The Best Pressure Canners for 2023

Pressure canning is essential for preserving low-acid foods like beans, meat, and corn but a lot of folks are hesitant to use one. Even after you get over the initial, unfounded, fear you have to figure out what the best pressure canner is to meet your needs.

Learning how to pressure can was one of the first homesteading skills I learned when we lived on our small plot of land in the suburbs. I bought a bunch of green beans from a local farmer and wanted to can them because we prefer canned green beans. So, we bought a pressure canner and I got to work learning how to preserve them.

I’ve seen a lot of folks ask what the best pressure canner is, so I thought I’d walk you through some of the best options on the market for you to preserve your low-acid harvests.

What is a pressure canner?

Pressure canners allow home canners to safely can low-acid foods such as canned venison or canned green beans. It does this by allowing the contents to reach a high temperature that will kill microorganisms in low acid foods. This temperature cannot be achieved by a boiling water bath canner or a steam canner, which makes a pressure canner an essential piece of equipment.

A lot of stories are out there about how pressure cookers and canners explode and can cause serious damage or injury. However, these pieces of equipment have a lot of safety features that keep them from exploding as long as you follow the directions for proper use.

The canner itself is a heavy-duty piece of equipment that has a lid that locks into place and a dial gauge or weighted gauge (or both). This locking lid creates an air-tight seal that traps steam inside the pot. This trapped steam builds pressure and allows the contents inside to heat to 240°F, which is high enough to kill microorganisms in the low-acid foods. Unlike a boiling water bath canner, which only heats food to 212°F and can safely can high-acid foods, pressure canners are only filled with a few inches of water because you’re utilizing that trapped steam to heat the food, not the water.

The NCFHP and USDA have some guidelines that pressure canners should follow. They should be deep enough and large enough to hold at least a single layer of 4 quart jars or a double layer of smaller jars (pints and half-pints). Some can be used on any cooktop (even smooth-top electric stoves), some are safe only on gas ranges, while one other is electric and is plugged into an outlet like other electric cooking appliances.

Is a pressure cooker the same as a pressure canner?

When instant pots and other electric pressure cookers started to hit the market a lot of people started questioning if they could safely can food inside of them. While it is tempting to use this multi-cooker and even conventional pressure cookers for canning, they’re not the same.

Pressure cookers are not very large and don’t meet the national center for home preserving guidelines of holding a minimum of 4 quarts. They’re typically half the size of a pressure canner, sometimes even smaller.

Due to this small size, they reach pressure, which is typically preset to 15psi, much more quickly and cool down much more quickly. This means that the food inside of jars may not be adequately cooked which runs the risk of food-borne pathogens living through the process. Pressure canners also have a pressure gauge to read how high the pressure is which can be adjusted. High altitudes require higher pressures instead of longer processing times like water bath canning.

Pressure canners, while generally very large and heavy, can be used to both pressure cook with a cooking rack and pressure can with a canning rack. However, pressure cookers can only be used to pressure cook.

Considerations when picking the right pressure canner

• The size and capacity. While larger models are heavier, they also make quicker work of canning. This can be especially important if you’re pressure canning inside in the middle of summer.
• Materials. Almost all pressure canners are made out of aluminum to reduce weight. However, if you’re cooking on an induction cooktop, it needs a stainless steel bottom. Some pressure canners utilize gaskets to form a seal while others have no gaskets that need replaced, cutting down on cost of maintenance and worry of malfunction from faulty gaskets.
• Usage. If you’re using an induction cooktop you need a stainless steel clad bottom and most pressure canners are made of aluminum. Glass stovetops also have weight limits and you’ll need to check your stove’s owner manual for weight limits and consider the total weight of your load.

Best Overall: All-American 921 Pressure Canner/Cooker 21.5qt

My top pick is the all-American 921 pressure canner is what I use personally and always recommend to others. It holds 7 quarts and up to 19 pints. It can be used to pressure can, pressure cook (I’ve cooked a few whole chickens for chicken and noodles in this pot), as well as hot water bath can (you just don’t lock the lid down and make sure the jars are covered with 1-2″ of water).

In order to hold 19 pints, you will need to stack the jars (which is safe when canning). It does come with two racks making it a cinch to do.

This canner is a bit heavy, made of hand-cast aluminum it comes in at 17.75 pounds empty, but it can be safely used on gas ranges, electric, and smooth-top ranges and will last a long time. Be mindful of the loaded weight on any smooth-top surfaces, though, and check your range’s owner’s manual before trying it, especially if you’re using it to water bath can.

The canner comes with a dial gauge and regulator weight with no need for recalibration. All-American canners feature a unique metal-to-metal seal, so there are no gaskets to replace, but you should replace the overpressure plug yearly.

All-American canners are also made right here in the United States in Wisconsin aluminum foundry. This allows us to support American-made, so for me, this is the best canner.

Best Small Capacity: All-American 910 Pressure Canner/Cooker 10.5qt

Another good option for an all American pressure canner is the 910 model. Yes, they’re a bit pricey, yes they’re slightly heavier. But they’ll last a lifetime, or two, or three. They’re solidly built and there are zero gaskets to worry about maintaining and replacing. So, they’re going to top my list every time.

This canner is smaller than the 21.5qt holding only 4 quarts or 7 pints, no second layer going on here. It features the same, unique metal-to-metal seal with a dial gauge and regulator weight. Still no gaskets to replace, but again replace the over-pressure plug every year or so.

The 910 can be safely used on gas, electric, and smooth-top ranges. It weighs approximately 14.8 pounds empty and shouldn’t weigh too much loaded to use on most smooth-tops.

Best Budget Large Capacity: Presto 01781 Pressure Canner/Cooker 23qt

Lighter than the all-American and quite a bit cheaper is the Presto 01781 23-quart pressure canner. This model weighs 12 pounds empty and holds 7 quarts or 20 pints. This presto pressure canner does not come with a second rack so you will need to purchase one separately if you want to stack jars to make the most of its capacity.

This canner does use a traditional rubber gasket that will need replacement parts and occasional maintenance. It also has a dial gauge which will need occasional recalibration. It can double as a water bath canner, the same thing applies to the 921, though. Be mindful when using on a smooth-top surface of the fully-loaded weight.

This canner can be used on gas ranges, electric, and smooth-tops.

Best for Small Kitchens: Granite Ware Pressure Canner/Cooker/Steamer 20qt

Not as large or heavy as the all-American 921 or the Presto 01781, but still able to hold 7 quarts, this granite ware pressure canner won’t take up as much space as the larger canners. Because let’s face it, it’s going to be hogging up space when it isn’t in use, right?

The granite ware pressure canner holds 7 quarts or 8 pints. No double stacking is available for this one, it’s short. It can, however, be used as a steamer for steam canning as well as a water bath canner, making it incredibly versatile, which is cool.

This canner weighs 10 pounds, has a gasket that needs maintenance and replacing, but it does not need to be recalibrated.

Best Digital Canner: Presto Precise Digital Pressure Canner 12qt

This electric pressure canner is said to meet all USDA and NCFHP regulations and guidelines, but these entities have not weighed in yet. However, unlike instant pots and other multi-cookers, this appears to be a pretty safe bet for home canning.

For folks that are a bit timid about pressure canning, this could definitely be an option. It takes the guess-work out of canning and does everything pretty much hands-off after you load the jars full of goodies.

This canner can double as a water bath canner for pints and half-pints as well. However, quarts can only be pressure-canned as it cannot hold enough liquid to cover the tops of quart jars.

The model weighs approximately 20 pounds and holds 5 quarts, 8 pints, or 10 half-pint jars.

Pressure Canner for Induction Cooktops: Presto 01784 Pressure Canner/Cooker 23qt

Induction cooktops are finicky and require a stainless steel bottom in order to safely use a pressure canner. Presto released the 01784 model in order to meet that need.

This pressure canner is similar to the 01781 model. It’s the same size, it can just be used on induction cooktops in addition to gas ranges, electric, and smooth top.

The model will hold the same 7 quarts or 20 pints and weighs the same 12 pounds. It has a traditional gasket and a dial gauge that need regular maintenance/recalibration and replacing.

There are a lot of pressure canners on the market and finding the one that best suits your needs is important. Owning your own and learning how to use it opens up so many more opportunities for safely home-canning foods so you can enjoy your bounty in a shelf-stable way all year-round.

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