4Real Forums: pressure cooker/canner phobia

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Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
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Topic: pressure cooker/canner phobia

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cornomama4
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Joined: June 20 2007
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Posted: Jan 13 2010 at 3:10pm \| IP Logged

Well, I'm finally ready to come out in the open and divulge that I have an "irrational" fear of pressure cooker/canners. When I was a kid a neighbor had one blow up and it disfigured her face. I won't even go in the room when someone is using one.

The only thing I can now is tomatoes, applesauce and jams/preserves/butters where it's either high acid or high sugar that helps in the preserving process. I use the hot water bath method. But this year we should have a lot of items like beans, pumpkin, beets etc. that can't really be done as safely that way.

So...could some of you who use them convince me that they are safe and effective and totally worth it? I'll freeze a lot of stuff also, but want to learn to can more things since canning is not an electricity dependant storage method and we want to rely on "the grid" less and less as time goes by. So I'd use electric during the processing but not for the storing part, KWIM.

Also, has anyone canned meat? This just sounds scary to me, but once again it would survive and extended power outage. Thanks!

JodieLyn
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Posted: Jan 13 2010 at 3:25pm \| IP Logged

Well like anything you have to be smart when using them. Your car is much more likely to cause you injury than the canner. And newer canners are so much better than the old ones.. they have release valves and lock onto the pot in such a way that even if the lids "blows" that it will be caught and not fly up or have steam pouring out everywhere. And it's not like you have to stand over it either.. start it up.. and come and check it.. but you don't have to stand right there while it's being used.

But don't plan to can pumpkin puree (it's too thick and won't heat evenly and can have pockets that won't heat enough).. you can can pumpkin in chunks though.

Meat isn't any scarier than anything else that you can. Really. You can it for a longer time of course. And you always can any mixed items by the directions for the one with the highest pressure and longest time.

Which means you can really overcook veggies if you have meat in with them. So doing them seperate can often give you better results.

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Jodie, wife to Dave
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JodieLyn
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Posted: Jan 13 2010 at 3:28pm \| IP Logged

doing a search.. you know I can't find anything online about an injury because of a pressure canner.. lots of warnings things like.. follow the directions.. if you don't follow the directions you can get hurt..

I don't think I've heard of any injuries from modern pressure canners.. enough stories of older ones that have to give you caution but using a new one.. following the directions.. that's pretty safe.

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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4

All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott

cornomama4
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Posted: Jan 13 2010 at 4:37pm \| IP Logged

I guess it's like you said, anything you use in a dumb way can hurt you. I just have no practical experience with these and when I haven't done something or seen it done first hand I can't get my head around it to see potential dangers or the lack thereof.

But, I guess I used to not know how to shoot a gun or use a chainsaw or drive cattle or use a front loader and those could probably mess me up a lot worse! Once you see these things in action it's so different. Since I have a birthday coming up I think I'll be doing some research on the best brands

lapazfarm
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Joined: July 21 2005
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Posted: Jan 13 2010 at 7:25pm \| IP Logged

I'm afraid of them, too.

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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning

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