I Conquered My Fears and Found the Best Pressure Canners for Home Canners of All Levels

I’ve been a home canner for over 20 years, preserving pickles, salsas, and jams (often from produce I’ve grown in my garden). I am so enthusiastic about canning that a decade ago I even launched my own small jam business, Jam Sessions, making and selling small-batch, locally sourced jams and jellies at farmers markets and retailers throughout the Boston area. Although I hung up my jam-production apron a few years ago, I continue to teach home canning workshops and classes a few times per month to inspire others to take up this fun, practical, artisanal culinary skill.

But I’ve been harboring a secret: Throughout all of those years, I had never once worked up the courage to try out pressure canning. Boiling water bath canning is simple and pressure canning just seemed so extra. And scary! I had visions of exploding pots and questionable jars lurking in my pantry.

Thankfully, the kind folks here at Serious Eats finally gave me the nudge I needed to set aside my fears and take on pressure canning once and for all. I tested nine pressure canners side-by-side to find the best ones for home cooks and learned so much along the way about how to pressure can safely and with confidence.

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Pressure Canner for Serious Canners

All American 915 15.5 Quart Pressure Cooker Canner

$380 at Amazon $380 at Walmart $380 at Wayfair

With both a weighted gauge and a pressure dial for reference, this pressure canner precisely maintains your desired canning pressure. It’s built to last a lifetime, featuring a unique metal-to-metal seal and sturdy lid-locking screws. It’s an investment, but worth it if you plan to pressure can regularly.

The Best Budget-Friendly Pressure Canner

Presto 16-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker

$136 $108 at Amazon $115 $112 at Walmart $136 at Home Depot

This 16-quart combination pressure canner and cooker from Presto features an easy-to-read dial gauge and a solidly built gasket-style lid. This size is ample enough to process up to seven quart-size jars at a time, but small enough to store and clean easily. If you want to be able to stack jars for bigger canner loads or need a model that works on an induction stove, Presto also makes a very similar 23-quart model and induction-compatible pressure canner, which performed just as well as the 16-quart model in my testing.

The Easiest Pressure Canner to Use

Presto Precise Digital Pressure Canner

$330 $247 at Amazon $257 at Walmart $330 at Home Depot

This innovative electric pressure canner quite literally walks you through each step of the pressure canning process. It’s automated and therefore hands-off during processing and cooling, unlike stovetop models. It does come with one important caveat: There’s no external way to verify what temperature or pressure level has been achieved when canning, so you have to put your trust in the manufacturer.

The Tests 

• Baseline Test: To get an understanding of each stovetop pressure canner’s usability and efficiency, I filled it to its minimum specified volume with 100°F tap water, weighing the water in grams. I set the canner on a high heat and timed how long the water inside took to reach 140°F and then 180°F (the maximum water temperatures recommended before adding raw-packed and hot-packed jars of food). I then added two quart-size jars filled with hot water as stand-ins for other hot-packed foods. I secured the lid as directed in the canner’s manual, then timed how long the canner took to begin venting steam. After 10 minutes, I added the pressure regulator or weighted gauge, then timed how long the canner took to come up to a pressure of 15 pounds, maintaining this for 10 minutes. I timed how long it took for the canner to fully depressurize, removed the canner lid and jars, and weighed the remaining water to calculate the percentage of water that had evaporated during the canning process. For the one electric pressure canner in the lineup, I followed the manual’s instructions for use, noting the timing to vent steam, reach canning pressure, and depressurize/cool, and weighing the water before and after canning to evaluate evaporation.
• Chicken Stock Test: I used a pressure-canned chicken stock recipe most similar to the Serious Eats basic chicken stock recipe (but lab-tested as safe to use for pressure canning). I processed two quart-size jars of chicken stock in each canner for 25 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure for dial gauge canners and 10 pounds of pressure for weighted gauge canners, per the USDA guidelines for my elevation. 

What We Learned 

First: A Crash Course on Canning

Canning, like other forms of food preservation such as drying, salting, or fermenting, takes something that’s perishable and makes it last longer. When properly processed and vacuum sealed in a jar, home-canned foods retain their freshness and quality for up to a year, per the USDA. Canning is a great way to extend the lifespan of peak-season produce (hello, canned tomatoes!) and to reduce food waste.

If what you’re canning is considered “high-acid,” meaning it has an overall pH below 4.6, then you can safely process the jars in a boiling water bath. The acidic environment of the mixture is inhospitable to bacterial growth, and anything that could survive in that environment is killed off when held at the water’s boiling point for a specified time. High-acid foods include jams and jellies, vinegar-brined pickles, and tomato products that have a little extra acid added. (Tomatoes are right on the line acid-wise, so they need a little nudge down on the pH scale to be processed this way.)

Low-acid foods with a pH above 4.6—like vegetables in water, soups, meat, or stock—require some precautions to be canned safely at home. The bacteria that can cause foodborne illness are quite happy to grow in a low-acid environment. One of particular concern is Clostridium botulinum, which causes the (rare but serious) illness botulism. The risk of botulism is associated with canned foods because C. botulinum spores, which are usually harmless, can create the toxin that causes botulism when they’re deprived of oxygen, like in a vacuum-sealed canning jar. That toxin is pretty tough, so the jars need to be heated above the boiling point of water (up to 240 to 250°F) in order to eliminate it, which can be achieved through pressure canning.

Why Pressure Canning Is Worth It

Up until now, when I’ve had low-acid foods that I want to save—like containers of chicken stock, chili, or soup—I’ve always frozen them. But, of course, that means my freezer is packed with bits and bobs, leaving little room for anything else. The beauty of pressure canning those items instead is that once they’re processed, they’re shelf-stable, meaning they can be stored at room temperature in a cool, dry, dark place (like a cabinet), without the need for a fridge or freezer.

Angi Schneider, author Pressure Canning For Beginners and Beyond and blogger at Creative Simple Living, learned the benefit of pressure canning the hard way. When Hurricane Harvey hit her home in Texas in 2017, her area was without electricity for over a week. Thankfully, she had pressure-canned food and was able to feed not only her family, but her neighbors and first responders who had come to help. “We were able to share our food, and it was so community-building. I had never been through that kind of devastation before, and this was something I could do to help,” she tells me.

Aside from preparing for emergencies, Schneider also loves the ease and convenience that pressure canning brings to her meal planning. When we speak, she has just pressure-canned 14 quarts of soup the day before. “There’s 14 dinners ready on the shelf! It’s just another tool in the toolbox for when you don’t have time to cook from scratch.” She also loves to pressure can chicken, which can be used as the starting point for easy meals like tacos, chicken salad, or soup, without the need to defrost anything. “I know some people are probably way more organized than me and can remember to pull something out of the freezer, but for me, just having that on the shelf makes it a super easy weeknight meal or lunch.”

But how can you make sure that that home-canned soup or chicken is safe to eat after being stored in a jar at room temperature? Cue David Bowie and Queen: It’s time to get under pressure.

How Pressure Canners Work

Pressure canners have a few components, each with a specific job. First, the canner body, a.k.a. a large pot. Canners come in a range of sizes, accommodating differing quantities of jars. Pressure canners are generally made of aluminum, which is lightweight and conducts heat well. The canner will also have a rack that fits into the bottom of the pot, which lifts the jars up so that water and steam can circulate underneath them, helping to regulate their temperature. (Glass can also be temperamental when heated, and placing the jars directly on the bottom of the pot can cause cracks or shattering.)

Instead of filling the canner most of the way with water and submerging the jars, as in water-bath canning, pressure canners require just a few quarts of water to be added to the bottom of the pot. When heated, that water turns into steam. 

In order to use that steam to create pressure, the canner needs a tight-fitting lid. Most models have a rubber or silicone gasket inside the lid that creates a seal with the canner body when twisted into place. (The All-American model has a unique metal-to-metal seal that doesn’t require a gasket.) Once the lid is in place, steam will still escape through the vent pipe—basically a chimney with a pinhole-sized opening. You’ll need to hold the lid up to a light source and check that the vent pipe is clear every time you go to put the lid on. A blocked vent can be dangerous.

Once the lid is tightly affixed, steam will continue to build up inside the canner. When it gets hot enough, it will start to flow out of the vent pipe in a distinctive “V” shape. You’ll need to let the steam vent for 10 minutes, which allows air to escape and ensures the canner is filled with pure steam. 

After venting the canner, you’ll place either a weighted gauge or a pressure regulator (depending on your model) on top of the vent pipe, which will fit loosely. The gauge or regulator will block the vent pipe temporarily, allowing the steam to pressurize inside the canner. Once it reaches a certain pressure, the pressurized steam will cause the gauge or regulator to rock, bounce, or wiggle. This indicates how much pressure you’ve reached (either five, 10, or 15 psi, for weighted gauges) and also allows little bursts of steam to escape, keeping the canner from becoming overpressurized.

Worried about your pressure canner or jars exploding? You’re not alone! Amelia Jeanroy, author of Modern Pressure Canning, says safety is one of the primary fears shared by her students when she teaches pressure canning classes. “Everybody knows somebody whose mother had it explode, allegedly,” she tells me. But never fear, most modern pressure canners include two key safety features in their lids that older models didn’t: a cover lock and an overpressure plug. The cover lock pops up when the canner is pressurized, making it impossible to remove the lid and release dangerously hot steam too soon and too fast, which could also cause the jars to shatter. And the overpressure plug, also called a safety fuse, is usually made of rubber or a thin piece of metal and will pop open and release excess steam if the canner becomes dangerously overpressurized—before anything can explode.

Weighted Gauges vs. Dial Gauges

Pressure canning recipes will specify the pounds of pressure that need to be maintained to safely process the jars. Why? The amount of pressure inside the canner correlates to the temperature of the steam. The pressure itself is not what kills off microorganisms. Instead, the pressure causes the steam to reach 240 to 250°F, which destroys the bacteria and toxins. 

So, you’ll need a way to know when your canner has reached pressure (and therefore temperature), and keep it there for a specified time, which will vary depending on the kind of food you are canning, what size jar you are using, and how the food was packed into the jars. To know what level of pressure has been achieved, stovetop pressure canners are equipped with either a weighted or dial gauge or sometimes both.

Weighted gauges come in sizes that measure five, 10, and 15 pounds of pressure. Some canners come with individual weights in each size, some are a single piece that you slot into place aligned to your desired number, and others have three pieces that stack together in five-psi increments. The gauge is placed on the vent pipe after venting the canner and will begin to move when the canner reaches the specified pressure. Some rock side to side, others wobble and spin, and others pop up and down. I recommend looking on YouTube for a video of your model’s weighted gauge in action so you know what to look for, and how fast it should go, as it’s sometimes hard to glean from the manual. The nice thing about weighted gauges is that they’re durable, consistent, and also provide an auditory cue (sounding like steadily chugging trains, in my experience) as small bursts of steam escape from underneath them, letting you know the canne ha’s reached and is maintaining pressure.

Dial gauges, on the other hand, display the pressure level inside the canner with a needle that points to various numbers of pounds. They’re a helpful indicator to see how quickly pressure is increasing or decreasing, and help you zero in on just the right level of pressure without having to decipher the rocking motion of a weighted gauge. If you live at higher elevations, dial gauges are helpful to set a pressure level above the standard five, 10, or 15 psi increments. Dial gauges are delicate instruments, though, and must be handled with care and checked yearly for accuracy. This service is offered by some states’ Cooperative Extension Service offices through their land-grant universities, and some manufacturers (like Presto) will test your gauge if you mail it to them. An inaccurate gauge could mean you are canning with too little pressure (and therefore too low a temperature, risking food safety), or too much pressure, which can compromise the quality of the food in the jars.

Tips for Successful Pressure Canning

Whether you’re just getting started with pressure canning or would like a refresher, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind based on my testing:

• Use an updated, reliable source for your recipe: Not everything is safe to pressure can, and the USDA’s guidelines for safe home canning are always evolving as we learn more about food science. “Go to the experts and see what their recipes are…it’s not the time to break rules,” Jeanroy says. “It really is a science-based undertaking that has fed us for hundreds of years, only now we don’t get sick from it.” The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, the National Center for Home Food Preservation, and research and recipes published by Cooperative Extensions are great places to start.
• Actually read your canner’s manual: Every canner is a little different, and each of its components needs to be handled properly to ensure safety and success. Read the manual before you get started, and keep it handy the first couple of times you can. The best models of pressure canners from my testing had detailed manuals with lots of safety information, and many also included recipes.
• Know that your type of stove and altitude matter: Most of the pressure canners I tested only worked with gas and coil electric stoves. One model was induction-compatible, and some were smooth-top electric compatible with caveats to check for weight restrictions for your particular stove. Make sure to check that the canner will work with your type of stove before you purchase. You’ll also need to know the altitude of where you’ll be canning. More pressure will be necessary to get to that 240 to 250°F range at higher elevations; your recipe will specify how many pounds.
• Only use Mason jars to can with: Mason-type jars with embossed logos made by brands such as Ball or Kerr are the only kind of jars recommended to pressure can with. They’re made from thick, food-safe glass that can withstand high heat, and have two-piece lids that are also safe for pressure canning. They come in a range of sizes (the most commonly used for pressure canning are half-pint, pint, and quart jars) and can be found at local hardware stores, some grocery stores, or online.
• Don’t plan to walk away: For most models, you’re going to need to keep an eagle eye on your pressure gauge, adjusting the heat to maintain the correct pressure level throughout processing. If the pressure drops during processing, you’ll have to bring it back up and start over with your timing to ensure food safety. And no one wants their overpressure plug to blow from letting too much pressure build-up! Plan to stay in the kitchen and keep an eye on things while using your pressure canner.
• Have some helpful tools handy: A jar lifter (I like this heavy-duty one made by Ball) and a canning funnel (I like stainless steel, but they also come in plastic) will make any type of canning you’re doing much easier. I also found that a pair of silicone oven mitts was helpful to use when popping pressure regulators or weighted gauges onto jets of venting steam, and a humble paperclip can help clear out blocked vent pipes if needed before putting your canner lid on.
• Be brave and try it: I feel like a whole new world has opened up for me as I’ve learned the ropes of pressure canning. In addition to my pantry shelves now brimming with quarts of chicken stock, I’m dreaming of home-canned tomatoes from my garden and jars of homemade beans or soup that I can reach for on a busy weeknight. “I just love cooking from scratch,” Jeanroy tells me. “When I have a pantry full of homemade ‘parts,’ as I call them, that makes my cooking so much more fun! I don’t have to go to the store and buy the couple of items that I need—I just go to my own ‘store.’” And as Schneider advises, “If you follow the rules, you’re going to be fine. Definitely try it!” 

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Pressure Canner

A great pressure canner should be roomy enough to fit a good number of jars (and at least four quart-size jars for safety, per the USDA), but also compact enough to be able to center it on your stove’s burner, wash it in the sink, and store it easily. It should heat up quickly, maintain pressure steadily, and have a tight-fitting lid that feels securely closed while under pressure. A dial gauge with clear markings is helpful to monitor how the canner is progressing as it pressurizes and depressurizes, while a weighted gauge will be the most reliable and durable indicator of pressure in the long run. Having both types of gauges in place offers the best of both worlds.

Our Favorite Pressure Canners

The Best Pressure Canner for Serious Canners

All American 915 15.5 Quart Pressure Cooker Canner

$380 at Amazon $380 at Walmart $380 at Wayfair

What we liked: All American is a highly prized, top-of-the-line brand among experienced home canners, and it’s easy to see why. These pressure canners are built to last a lifetime. The canner’s unique metal-to-metal seal doesn’t require a gasket (which can deteriorate over time and requires periodic replacement), but just a thin film of olive oil to create a tight seal. Its heavy-duty clamping locks keep the lid closed tightly and extra secure. It was the only canner in this lineup to feature a dual-gauge setup, offering a weighted pressure gauge to measure five, 10, and 15 psi, as well as a dial gauge to monitor both pressure and temperature inside the canner. It heated up quickly and maintained pressure very steadily once reached. The manual was clear and informative, and All American offers a helpful video tutorial that walks you through each stage of the pressure canning process. While I tested with the 10.5-quart model, I recommend the 15.5-quart model for serious canners who are willing to invest, as it can hold up to seven quart-sized jars, compared to only four in the 10.5-quart. (And if you’re really excited to pressure can, All American offers even larger sizes as well, all the way up to a 41-quart model that can hold a whopping 19 jars at a time!)

What we didn’t like: All American pressure canners are very expensive, ranging from $340 for the smallest model all the way up to $650 for the largest at the time of testing. This cost is really only worth it if you plan to pressure can often and for many seasons to come, as our budget pick (see below) also performed quite well at a fraction of the price. The 10.5-quart model was also quite heavy due to its cast-aluminum design, clocking in at 15 pounds before adding any water or jars; the 15.5-quart model weighs 21 pounds when empty.

Key Specs

• Materials: Cast aluminum
• Dimensions: 15.375-inch diameter, 15.5 inches tall with lid
• Weight: 21 pounds
• Liquid capacity: 15.5 quarts
• Jar capacity: 10 pint jars, 7 quart jars
• Gauge type: Dual-gauge (weighted and dial)
• Seal type: Metal-to-metal
• Induction compatible?: No

The Best Budget-Friendly Pressure Canner

Presto 16-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker

$136 $108 at Amazon $115 $112 at Walmart $136 at Home Depot

What we liked: Presto is another powerhouse brand in the canning world. It has been manufacturing pressure canners for home use for well over a century and offers a wide range of sizes and styles of pressure canners. This 16-quart model fits up to seven quart-sized jars at a time but is still small enough to fit easily in the sink or under a low-range hood. For it and the larger 23-quart Presto models I tested (see below), the lid twisted on securely (after oiling the gasket as recommended), it heated the water and came up to pressure quickly, and the dial gauge was clear and easy to read. Its lightweight aluminum materials made it easy to maneuver, even when full of water and jars. Presto’s customer service was also excellent when I contacted them with questions by phone and email, the manuals for their canners are very detailed, and they offer helpful step-by-step YouTube videos on how to use their pressure canners. 

What we didn’t like: This is a dial gauge pressure canner, so you will need to get the dial checked for accuracy every year, which can be a hassle. You can, however, turn this canner into a dual-gauge canner by swapping out the included pressure regulator for a three-piece weighted gauge, if you’re willing to spend a little more. Then, you can rely on the weighted gauge with the dial gauge as a backup, as in the All American model. The lid for this model does use a gasket, which will need to be replaced periodically as it dries out or otherwise deteriorates. It also required more adjusting of the burner to maintain consistent pressure during testing compared to the All American, likely due to its thinner walls and lighter construction.

Key Specs

• Materials: Aluminum
• Dimensions: 13-inch diameter, 12.5 inches tall with lid
• Weight: 9.25 pounds
• Liquid capacity: 16 quarts
• Jar capacity: 10 pint jars, 7 quart jars
• Gauge type: Dial gauge
• Seal type: Gasket
• Induction compatible?: No

The Easiest Pressure Canner to Use

Presto Precise Digital Pressure Canner

$330 $247 at Amazon $257 at Walmart $330 at Home Depot

What we liked: This digital pressure canner is a beginner’s dream. The canner walks you through every step of the process, beeping and prompting you with directions on the screen to alert you when it’s time to do things like add or remove the jars, and clearly displaying what stage of pressure canning is happening at a given time. It automatically times the 10-minute steam venting period, and once the pressure regulator is placed on, it will take care of the rest, automatically heating, maintaining the temperature for the time you set, and then cooling. It frees up the stovetop and your time for other tasks and takes all of the guesswork out of the equation. It was also the most efficient canner by far in this lineup, losing only 8.5% of its water through evaporation during canning, versus 15 to 20% for the stovetop models.

What we didn’t like: Though Presto claims that it is the “first digital pressure canner that meets USDA safe canning guidelines,” the USDA does not certify or approve home canning equipment, and the National Center for Home Food Preservation has not independently tested this model to verify its safety. Unlike stovetop pressure canners, this model uses an internal temperature sensor that locks into the lid, rather than a pressure gauge, to keep the interior in the range of 240 to 250°F. There’s no external way to verify that that temperature has been reached, so you have to put your trust in the manufacturer here. Luckily, Presto is a very reputable company with a long track record of success in safe pressure canning. The Kansas State University Extension noted some differences between USDA-recommended processes and the manual for this unit and therefore recommends only following the Presto instruction manual and not directions from other sources, including the USDA or the NCHFP, if you are going to use it. It’s also worth noting that while the unit itself is large, the interior capacity is actually fairly small, with a maximum jar capacity of five jars. The chicken stock processed with this model was much darker than with others, indicating it got very hot (too hot, even?), and this canner took the longest by far to depressurize and cool down after canning—over an hour, compared to just 15 to 20 minutes for the stovetop models.

Key Specs

• Materials: Nonstick interior pot
• Dimensions: 17-inch diameter, 16 inches high
• Weight: 20.5 pounds
• Liquid capacity: 12 quarts (internal pot)
• Jar capacity: 8 pint jars, 5 quart jars
• Gauge type: None; internal temperature sensor
• Seal type: Gasket
• Induction compatible?: N/A (self-contained electric appliance)

The Competition 

• Presto 23-Quart Pressure Canner: This dial gauge canner has the same design as the winning 16-quart Presto model, other than the canner body being about 3.5 inches taller. The added benefit of this extra height is that it’s tall enough to stack a double layer of pint jars (up to 20 total) in the canner during processing if desired. This does make it a bit more awkward to clean and may cause it to graze a lower-range hood, but it’s an excellent choice if you’re looking for greater capacity.
• Presto 23-Quart Induction Compatible Pressure Canner: This pressure canner is basically identical to the Presto 23-quart model above, but features a stainless steel-clad base that makes it compatible with induction ranges in addition to traditional electric and gas stoves. While I tested it on a coil electric stove, a magnet did indeed attach to the bottom of the canner, indicating it is induction-friendly. All of the stovetop Presto models in this testing performed well, so you can choose the size and style that’s right for you.
• Granite Ware 20-Quart Pressure Canner: This weighted gauge pressure canner was compact, lightweight, and performed pretty well during testing. Its walls were thinner than other models in this lineup, making it very sensitive to heat changes. It needed a lot of adjustments to the burner to keep the gauge rocking steadily to maintain pressure, which was a bit of a hassle. Without a dial to verify the pressure or temperature, it took some trial and error to figure out what “rocking gently” meant for the weighted gauge, but looking up videos online helped in this regard.
• Mirro 22-Quart Pressure Canner: Though it said it would be compatible with coil electric stoves, that was not the case for me with this weighted gauge model from Mirro. This canner features a concave-shaped base, rather than a flat bottom to the pot, and did not seem to make good contact with my stove’s burner. After being placed on the burner on high during baseline testing, the water began to heat, but I could hear the burner clicking on and off periodically. Even after an hour of being on the stove, the water in the canner never reached 180°F, let alone the high temperatures needed for pressure canning. This disqualified the canner from additional testing, though it is possible it may perform better on a gas range.
• T-fal 22-Quart Pressure Canner: I encountered the exact same problem as with the Mirro model for this pressure canner by T-fal, which also has a concave-shaped base. The burner of my coil electric stove did not maintain proper contact with the bottom of the canner, and the water did not reach 180°F during baseline testing. This pressure canner also featured a pressure regulator and dial gauge that were curiously not marked with psi or temperature increments, but instead generic levels of 1, 2, and 3. These presumably correlate to five, 10, and 15 pounds of pressure, but that was not made explicit anywhere on the canner or in the manual. This “1-2-3” system may confuse cooks who are trying to use recipes that call for a specific pressure level that they can’t match to. Even if this model works better on a gas range, I’d choose a pressure canner with a more clearly legible gauge that is marked with pounds.
• Barton 22-Quart Pressure Canner: After inspecting this canner and looking through its manual upon receiving it, I noticed that this model does not appear to be UL listed, meaning that it has not been independently checked for safety by the Underwriters Laboratory. The National Center for Home Food Preservation advises to “use only canners that have the Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) approval to ensure their safety.” I tried to contact the company’s customer service department to verify whether this canner has UL or another safety certification, but could not get through to anyone on the phone, which others also had noted in Amazon reviews. The canner’s manual did not include proper instructions for safe pressure canning, which was another red flag. I disqualified this canner from our testing based on these safety concerns. All of the other models in the lineup did bear the UL stamp except for the Presto digital model, which is ETL listed instead and "meets UL standards" per a Presto customer service representative.

FAQs

What can (and can’t) you can with a pressure canner?

Pressure canning is the only recommended method to safely can low-acid foods (like vegetables in water, meat, poultry, or soups), per the USDA. Not every low-acid food is safe to can (like dairy, eggs, and fats), so make sure you are using an up-to-date, reliable source for your recipe to ensure food safety. You can can high-acid foods (like jams or vinegar pickles) in a pressure canner, but the high heat may cause the color to darken and the texture to get mushy, so boiling water bath canning is recommended for those foods instead.

Can you use Mason jars in a pressure canner?

Yes! In fact, Mason jars are the only kind of jar you should use for pressure canning, as they’re built to withstand high heat and have two-piece lids that are safe to use for this purpose. The jars and bands can be reused many times (as long as they’re free of chips, cracks, or rust), but use a fresh lid every time you can to ensure a good seal; they can be purchased separately.

Does a pressure canner have to be full for it to work?

The USDA and NCHFP have not specified a minimum number of jars per load for pressure canners, but the Ball company has issued a recommendation of a minimum of two quart jars or four pint jars per load. The Master Food Preserver program at the University of California Cooperative Extension agrees, citing that “a very small canner load can be difficult to bring up to required pressure and risks the water in the canner running dry.” For more on this, see this recent post by the Iowa State University Extension. No matter how many jars you are processing, you always need to use the minimum amount of water in the canner as specified in the manual.

What pressure canners are induction-compatible?

In this lineup, only the Presto 23-Quart Induction Compatible Pressure Canner worked on an induction range. It performed just as well as its all-aluminum counterparts, but its stainless steel-clad base makes it induction-friendly (in addition to working on traditional electric and gas stoves). Note that it may be too heavy to use with a portable induction burner—you’ll need to check your portable burner’s weight restrictions first.

Are pressure canners safe?

If you pay attention to them and follow the manufacturer’s guidance, then yes! Most modern pressure canners have safety features like a cover lock that prevents removal of the lid while the canner is pressurized and an overplug or safety fuse that will pop open and release excess steam if the canner becomes overpressurized. If you check that the vent pipe is clear before attaching the lid and keep an eye on the dial or weighted gauge to keep it in a safe range throughout the canning process, you’ll be just fine. It’s good to be cautious–hot steam and pressure need to be handled with care–but pressure canning is safe and easy once you become comfortable with the process.

Are pressure canners and pressure cookers the same thing?

Some pressure canners can also be used as pressure cookers, but not the reverse. Pressure cookers are usually much smaller than pressure canners, and therefore heat up and cool down more quickly than larger-sized pressure canners. This can lead to an under-processed product, per Michigan State University, compromising food safety. In addition, many pressure cookers do not feature a way to measure the number of pounds of pressure inside the unit, which is key to safe pressure canning.

Can I use an Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker) to pressure can food?

No! Similar to stovetop pressure cookers, electric multi-cookers such as an Instant Pot or similar are not recommended for pressure canning, even if they have a “canning” button. Per the PennState Extension, “there has been no research by the USDA or a university to show that these electric multi-cookers can safely process low-acid food.” While electric pressure cookers may reach the temperature required for pressure canning, there is not yet research proving that they maintain this temperature steadily throughout processing, nor that their heating and cooling times are safe.

How do you clean and care for a pressure canner?

Your pressure canner’s manual will have specific instructions for care and cleaning, but in general, you’ll need to hand wash most of the components with warm, soapy water after each use. You’ll need to inspect the rubber gasket (if it has one) and overpressure plug before each use to make sure they are pliable and have not cracked or warped, and you may need to oil the gasket periodically to ensure the lid is easy to close. Some manuals suggest adding vinegar or cream of tartar to the water in the canner to prevent discoloration and water stains on the jars and interior of the pot. For models with dial gauges, most manuals recommended storing the lid upside down on the canner body to protect the gauge inside. And don’t forget! You’ll need to get dial gauges checked for accuracy by your county’s cooperative extension or the manufacturer on a yearly basis.

Why We’re the Experts 

• Afton Cyrus is a home canning expert and the owner of Jam Sessions, a small business through which she offers canning and preserving classes, demonstrations, and workshops throughout the Greater Boston area. She has been canning for over 20 years and has taught beginners and seasoned canners alike how to can and preserve safely and confidently in a variety of settings, including in a monthly class series she leads at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.
• In addition, Afton is a food blogger, recipe developer, and freelance food writer and editor. She spent eight years as a test cook and editor at America’s Test Kitchen before becoming a contributor to Serious Eats in 2023. While at ATK, she contributed to its comprehensive cookbook on home canning, Foolproof Preserving & Canning, full of deeply researched, science-based approaches to food preservation.
• Afton has learned from the best how to execute rigorous and objective equipment testing protocols. You can see her meticulous approach to product testing in action in her reviews of fondue pots, liquid measuring cups, and hand mixers.
• For this review, Afton interviewed authors Angi Schneider and Amelia Jeanroy to learn more about pressure canning safety, how pressure canners work, and the criteria we should look for when evaluating them.