pressure canner advice

**IndigoMom** · 04-28-2009, 07:56 AM

I'm getting ready to purchase my first pressure canner - I am going to have to order it from our local Tru-Value hardware store because it seems no one around here carries them even seasonally.
I'm just not sure what it is I should look for in one. I'm also unsure about what size to get. I plan on canning meat, soups and chili as well as our garden harvest, as we are trying to ease our dependence on the freezer.
Any insight from those more experienced than I would be much appreciated. Is it better to purchase one to find it's too small to suit us and purchase the larger another time, or to get one that may be too large for our actual needs and just work with it? Is more than one size canner going to be needed in the long run no matter which size I choose to start with?

**Pemberleyan** · 04-28-2009, 08:25 AM

I just wanted to give you a link to a website. I have not purchased a canner from them, but did get parts, and was very pleased with their service.

http://www.pressurecooker-outlet.com/

I think I would tend to go with the larger one, because if you are going to the trouble to can, it would be nice to get more in the canner for fewer "sessions." I have what I guess is considered a large canner, and when we picked out our stove top, I had no idea that it would not function with large pots. In other words, it's a glass cooktop, and it must have some sort of sensors which cause it to cut off when a pot has large diameter. So, if I am going to do any canning in it, I will have to use it on the deck with the propane cooker.

I'm sure someone with more experience than I will have more advice to give you.