all, but even some with magnetic attraction still don't function usefully on my induction burner (Viking portable unit). I don't know the technical reason why, however.

I suppose I could do some side by side tests of pressure canners loaded with jars of water on both gas and induction and see if the timing is much different. In theory induction with its steadiness should make it easier to achieve spot-on control of the "jiggle rate". I've had excellent luck when playing around with dairying/cheesemaking and the induction as far as quickly reaching and then holding a steady temp. But then, again, the timing of safe pressure canning may have been worked out on non-induction canners and using a heat plate with an aluminum canner may change it in some important way.

Working outside does sound attractive. I am going to grill some burgers outside tonight with a cast iron grill pan and the Viking burner. I haven't got any fan function now in the temp kitch so I'm not looking forward to having the lingering smell of charred meat in the house and have avoided cooking anything like that. Yesterday I slapped my forehead and decided to take it all outdoors. Can't think why it took me so long to get that thought.

L

Posted by liriodendron :

"---- but even some with magnetic attraction still don't function usefully on my induction burner (Viking portable unit). I don't know the technical reason why, however. ---"

Technically speaking, the induction cook top does not cook anything. The cooking vessel does all the cooking. On an induction cook top, the cooking vessel becomes the "stove".
The geometry and the material of the cooking vessel make a big difference in the performance of cooking.

"--- In theory induction with its steadiness should make it easier to achieve spot-on control of the "jiggle rate". ---"

Keeping in mind that once the PC start to "jiggle", it will make no difference how high you crank up the induction cook top (or any other type of cook top). The pressure and temperature inside the PC will remain the same regardless.

"--- But then, again, the timing of safe pressure canning may have been worked out on non-induction canners and using a heat plate with an aluminum canner may change it in some important way. ---"

I don't see any difference of canning safety using an aluminum PC and a heat plate on an induction cook top.

"---Working outside does sound attractive. --- Can't think why it took me so long to get that thought. "

Mosquitoes? Flies? Bees?:-)

dcarch

I'm just getting ready to start canning. Over the winter we gutted the kitchen and put in induction. Prior to the tear out I bought a good single electric burner that I could use in the temporary kitchen and then use for my pressure canner during canning season.

I got a new stainless BWB canner for induction and I'll use that to do apricots over the next couple of days. I do have some favorite large pots I generally use during canning that I will also have to use the electric burner for...no biggie. I love my induction cook top.

Here's a link to a thread that was recently posted on the Kitchen forum. This gal also has just put in induction in her main kitchen...

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Forum

Thanks for the several useful comments on this.

Unfortunately I have been canning so long that I am still using my old-style (40+ years old) aluminum canners that require constant watching and heat adjustment (pressure gauge with hissy/vent models, not really "jiggle" like the modern ones, I misspoke in my first post) during processing to maintain correct pressure throughout the cycle. These are, even with gas, a royal pain and I have been thinking about replacing them. My modern pressure pans that are in effect self-stabilizing as far as pressure -they are true "jigglers" - are much easier to use.

The main thing keeping me from replacing all the old pressure canners is financial inertia and reluctance to abandon these huge kettles which still technically work just fine. (I use them not only for pressure but also BWB with the lids off and many, many jars stacked up inside.) I fuss about this every year during the canning season, then, of course, it fades away afterward. I should just bite the bullet, I suppose.

My worry about the heat plate set-up is that it would be like trying to run them on an electric coil: not feasible (or at least extremely frustrating and lead to poor quality control) because of the residual heat in the coil (in this case heat plate) itself. And unlike smaller pots there's no moving aside a canner packed with 3 or 4 dozen jars of food to the side to try and temper the heat.

Working outside does sound appealing, but I would be a little reluctant to do so because I really like having my kitchen set up for canning with ready access to water, etc. If I set up an indoor canning room in an outbuilding, that would be ideal and I have seen some people with that setup and admired it. I often prep/process batches of food in the evening or at night and working outdoors would draw a lot of flying critters to the lights. I am fiercely obssessive about sanitation during prep so it would stress me out in the open air, I think. I do plan to have an outside exit from my kitchen to a small porch ... I am just now thinking maybe it should be a screened small porch that could be set up for canning during the main rush of the season. I'd have water close at hand in the kitch. Hmmmmmm

The timing/safety issue comes to play if it takes takes too long, or too conversely it happens too quickly, to get to pressure. At extremes of either end you have issues of safety and to some degree food quality (very long time to get to pressure). This is one of the reasons that using a regular pressure pan (especially a smaller one) is not advisable for pressure canning.

This is slightly OT, but have I read here a method for converting older style canners to more easier use by switching to a different weighted gauge? Maybe I am confusing this with something else?

I appreciate the time you have taken to write your comments; it's very helpful to me. Canning, especially pressure canning, is foreign to a lot folks and they haven't got any idea how and why it is different from regular cooking.

L