Celebrate “culture” in agriculture & share skills like growing, cooking, canning

Canning safely - how do you secure your jars in the pot?

I've never bothered to buy one of those clamping holders

I've used a bamboo steamer for a couple of years, which is not ideal, and is now falling apart

The guys at The Bitten Word crafted a really clever barrier for their Tomato Canning marathon:

Clever, huh? What do you use?

Tags: canning, hack, tomatoes, tools

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by sparky on June 18, 2011 at 9:20am

I have canned for several years, and all I ever use in the bottom of either canner is the 1/4 inch rack to keep the jars off the bottom. I use tongs to lift so the rack is useless. I haven't had anything bob around yet, so I guess I have a treat coming. :) I use a 32 qt waterbath that uses two burners, 23 for smaller batches, and have a small conserve canner for seven pints or halfs. I pressure can with two canners at a time. Both canners were rebuilt old canners. I have also rebuilt some and tested them then given away or sold them to newbies. I think if you are using the jar rack, the rings under them are a good idea. You don't want jars on the bottom of the pot. Often broken jars are the result of a scratch in the jar. Remember to use non-metallic items to pack or release air. I like using the handle of a wooden spoon.

Permalink Reply by Pat Johnson on June 18, 2011 at 9:58am

Like Sparky, In my pressure canner I just sit the jars inside on the spacer that holds them off the bottom and use the jar tongs to remove them. I haven't had any issues with jar breakage. I do use a wire basket in some of my waterbath canners but it's used primarily to allow me to lower all the jars at the same time into the boiling water instead of trying to remember which one went in first and should come out first.

Permalink Reply by Pat Johnson on June 18, 2011 at 9:59am

Clever idea on tying the jar lids together to for a spacer for the bottom of the canner!

Permalink Reply by sparky on June 18, 2011 at 10:05am

LOL, Pat! You are thinking too hard. I usually have the water warming as I pack the jars, then set them in the water. When the canner is full, I bring them to a boil together, and time them. As long as they all have the full time, and you don't leave them in too long, they are all good. I don't use the rack because lifting a rack of full jars is not the easy way to do it. Work smart, not hard. LOL, that is a common saying in my trade, but it applies to all of life.

When I buy cheap trash bags with wire ties, I keep them. Those ties work great for putting some rings together.

Pat Johnson said:

Like Sparky, In my pressure canner I just sit the jars inside on the spacer that holds them off the bottom and use the jar tongs to remove them. I haven't had any issues with jar breakage. I do use a wire basket in some of my waterbath canners but it's used primarily to allow me to lower all the jars at the same time into the boiling water instead of trying to remember which one went in first and should come out first.

Permalink Reply by Pat Johnson on June 18, 2011 at 10:14am

I sometimes do double batches in the same boiling water and if I use the basket I can Hot pack the second batch and put them in the basket to be lowered into the boiling water at the same time. I was trying to cut time by getting the water boiling in the canner at the same time I was heating/cooking the product to be hot packed.

Permalink Reply by sparky on June 18, 2011 at 10:20am

I follow you. I just use the same process, removing and then dropping in the second batch. One of my fears was that I would lose control of the rack. Burns are not on my list of something I wanted to experience. My mom blew up a pressure canner when I was a kid. Of course they are much safer now, but I will never forget it. Dropping a rack would cause some serious pain. So I just got into the habit of moving one jar at a time, and it works. I think the thing that I enjoy is learning how others do things, and different things that work. You never know when you might have to regroup and do something differently.

Permalink Reply by Pat Johnson on June 19, 2011 at 9:10am

I don't move the jars out of the canner with the basket. I just lift them out of the water and hang the basket on the canner (the newer waterbath canners have a designed way to do that). You are right, the new canners have safety devices that pretty much eliminate the opportunity to blow up the canner. I prefer the "All American" canners. They don't have gaskets and hold their resale value extremily well (plus you can get parts and additions, even for the old ones, online at their website.).

Permalink Reply by sparky on June 19, 2011 at 9:39pm

I see. I also love the All American. I had one given to me...put $60 new parts on it, and had a $300 canner. They are lifetime investments. I also am using an older Mirro right now, which I put a new weight and vent tube on. I went through several for a couple of years, but think these two are the ones I will keep for a while. I have found good homes for the others.