Pressure Cooker Size

[chef2sail]

Hey I am into Gourmand too. No one can eat gourmet all the time. My philosophy about food is that you may as well make whatever you are eating the best can . If its meat loaf...the best meatloaf, if it's tee..the best stew, if it lamb chops, the best lamb chops. Many times the difference between a good cook, and a very good one is not what you are eating, but the techniques you used making it and understanding how that effects the food. It's kind of like sailing to a destination downwind in a day in 95 degree heat. There are multiple ways to do it. Any you choose will get you there. You can go wiing on wing, wear the crew out, roll your way to the destination hot as hell or you can take it as a broad reach with a few gybed, everyone is comfortable and there is wind in the cockpit. You are going o get there both ways, but one is clearly a better choice.

We don't have frying pans on board, we have a Dutch oven, and two different sauté pans. Sauté pans have an angle on them to let out the steamso they don't steam the food while you cook it. We use caphalon pans because they heat more evenly and are so much easier to clean, most comes out without water. Of course it took a while to find ones which nested correctly.we can with our pressure cooker

We don't just eat to eat, we like our food and respect it's nutrients, color, tastes intricate to each item and it's freshness

Enjoy you pressure cookers and enjoy your food whatever and however you prepare it.

Dave

[Ortolan]

I have a Fagor Duo- very nice. I bought one too big though. I think it's 8qt. Awkward to use and barely fits in my double sink on board. We don't can/preserve and spend so much time in warmth that soups/stews are no longer on the menu (plus the Captain is not a soup lover :-( )
What I need is a better selection of PC recipes and if I released the steam outside on the stern, it wouldn't heat up the galley (down).
- Lori

[KelleyG]

I'm really new to pressure cookers, so how exactly do you can with the pressure cooker? Do you make the food first and then put it all in the jars and seal them?

Thanks for the help!

Kelley
Sailing Chance

[bobconnie]

When ya can it depends on what your canning ! with fish ya cook it as ya pressure cook it when the jars cool they seal! and its done! the same with green beans and such as that ! pretty easy! don't forget to add seasoning! salt and such ! we like to can tuna when we get it, with a teaspoon of olive oil and salt! Dont believe any book that tells ya to cook fish first before canning it ! no where near as good as doing it all in the pressure cooker !! Just what we have done for 30 or more years! If your canning things like a stew or something like that ya just fill the jars and cook for 10 mins and thats it !

[Badsanta]

I am going to try canning meat. I have read many directions and want to can as many at a time as possible.
Question? Are the jars covered with water while being pressurized, also can you stack the jars on top of each other? I want to use pints and half pints and one layer makes an almost empty pot. many thanks

[jannw]

I have a Fagor 4 quart - 4 litre ... with a long handle ... bargain at €15 from the flea market.

It is fantastic for meals for one or two, with leftovers ... 3 or 4 is fine without.

That said, I am almost a vegetarian ... and for beans / pulses / legumes it's amazing. Can't comment on meat as I haven't tried it yet (and won't soon)

It is probably a little shallow for canning big jars, but if I go done that path I'll only be doing little jars anyways (2 people can only eat so much at one sitting).

If I was buying new I would seriously look at their combi model ... with a small pot and a large, and a pressure lid and a glass one. Not sure they nestle, though, which makes space a consideration.

[janice142]

Originally Posted by Badsanta

Are the jars covered with water while being pressurized, also can you stack the jars on top of each other? I want to use pints and half pints and one layer makes an almost empty pot. many thanks

Hello badsanta.
I can meats using the 1/2 pint wide mouth jars, and the smaller 1/2 cup glass jelly jars.

Question #1) The jars are not covered with water. When the jars are in the pressure cooker the water is just at the bottom of the metal rings.
#2) I do not double stack them. I do preheat the jars (simmer for about ten minutes while preheating the meat)

Unasked, but: after the pressure cooker comes to full pressure (the top starts sizzling) THEN I turn down the heat just barely and start the timer. For the one cup jars I cook them 55 minutes. Next, break seal so the steam comes out, then remove lid. I bought a nifty pair of tongs to remove the jars without burning my fingers.

When you take out the jars you'll see little bubbles on the inside of the jars. [If you don't see the bubbles, you're going to have to start again with that particular jar. First, after it's cooled, remove rim and lid. Wipe rim of glass -- I've occasionally felt a small chip that prevents sealing. Anyway, if there's no chip, put on a new lid and re-do the cooking/canning process.]

A few minutes later you'll start hearing pops as the lids seal down. After they are cooled (in Florida that may take overnight) I tighten the outer ring and voila: done. Write down contents on lid and month/year. Aside: I'm still enjoying last Nov/December's mammoth batch of processing and the only failures I had were with sweet potatoes (sugared and unsweetened)

And no, I'm still not sure what I did wrong but they turned within a couple months of preparation, which is entirely silly as the rest of the sweet potatoes themselves (uncooked!) were fine months later. (shaking head)

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by KelleyG

I'm really new to pressure cookers, so how exactly do you can with the pressure cooker? Do you make the food first and then put it all in the jars and seal them?

Hi Kelley,

I've been canning for several decades. I use the pressure canner I inherited from my mother.

The two best resources are the USDA guidance documents (free http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/pu...ions_usda.html ) and the Ball Blue Book ($15-20 on Amazon); I like the USDA material better.

Generally you cook meats before canning. Veg may or may not be cooked. See the books.

I use some judgment on cooking time -- mostly I cook as if I was going to eat something if it has to be cooked down or reduced, and a bit less for things that are more solid.

I either sterilize the jars in the pressure canner or use a dishwasher if I can borrow a shore kitchen for a big cook.

USDA now recommends taking the screw rings off after the lid seals. This practice made me a little nervous at first but has worked for the last few years since I started trying it.

I carry a 5 l pressure cooker and a 16 qt pressure canner. I mostly use the canner, but sometimes do some pints or half-pints in the smaller cooker if I'm just doing a bit (mostly the rare time when I actually catch a fish).

Canning is pretty easy, and pressure cooker/canners have come a long way since our grandparents time. For cruisers it takes a big load off refrigeration and provides a lot of flexibility when away from good provisioning. Even close to big stores canning lets us use the big warehouse stores and take advantage of the economics of buying in bulk.

[sarafina]

I would love to find a pressure cooker that fits 4 quart jars. That's the size I use for meals as it makes just enough for a meal and a snack.

Anyone have one, know of one that is tall enough to do quarts without being one of the big ones around?

[Badsanta]

Thanks for the advice, that makes sense. I had bought every canned meat I could find. Some were very good but in such a large can it would feed a crew of 6 but for the 2 of us just too much. I have trouble eating the same thing for more than a meal or two. six days of canned beef is too much. I to want to use small jars. They used to sell tin cans but I am not sure that is possable now.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by sarafina

I would love to find a pressure cooker that fits 4 quart jars. That's the size I use for meals as it makes just enough for a meal and a snack.

Are you sure? A quart is a lot. For soups you might use 2 cups for a serving (maybe), but for solids and even sauces when you make rice or pasta or something else it is a lot. How many people are you cooking for?

I get 7 quarts in my 16 qt pressure canner. I think I can get 5 pints in my 5 l cooker. Height is likely to be the biggest issue to clear the quart jars.

My pressure canner is a 40 year old Fagor (new seals) no longer available. My pressure cooker is a six year old 5 l Kuhn Rikon "risotto cooker" also no longer available. I would look for appropriately sized cookers WITHOUT long handles to make storage easier. Once you have the cooker you can use the base instead of your big pasta pot so the storage space should be a wash.

Take your four 1 qt Ball jars with you shopping and see what fits.

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Are you sure? A quart is a lot. For soups you might use 2 cups for a serving (maybe), but for solids and even sauces when you make rice or pasta or something else it is a lot. How many people are you cooking for?

Take your four 1 qt Ball jars with you shopping and see what fits.

I always cook on board for 2, often 3 and sometimes 4. I use the quarts for fruits, soups and stews, things like chile or curry. I do meats and veggies in pints. preserves and condiments go in half pint, usually.

Taking 4 jars with me is a really good idea! Thanks ; -)

I like to cook extra and then can a few jars at a time. For that I don't want to haul out my huge canner.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by sarafina

Taking 4 jars with me is a really good idea! Thanks ; -)

I like to cook extra and then can a few jars at a time. For that I don't want to haul out my huge canner.

You're welcome.

Extra information always helps.

Just sharing my own experience, and we all cook the way we cook. Janet and I cook differently - she likes to be sure everyone has "enough" so we always have leftovers when she is cooking. I cook for a reasonable (my word, not hers) amount and have a plan for anyone that is still hungry. Janet's trying to lose a little weight so I'm cooking more these days. I find that when we start a big cook for canning we haul out the big 16 qt canner. Often that means two or three loads of quart jars. When we cook for one (or two) meals it's the smaller 5 l cooker.

I don't can leftovers. They go in Lock-n-Lock containers and get eaten within a couple of days.

[bobconnie]

We have Big canning cooker thats amost as old as I am!! holds 6 quart jars, 12 pint jars, and many 1/2 pint jars! we use the quarts for fruit and sauces, pints, for most everything else, and 1/2 pints for fish and some meats ! and ya can stack theres racks for this ! at least we have been doing it for yrs and never had anything go bad or not seal doing it that way ! in fact the original canning books Connie found for our canner show it being used this way !! We hot water sterilize our jars, before useing them ! it's a bunch of fun to can( and a bunch of work to lol) and the food taste is a bunch better then the store bought stuff !! just our 2 cents

[MMWER]

Another resource for pressure cooking (reviews, how-to's and recipes) is Laura Pazzaglia Simmarano's site:

hip pressure cooking - pressure cooker recipes & tips!

She recently ran a month long online pressure cooking class for the Women Who Sail group on Facebook, and has tons of knowledge that she is very willing to share.