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Episode-1855- Electric Canning for the Busy Family – Food Storage All Year Long

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The Chard Canner is the Best Currently Available Electric Option.

The Chard Canner is the Best Currently Available Electric Option.

So today we look at using electric canners specifically my preferred electric pressure canner the “Chard 9.5 Quart Smart Pressure Canner“, and the only other one I recommend, the Power Pressure Cooker XL.  For what it is worth the Power Pressure Cooker XL is a DISTANT second, you will hear why in today’s show.

I own both of the above models and a traditional All American Canner, that thing is a beast and will likely outlast my grandchildren, but honestly I don’t use it much since discovering electric pressure canners.

The key with these items is they work and do so without a lot of supervision, when they are finished they just shut themselves down.  They also do far more than just can, they pressure cook, you can water bath can, they steam and more.  Today though we will focus on the canning aspect of things.

Join Me Today to Discuss…

  • Why I currently ONLY RECOMMEND TWO electric canners
  • Why these canners are absolutely safe for pressure canning
  • The basic pressure canning process
  • Items you will need to can
  • The different mindset that comes with automated canning
    • Doing 4-8 jars makes sense
    • You don’t just have to can what you grow
    • Make double batches and can half
  • Some of our favorite items to can and how to make them
    • My chicken soup
    • Bone stocks of all kinds
    • Squash soup
    • Cubed venison – Or any cubed up meat
    • Beef stew
    • Whole Quail – yep
  • Final Thoughts

Resources for today’s show…

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Comments

Episode-1855- Electric Canning for the Busy Family – Food Storage All Year Long — 49 Comments

  1. Hi Jack,

    I’ve recently received notice from the United States Government that I’m legally required to register with the Selective Service System. I was hoping to find a TSP episode discussing the morality of the SSS and the military draft, but I didn’t find any such episode. Would you be willing to cover this topic in an upcoming episode?

    Thank you.

  2. Great show Jack. Loved your recipe suggestions. I’m going to have to consider an electric canner now.
    As a side note, I always wondered why we boiled our lids separately when the whole jar with lid will go into the big pot of boiling water. My last couple of batches of apple butter and tomatoes, I really thought it was unnecessary. Glad to hear you confirm it.

  3. Thankyousoverymuch! for doing this show! I’ve canned for years (and years) but am finding less enthusiasm and need for doing large batches. I share some of your thoughts regarding “procedures”….If I think I need to “boil” the lids, I simply boil up some water in a two quart casserole in the microwave, set it on the counter and dump them in. Hanging my head in shame, but I’ve never debubbled anything…in 30 years or so. I chuckle about all the fuss regarding pressure gauges…..my canner doesn’t have one….

    which will probably make this new fangled electric one much, much safer…lol.

    • Funny you ask on this episode. Today it was Honey Locust home they are in the notes and in the show. I did take a two week break so as not to over play the segment. Every supporter has been mentioned twice at this point, except the newest ones of course.

    • Yes and they do it automatically, see my comments to @Lindsay, but it is built in. On the lids you will see what looks like a hole in addition to the petcock. When you start the cycle it will begin to send steam out of that hole, if you don’t know about pressure canning you might thing it isn’t working but it is the unit self purging. Once it is purged the computer shuts the valve. Again this is more not less safe, it eliminates user error.

  6. I have a few comments:
    1) At least for Ball/Kerr canning lids, it is no longer required to simmer lids prior to use. They revised that recommendation approximately a year ago.

    2) They recommend you have your jars hot to prevent thermal shock when adding hot food to the jars; the only time you actually have to boil the jars in advance is if the processing time is under 10 minutes, which only applies to a handful of water-bathed jelly recipes (and frankly, I just typically process them 10 minutes anyway).

    3) I’m a little disappointed to hear you say “we’ve been doing it for 2 years and we’re fine” as justification for safety. That’s exactly the same argument used by people who use outdated canning practices. Just because you haven’t gotten sick doesn’t mean what you’re doing is safe, it just means you’ve gotten lucky so far.

    4) I really want there to be an approved electric pressure canner. I love my electric pressure cooker. However, there is more to pressure canning than just the PSI. From what I can see these don’t allow for a ten minute steam purge prior to locking down the petcock. I also don’t see any way to actively monitor the pressure – even if the point is that I don’t have to babysit it, I still want to be able to verify on occasion that it is actually maintaining the pressure it claims. Most pressure cookers that I’ve seen hold pressure within a range of several psi; that is unacceptable for canning – the psi on canning recipes is the *minimum* required to be maintained for the entirety of the processing time. I see no way to actually verify that on these canners.

    5) You routinely encourage people to do their own research into subjects you talk about, but then in this show you say “I don’t care what anyone says… this is safe.” Well, that’s your conclusion, but to basically tell your listeners that they should disregard any criticism out of concern that “kids are going to grow elephant ears out of their ass” (so you’re making fun of them for being skeptical) is in direct conflict to your general philosophy. Either you want people to review the available evidence and opinions and come to their own conclusions, or you don’t. Certainly, you should present your own conclusions and choices, but making fun of your listeners who may come to different conclusions after reviewing the evidence is a problematic argument strategy.

    • My head hurts as this is so ridiculous. I almost don’t want to respond as it is so pointless.

      1. So “they” changed the recommendation, so now it is safe but what two years ago it wasn’t? But since “they” whoever the hell they are said different words now it is?

      2. That is what I said.

      3. It isn’t just me, the PPXL has sold over a million units. The Chard has been around two years. Thousands of people are currently using these AS DIRECTED BY THE MANUFACTURER to pressure can. No one is sick, no one died, no one, if anyone had it would be lawsuit city. You have two multi million dollar manufacturers claiming their items are SAFE FOR PRESSURE CANNING, one with millions of units sold. If there were any way to prove them unsafe in any way, the lawyers would be in class action city long ago.

      4. Who do you want to approve it for you? Let me guess, you want “they” to do it, some mystical group who have called themselves the authority while having no actual authority. I also guess you don’t “see” well. When you said, “From what I can see these don’t allow for a ten minute steam purge prior to locking down the petcock.” Well first there are two settings, open and closed, so if you wanted to manually do this you could just set it to open. But this technology is inherently more safe and eliminates user error. If you LOOK right in front of the petcock is a hole, that is a valve, both units have them. This makes venting automatic, the unit performs the vent, and only closes once complete. It can’t be skipped, there is no way to mess up and skip it.

      5. This is just dumb, sorry, I did a though evaluation and you are being ridiculous at this point if you are afraid because the canner is electric. It is 2016, technology has come a long way. I am sure some people were afraid of airplanes too. So you can either do what you say I say to do here, “do your own research” which would include reading something other than what “they wrote” before either of these products were invented by the way (I do actually know who “they” are) or you can just believe what you want.

      The evidence is clear, your fear doesn’t change it.

    • LINdsay, Jack is being more than patient and courteous in his response to you. Frankly, you just vomited a bunch of crap out of your mouth and onto the internet and it had to do with your irrational fears and nothing to do with the actual science and experience from Jack. JACK IS NOT GIVING YOU HIS OPINION. He is giving you his experience and expertise. Every asshole has an asshole and an opinion. What Jack and his experts give are expertise, expertise and wisdom. Jacks entire show is about how to make life better for yourself in a myriad of ways YOU might CHOOSE to do so. He’ll give you 1001 different ways of doing it and you can pick the 12 methods that you like to start with. Jack Spirko knows more about science than many Ph.D.’s I worked with at Chrysler. Some of which, actually fell asleep in critical team meetings.

      When Jack is 88 years old, sitting in his rocking chair, drinking a home brew, watching his grand children take care of the ducks and his great great grand children playing with the ducks, geese, cats and dogs he should win a Nobel Prize for Freedom for what he has contributed to the education and ability of his listening and viewing public.

      I’ve actually NOT been on facebook or the internet commenting on stuff because of some life pressures on me have made me an asshole and I was not intending on being one and I still ended up sounding like one…..but I just could not let your vomit your crap on the floor and say look…. a Picasso !!!

      Feel FREE TO NOT DO ANYTHING Jack has said. I will do what he has said. I’ll tell many others about it. Electric canning in small batches ON AUTOMATIC is a path to freedom by freeing up your time and putting away preserved food on your shelf. There is NO DIFFERENCE between a pressure canner and a pressure cooker, as long as they both reach 15 PSIA (notice, I said PSIA, not PSIG). If you don’t know it, JFGI. Canning is purely a function of time and temperature. Pressure is one method of reaching a higher temperature. The higher the temperature, the higher the delta T the higher the heat transfer and the less time you need to leave it in the unit.

      I’ve probably just wasted my time typing this…. Steve

      • I never suggested Jack was being incourteous or impatient in replying to me.

        I have been canning for more than a decade and am certified as a Master Food Preserver. I understand the science behind pressure canning. My questions were a result of actual concern about basic food safety as it relates to canning, not “irrational fears.” I think electric pressure canners certainly have the potential to be outstanding, but just because something is as-safe-as or more-safe-than in theory does not mean that is always the case in practice. I know that there is no difference between the canners if they reach 15 PSIA – what I’m saying is that there needs to be an objective way to verify that, which I’ve yet to be seen offered on an electric pressure cooker.

        I was hoping to engage in a civil discussion about this topic and these products. However, since it appears that I will be called names and implied to be stupid rather than have my questions responded to in a constructive way, I’ll remove myself at this point.

      • Well it is one of the “theys” there are many many “theys”. But this particular “they” is indeed the people I referenced when I said, “I know who “they” are”. LOL

        Outdated bullshit talking about “electric cookers” which no one but an idiot would say do pressure canning.

  7. Aren’t “They” the same ones that said eggs are bad now eggs are good, “it was just a protest over a video,” grains are a necessary food group, Florida will be under water by now and you should follow their Vac schedule?

  8. – On your show you presented simmering the lids as if it was still the recommended practice. I was simply confirming that it is not and that what you suggest matches current recomendations. “They” would be the manufacture, hence why I named the specific company. And “they” issued the updated recommendations after doing more research – which is usually why recommendations are updated, yes?

    – Sorry I wasn’t more specific. When I look for current canning/food preservation guidelines I look first to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, Cooperative Extensions, and Ball because those agencies and company have proven themselves research-based and trustworthy in my experience. Do I follow every single recommendation to the letter? No. But, for me, I do not deviate from the recommendations for pressure canning because: botulism. That is my educated decision.

    – Thank you for clarifying that the Chard has a manual option which would allow for a 10 minute purge, if desired. I see fine, thanks; there are surprisingly few good pictures or videos of the unit available. There is still no way to monitor actual pressure, which for me is a necessary component for canning. As I mentioned, I use and love my electric pressure cooker, but achieving a specific, non-wavering psi is not a safety issue when cooking as it is when canning.

    – I fully appreciate that technology has come a long way. That said, I want to see either a detailed data safety sheet from the manufacturer demonstrating that the unit achieves and maintains the minimum psi for the entire duration of the cooking time, or see someone other than the manufacturer corroborate their claims since this has significant ramifications for food safety. Since I was unable to locate either of those I have an email out to Chard requesting that information. I’d be happy to share that here if it is provided.

    – I will happily read “something other than what ‘they wrote’.” Do you have links you think relevant? I read through reviews, but there was a notable lack of anything beyond testimonials when I looked for more information.

    I don’t think the evidence is clear at this point. That’s not fear, that’s my educated conclusion after reading through the available information.

    • Good GOD, I give up, what evidence do you want. You are the one with no evidence and if you manually did a vent it would be pointless. Go back to your giant canner. No doubt in about a decade that canner will be what they call, “outdated canning practices”, when “they” do that, will you be afraid to use it.

      • One more thing the petcock provides the weight so that the pressure will build, but IF THE PRESSURE DOES NOT BUILD then the system won’t start, because it is run by a COMPUTER. You know like the computers that fly airplanes? Holly shit!

        • Computers can fail and malfunction. That’s why airplanes also have pilots. And even if they are being flown on auto, they still provide the necessary information to the pilot’s control panel. That’s all I’m asking of an electric pressure canner – show me the current PSI at all times. It doesn’t seem to be an extraordinary expectation.

          Thanks for responding.

        • If it fails it shuts off! I’m done believe as you choose, again there are millions of these units being used right now FING MILLIONS, some people just like to be afraid. They want to be told by “they” that something is okay before accepting it.

        • Let me add if you are to be LOGICAL here, there is a greater chance your pressure gauge will give you an inaccurate reading than the computer systems of this cooker would fail.

          There is also a greater chance that a person new to canning would fail to remember to do a steam vent than that the auto vent process on these canners would fail and at the same time that the unit would complete the cycle.

          And that is using logic and reason, not fear and nonsense because “they” didn’t bless something yet.

          Not to mention if you do what I said and heat all canned goods to a boil for ten minutes before consuming it doesn’t really matter anyway.

          “Because botulinum toxin is destroyed by high temperatures, persons who eat home-canned foods should consider boiling the food for 10 minutes before eating it to ensure safety.”

          You should feel good about it, it is a “they” that said it so you know it is true.

          http://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/Botulism/clinicians/control.asp

          Though “they” are also behind the times, infusing oils is safe if only dehydrated herbs are used. It seems that “they” don’t know as much as many give “them” credit for.

  9. was trying to find out if the has been researched. it appears the USDA has not given approval on the new technology yet. the link below is what I could find. I don’t see a problem with it, but trying to get the wife’s buy in as well since she does most of the food prep.

    Thank you,

    • Note that the vaulted government seems to have no problem with the manufacturer selling them and marketing them as pressure canners. I am not sure any “approval” is necessary. Again over a million Power Pressure Cooker XLs are in service, if there was a problem you would know it.

      When you actually understand how these things work you get they are safer in every way than old style canners.

      • See the title,

        “Canning in Electric Multi-Cookers”

        As I said I only recommend two units at this time because they are “Electric Pressure Canners”.

        That is also a slander piece from Ball, who controls this particular “they” because it says this article doesn’t include the ball canner for water bath canning at the end.

        Like most supposed government agencies they are controlled by private interests. Ball hasn’t built or sold an electric pressure canner hence all electric canners are not safe.

        In a word, BULLSHIT!

        And they are also being immoral in another way. As many of you know I have an almost photographic memory. That article today says it was published in 2016, this is FALSE.

        I read it over two years ago before buying my Power Pressure Cooker, XL. All they have done is change the date to make it look current they are the same exact words.

        Not to mention the assertion that a pressure canner can only be a canner if it isn’t also used for cooking is just stupid.

  10. I have been planning to buy this today or tomorrow. It’s amazing how well great minds work. 🙂 I was torn between the two models you recommend, so I’m pleased I’ll have your take on them when I listen.

    Life has changed drastically for me so I was so excited to find electric canners. There are many times I just can’t get around to babysitting the pressure canner on the Camp Chef stove on the porch. Plus I find I rarely have a full canner load to process. I don’t have a lot of freezer space, so I lose leftovers that sit too long while life interferes with important things like food prep.

    Thanks for your timely information, Jack. And I loved your review on Amazon wondering why no one was reading the description before asking if the Chard unit was a pressure canner. LOL. I can always count on you to cut to the point and get past the stupid out there.

    Now that I’m checking my order before placing it, the Chard is two to three weeks out for shipping! I’m guessing you started a flood of orders.

    Take care.

    • Get the Chard, it pretty much curb stopped the PPXL! They just have no marketing to speak of so the PPXL will continue to out sell them. The Chard offering the ability to do quart jars and to increase pressure to 15 pounds just is such a better tool, but infomercials sell both directly and indirectly.

      • The Chard is in my Amazon cart, Jack. I had pretty much decided on it, but learned from you that it has 15 pounds, which I need at my elevation, so now it’s a done deal.

        The podcast is excellent and as usual, your logic shines through the murky stuff out there. 😉 Happy Electric Pressure Canning!

      • I placed my Chard order through your Amazon link Tuesday night. I got a call this morning from the Seller telling me they’re on back order and the manufacturer has no date for more units. They asked me to cancel my order.

        🙁

    • LOL, I love that, I always say, well what exactly is “people food” to vets that say “no people food” I also ask when corn, rice and wheat became the basis of “dog food”.

  12. Saw the comments about simmered v. hot water lids — Jackie Clay addresses this on p70 of the Sept/Oct 2016 issue of Backwoods Home magazine. She is replying to a question that notes that Kerr/Ball developed a new rubber for the lids and now says you can just put lids in hot water (not simmered). Jackie answers saying that a friend was having trouble with just hot water and tried a half-dozen hot water and a half-dozen simmered and in that instance only the simmered lids sealed. So Jackie still simmers them. FWIW.

    • Yea I mean that is always why I thought you did it. Like I said I don’t really do water bath canning, as most of the stuff done that way doesn’t appeal to me.

  13. A while ago I acquired a “Power Cooker Plus” 8 quart pressure cooker\canner from Wal-Mart.

    Does anyone know if this is just the department store version of the Power Pressure Cooker XL marketed under a different name?

    From my research, both seem to be distributed by Tristar Products Inc. Both models in the pics appear identical when doing a Google Image search. Even the logo is similar.

    Thus far I have only used it for pressure cooking and not canning. I’m a canning noob who was inspired by Jack’s show, but want to make sure I have the proper equipment.

    Thanks!

    • Contact the manufacturer. However did the instructions come with procedures for pressure canning? Does the unit have a “pressure canning cycle”?

  14. Jack the Chard pressure cooker/caner is great. Ideal for small batch pressure canning, especially for us seniors at 70+ years of age.

  15. As noted by Jack and inferred by Steven, it does not matter what mechanism delivers the fuel source to boil water. I think the confusion about this item lies with the lack of video, pictures, or instruction manual to alleviate people’s concerns. I thought it all functioned sort of internally. I myself did not know it had a auto/manual 10 minute purge nor did I know it had weighted gauges for petcock nor did I know it had a 15 psia gauge with it for higher altitudes. Once that was mentioned it all became clear and if I’m not misinterpreting ….that the unit is acting “for the most part” like a weighted gauge canner. The weighted gauge is doing the work. One does not need a digital readout. Once the weighted gauge is rocking and rolling, you’ve reached your psia. Yes? Maybe Jack could show a few pictures of the top of the unit with the gauges etc and that would clear things up a little better, or made a video briefly showing the initial purge and the action of the gauge and that would put this to rest. I’m not seeing anything on Youtube.

    • Yea I will do a video some day. This is not a big canning time for us, we start really making soups and stocks in September. Anyway the manual vent is a dumb thing to do, it would likely mess up the automation of the sequence. But of course you can, there has to be a way to release the pressure right? Instead of taking the petcock off, you turn it 90 degrees to VENT, if you stated in this position you could manually watch it steam for 10 minutes if you felt the need.

      Again though there is no reason to do this and I am not sure if the unit would be confused by it leading to a longer steam.

      Again right in front of the pet cock is a computer controlled vent. The computer knows when it starts to steam, then it shuts the vent at ten minutes. Eliminating human error.

      So what if the vent was stuck closed? The cooking cycle would never start.

  16. I bought the PPXL when I was at 400′ elevation and it worked great. Now I live at 2450′ and can’t use it as a canner.

    I just reordered the Chard canner directly from Chard using your link from the previous show. I hope I can get it from them because I really dread using my All American.

  17. Ball has a canner, a glorified water bath unit…..and its approved by the powers that be…..of course it is. Big name, big money…..approved. Just sayin.

    I’ll be waiting to order my unit. Jack, I think your show has caused a burst of buying and the price went straight through the roof. lol

      • I have had things for sale on amazon, IN STOCK WITH amazon Prime, its called FBA. Sellers do NOT want to run OUT OF STOCK on amazon because their listing gets shoved to the back of the list and when they put new inventory on they are still on the back of the list, so when they get down to their last Say 20 items, the $110 item might get priced at $250 because they do NOT want to run OUT on amazon before their new stock gets put into inventory. Keep in mind…their ‘stock’ is probably coming from China so that whole process takes a good month. Amazon actually has its own ‘boats’ that are loaded with NOTHING BUT items from China to go into inventory at amazon. Nothing else but amazon items. So when something gets jacked up that high in price that is the reason, the seller does not want to loose all of his work that he has done to get at that high of a rating on the internal numbers in the amazon system. That course that taught me this cost me $850. So this is not just some namby pamby crap I read some place on the internet or one of those ‘rumors’. Steve

  18. Jack-
    We purchased a Chard after hearing your show and it arrived yesterday and we’re very excited to use it! Are there any special preparations of tomatoes necessary before placing them in the jars for canning other than removing skins, bruises, tough parts etc? Can they be put in the canner raw? I’m used to canning tomatoes my mom’s way…hot packing with a hot water bath. I’m hoping to eliminate the hot packing. Also, how full do you fill your jars?

    Thank you for all you do….our lives have improved a lot since listening to you. Best company on the veranda on a summer’s night!!

  19. Jack! Thank you so much for this recommendation! I am a newb when it comes to canning and pressure cookers so I was really excited to see this recommendation. I bought the Pressure Cooker XL and it arrived right when I was at my wits end with my guineas. I processed them all and have been cooking them in the pressure cooker. It’s made cooking great meals so quick and easy!

    By the way, I am convinced guineas are the perfect homestead livestock. They are so hardy, great foragers, great at evading predators, taste amazing, inexpensive to raise, and they are probably the most annoying birds in existence by the time they are mature they are begging to be eaten. I will admit I have trouble processing most animals on my homestead, but the guineas… not at all. I just ordered 2o more for a spring harvest. Thanks for everything you do!

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