Should I buy a pressure canner?

[big brown horse]

Thank you Pat, for your well-deliberated resonse. I have to say that I agree that storage of another appliance is a major concern. I guess I will give more thought to whether or not I think it will pay for itself over the long-haul.

Thanks, firem3, I hadn't considered looking on craigslist. Duh!

You could always rent it out!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

That I could do . . . especially for a share of the product being canned.

 

[user251]

ive got a friend who has one and mom has one so when we get alot of veges in ( like the wheelbarrow plus 2 buckets of green beans we picked earlier this season) we borrow from one another to keep costs down and speed up the process ( 2-3 going at the same time). do you know someone who would be willing to share and maybe give you a tutorial on using one. i agree with farmer denise the reason we started canning is due to food loss during extended periods with no power and i hate the taste of freezer burn. we only freeze okra and squash now.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Unfortunately I don't know anyone with a pressure canner. But I guess I know someone who would like to borrow one. I keep going back and forth on this decision . . . but the point about the freezer and power outages is a good motivator.

 

[justusnak]

My thoughts are....if you want to be able to become SS, in a total downfall of society...YES, you will want to have a pressure canner. ABSOLUTELY! Think the worst...now, I am not a "chicken little" the sky is falling sorta gal....however, one never knows. Out here in our neck of the woods, we lose power if a bird passes gas! Sometimes for a few days, sometimes a week or more. I just cant stand the thought of loseing the meat from 50 chickens, or 200 pounds of pork we raised...or any frozen produce. Yes, I cann everything I can find enough jars for. I am a canaholic. :/

 

[DrakeMaiden]

we lose power if a bird passes gas!

Yep, but unfortunately I am also thinking that in the long term, in a "total downfall society", what if you lose power on a long term basis? Then you have to use the water bath method anyway. See . . . I have this problem where I think things out too hard. I see your point, though, even if I am wondering about the long-term sustainability of a pressure canner.

 

[onebuggirl]

I saw them on sale and have sort of, kind of, wanted one for a while now. The thing is . . . I typically only can tomatoes and berries, all of which do just fine with water bath canning.

So, what do you can in your pressure canner that makes it indispensible to you?

Chicken broth, green beans, corn, and now I can try canning other things I have never tried because I never had a pressure canner either! Get one and you will ove it! I DO!

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Don't forget how easy it is to can left over chicken broth... I mean, it's almost a free by product of a chicken dinner, right? I can think of many of times we just tossed it out because we did not want to deal with it. Now that I can, can this way, it makes it so much more useful.