If you are going to use a pressure canner you will need to follow the following eight steps:
- Place two to three inches of hot water in the canner. However, check the specific guide for your machine as some will require more water to start. Place filled jars on the rack with a jar lifter. Be sure to grab below the neck of the jar and keep the jar upright. Any tilting of the jar could result in food getting into the sealing of the lid. Fasten the canner lid securely.
- Leave the weight off the vent port or open the petcock. Heat at the highest setting until you see steam flowing freely from the port or petcock.
- While still maintaining the high heat setting, allow steam to flow continuously for 10 minutes and then place the weight on the vent port or close the petcock. For the next three to five minutes, the canner will now pressurize.
- Once the pressuring reading on the dial gauge indicates the recommended pressure is reached, you can start the timing process. For some models, this will be when the weighted gauge starts to jiggle or rock.
- Regulate the heat as needed to maintain a steady pressure at or slightly above the correct gauge pressure. A quick or large variation during the process can cause liquid losses from the jars. If the pressure drops below the recommended amount at any time, then bring the canner back up to proper pressure and start the timing process again from the beginning. This is important to have safely processed food.
- Once the timed process is finished, turn off the heat, remove the canner if possible and allow the canner to depressurize. Never force-cool the canner. This can result in unsafe food or spoilage. Opening the vent port before the canner is entirely depressurized will cause liquid loss from jars and seal failure.
- If you have an older model without a dial gauge, you will need to time the depressurization. A heavy-walled canner will need about 30 minutes when loaded with pints and 45 minutes when loaded with quarts. A newer thin-walled canner will cool faster and is equipped with a vent lock. Once the vent lock piston drops to a normal position on these newer models, the canners are depressurized.
- Once depressurization is complete, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. Wait another ten minutes then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Always lift the lid away from you, so the steam doesn't burn your face.
- Remove the jars with a jar lifter and place on a towel. Space the jars one inch apart during cooling. Allow the jars to sit undisturbed at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.
Once the jars have cooled, it is important that you check the seal and know how to deal with problems that may come up with jars that don't seal properly.
Before using a pressure canner, you want to make sure you properly sterilize and prepare your canning jars. Let's look at how best to do this.