Reviewing the Presto Electric Pressure Canner!
I did it! I finally took the videos that I have collected over sooooo much time and I finally edited one together to review my new Presto electric pressure canner!
Creating a Youtube video has always been something that I wanted to do but I won't lie it feels very weird to watch yourself and listen to your voice to create these videos. I'm not the best editor but this was something I was excited to talk about and share!
So what is a pressure canner?
A pressure canner in the simplest terms is a pot that uses a seal and water to create steam to reach high temperatures for canning garden produce, meat, or meals in a jar. It is needed for making low acid foods self-stable. A lot of newer pressure canners are very safe and have different safety measures to make sure they do not explode like older models sometimes would.
The biggest benefit I had with the electric pressure caner over my stove top canner is that it is "self-regulating" in terms of the pressure. While with a stove top canner you have to change the heat level on your burner to help keep the pressure at the right minimum amount without going over max pressure for the type of canner. This allows you more freedom during the canning process to not have to continually monitor the pressure gage.
During the process the pressure canner will alert you as you it goes from process to process. It starts with a heating cycle, coming to pressure, canning, and cooldown. To move from each process (except into the cooldown process) you only need to hit the "play" button to move on to each step. Moving into the canning step as well you will add the weight as well like a normal pressure canner.
I feel this is also a very safe option if you have little ones around as well and don't like to have things on the stove for longer periods or have any other safety concerns with you stove top and children. This is comparable to an instant pot for coming to pressure and releasing the pressure.
The biggest downside for this pressure caner is the expense that comes with it. I did watch (aka stalk) this pressure canner on Amazon for about two years. My boyfriend got it for me for Christmas when it hit the lowest that I have ever seen it at just under $200. Typically the "normal" price I had seen was $235-$240 on Amazon for this specific Presto pressure canner.
I do know there are other pressure canners both electric and stove top out there. I didn't do a massive amount of research prior to buying mine as I had the Presto brand stove top pressure canner and it was the one I saw more on socials and even in Runnings stores near me. So there are lots of options out there in all price points if pressure canning is something you want to get into.
I started with a stove top pressure canner to see if it was something I would use as much as I thought before letting myself get too invested in looking at electric pressure canners. A stove top canner is a smaller financial investment to start pressure canning.
I do think this is best for smaller gardeners/preservers unless you are using it in combination with other canning/preserving methods. You do loose jar capacity with the electric canner over the stove top canner because it is smaller overall. If you are like me and are planning to process as produce comes in I think it is a great addition to a kitchen!
I processed my potatoes on a weeknight and was still able to get a few other weeknight activities done and even make dinner as well. Because you don't have to continually monitor this pressure canner you can let it run its process and only check on it as it moves from cycle to cycle.
Overall I recommend an electric pressure canner! They are simple to use, set up, and can help grow a home food storage easily. If you are looking to watch my first processing using my electric canner you can check out my video linked below!
Check out my video review and quick chat on this canner!
https://youtu.be/akh3A7TX8Uc
Chat later!
Jena