Canning

[BDG]

(12 December 2012, 10:25)SealDriver Wrote:

(12 December 2012, 09:47)BDG Wrote: Highlander - when yanks refer to canning, they really mean putting stuff in jars. The kit is usually a very large pressure cooker and screw lidded jars - it is the pressure cooker that is the expense. I have seen them on Ebay new in the USA for £70 but then you have shipping on top of that. I have seen them in the UK for £140.

It would be worthwhile I think to look for some space in a shipping container coming across and stick some of these in and put them on Ebay / Amazon.

BDG they do look a lot like pressure cookers but they infact produce twice the amount of pressure and heat than the ones we see in this country, they also are much larger so that they can accomedate two layers of jars and the tray the jars sit on off the pan's base. The Pressure cookers that we use are just not up to the job unfortunately.

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/Presto-01781-Pre...487&sr=1-1

This is what we are looking at, but with postage and import tax, it comes out at twice the price!

We could go for cheaper models but then there is the issue of safety.

A decent pressure cooker that will get 15lb of pressure will cook at 121C as long as you are not halfway up a mountain - this should be enough.

The USDA and Colorado University recommend 11PSI at sea level and due to the elevation in Colorado and (as with the rest of the western USA) the much higher than normal Type A Clostridium botulinum spores found in the soil of the area, they state that 15lb should always be used. Whilst I am aware that 25lb could be used with a pressure canner, I would say this is just reducing a very small risk to a smaller risk.

If all you can get your hands on is a decent pressure cooker where pressure can be set at 15lb in the UK, I see no reason not to use it.

This product, sold in the UK as a pressure cooker is often sold in the USA as a pressure canner - the only difference is that it does not come with a canning basket in the UK.

http://www.chefline.co.uk/product_info.p...2dt2alubn3

Not saying it is a bad thing to spend the money on a canner, however, all of the evidence shows that it is safe to can with 15lbs of pressure at home, backed by both the US government and a major university.

25lb is not over the top, but I would say it is belt, braces and wearing pants two sizes to small so they cannot fall down.