When canning there are two methods: The water bath and the pressure canner. The water bath works perfectly for high acid foods like fruits, jellies, jams and pickles, but the pressure method is absolutely necessary for low acid foods such as beans, vegetables, poultry, seafood and meat because of a bacteria known as ¹ Clostridium botulinum. C botulinum thrives in the anaerobic, low-acid, low-salt, low-sugar environment provided by these foods, and is ² not killed at 202° F, or the boiling point. To kill any C botulinum (actually the toxin is produces), the food needs to be processed at 240°F, a temperature that can only be achieved in a pressure canner.
There are several different types of pressure canners. You will want to do research (online) to see which size and style best fits your needs. I went with Presto because it was large capacity and cost effective.
If you are accustomed to using a pressure cooker you will adapt easily to pressure canning, otherwise there may be a slight learning curve. It is not difficult, you just need to follow the specific directions for the item you are canning.
A pressure canner is an investment of about $100.00. Yard sales and Craig’s List are great places to look for used.
FYI, I purchased a pressure canner for doing green beans and corn, but in the end discovered that I prefered these vegetables frozen. This does not mean that I will not find it useful in the future for other foods like meat or dried beans. However, you may want to try pressure canning before you make this purchase new.
Resources:
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulism
2 Pressure Canner and Cooker, Instructions and Recipes 2010 www.gopresto.com
