Now that is weird. Must have been something wrong but darned if I know what it was. A draft maybe? Does your burner cycle off an on? Something had to have cooled the water down in the canner or prevented it from coming back up to a boil. At any rate since it is pickles rather than a low acid food and you used an approved recipe the level of acid should be good but personally I'd mark those jars to use up first. Dave

Dare I say something in defense about a steam canner? I have used one for many years now and it uses about the same amount of water a pressure canner uses. It has proven it worth here by giving me many canned items that are not overcooked. I especially like it for jellies and pickles. Neither are difficult to can, or process. Because I add extra acid to both, safety issues are not a big concern. I had done many temperature tests on these, and have found that the recovery temps are quite fast, when it comes to the canning water coming to a boil again. As everyone knows, heat rises, cold drops. With room temp, water filled jars inside, and the canner water previously boiling, it can take at least 10-15 minutes for the canner to reach boiling again, even though the jars are not even touching the water. Also, the measurements I did were done with thermocouples and a device that is able to chart out 6 locations within an area. These temperature measuring devices are very accurate and when I had jars filled with water only, and measured the internal temps, they came up faster in heat than a boiling water bath. I am not saying a pressure canner is in the same class, as it is not. Pressure canners are used for low acid foods and offer higher processing temps above 212 degrees of boiling water. This is the reason for the high pressure used in a PC. The steam canner has a slight pressure when boiling, as it jets out a strong steam from just two tiny holes down near the water level. This indicates to me that the jars inside, are in fact exposed to something that is at least 212 and is under slight pressure. I measured an internal temp of 212 degrees inside a water filled canning jar after 10 minutes. That jar was filled with boiling water prior to the test however. I would never consider using this canner for any low acid products. For pickles, I prefer full 5% strength vinegar too. The jellies get an added acid blend of malic, tarteric, and citric acid.

Realistically, there's no reason why you couldn't use your All-American and pressure can for the same time at 5 psi. With some delicate products there may be a change in quality, but that applies to few items. For example, with some sweet preserves (i.e. jelly) the additional heat may break the jell. You may find, though, that it isn't necessarily a savings in time because you have to bring it up to temp sufficient to vent steam for 10 minutes then process at pressure for x number of minutes then cool down until the pressure is back to zero then add the wait time of 10 minutes before removing the jars. It is, however, a savings of water and weight. Also, depending upon the All-American, you can stack jars and do a larger load in one session. Carol

I bring the water to a boil at just under my stove's highest heat, because somewhere, sometime, I also heard not to use the highest heat.(That seems to be what discolors stainless.) It boils plenty fast anyway. It's the temperature they are talking about, not the boiling. I've called the all clad cust svc # 800-255-2523 several times. They were always great to deal with. They were the ones who told me about Bar Keepers Friend. It is a good friend, takes away anything stuck or discolored. Things do stick if the pan is not hot enough ( let it get hot on a med or a med hi heat) when you are sauteeing, usually it will release on its own. Get the pan hot, then add the oil, when it shimmers add the meat.