HELP !!! Pressure Canning For the 1st Time

[YYY]

Hi Everybody,

 

HELP!!! Right now I am pressure canning for the first time – Darlene’s chicken soup. The little ball on top jiggles from time to time, and I’ve seen steam coming out. The way I understand it, this is normal. However, the pressure canner has been continually hissing for the last 30 to 45 minutes – ever since I put the ball on. Is this normal???

 

Mirro 22 quart

 

Thanks,

 

YYY

[Jewlzm]

You would have a problem if it wasnt hissing. Hissing is release of pressure so it doesnt explode.. Love the hissing

[YYY]

Jewlzm,

 

Thank you for your quick answer. I hadn't seen where anyone else said much about hissing - only the ball jiggling and the steam. Since i didn't know, I gave it an extra 15 minutes processing time to be sure. I hope that was OK.

 

Now, I'm worried because I can smell food - not burnt food - just food. Someone, maybe on this site, said that some of their jars boiled over and the canner was dry. I hope that didn't happen. I need to give the canner another 40 minutes or so until it cools off and the pressure is gone before I can open it to see what's going on.

 

Another concern is that there was no jiggling, just a little steam and hissing for the last 10 minutes.

 

Well I've got my fingers crossed.

 

Thanks again,

 

YYY

[YYY]

Well when I mess up, I do a REAL bang up job. My canner almost cooked dry. There was only about 1/16th of an inch of water left. Plus the bottom on the inside of the pot and the rack are discolored. But the worst is that the pot no longer sits flat. The bottom is warped. I am so upset. This was my first time using it.

 

I can live with the discoloration of the pot and the rack. The big question is, can I still can in the warped pot??? Will my food still be safe to eat?

 

Another question – the booklet that came with the canner didn’t make something clear. It says that after the control ball starts jiggling to turn down the heat. How low should it be??? Low? Medium? What? Is there some way to know if it’s just right since all stoves are different ???

 

The soup turned out great. I got 5 quarts of soup and 4 ½ pints of broth.

 

All responses will be appreciated.

 

YYY

[Amishway Homesteaders]

OK here are some hints and helps - but the 'boss' will fill in the rest when she sees what a good job of canning you did.

*the smell of food is good? when you can some of the 'air' in the jars is released to make a good seal - the air then comes out the vent and you know things are going good.

 

*the water you put in - some of it comes out as stream so you must make sure you put in what the canner calls for? And it will make depends on if you are doing pints or quarts? (Never let it go over the rings)

 

* The 'rocking' means all is going well - just let it slowly rock and let the steam out. And when you start you have the heat up to start the steaming but them you turn it down ( to about a simmer) for the time you need to can. Now you MUST be right there in case it stops 'rocking' or starts to really let out steam. (I sit and read and watch)

 

*discoloration of the pot ? Well it is the water that does that and it is OK (sorta)? You might try adding a bit of vinegar to the water if you had water spots on the jars when they came out?

 

You didn't say what kind of canner so the bottom may go back by its self or maybe you can push it back in? Anyway you can still use it.

MOST important thing is . . . . . .

OK so you messed up ! DON"T give up ! We can all tell you storied about the time we canned and this or that happened.

[YYY]

Amishway Homesteaders,

 

Thank you for your answers.

 

I ran downstairs to see if the pot "unwarped" itself. No luck there. I tried pushing it back in last night. That didn't work either. Is there a tool that will help do this?

 

I did put in the vinegar and the right amount of water according to the manual. I don't think that I turned down the heat enough plus I gave it an extra 15 minutes of processing time. In other words, I burned it.

 

What do I do if the jiggling stops before the processing time is over?

 

I have the 22 quart Mirro.

 

Thanks again

 

YYY

[Darlene]

YYY...

 

The pressure canner should NOT have warped...I'd be on the phone with Mirro so fast it would make their heads spin. I would request a replacement, there is no reason that pot should have warped to the point that it will not set level on your stove. Forget about pushing it back into place, it SHOULDN'T have done that in the first place.

 

If your canner is a weighted gauge, then it is normal for the weight to rock a couple times/minute. It is also normal, as others have said, to smell the foods while they are processing. If your weighted gauge is rocking fast constantly, your heat is too high. If your weighted gauge is not rocking at all, the heat is too low. Rocking a couple of times/minute is perfect.

 

I don't know why you processed an extra 15 minutes, but there is no reason you needed to do that. It also won't hurt processing a little longer, but is not necessary.

 

Your canner should not have been almost dry also. Mine never looses that much water during processing regardless of how long it's under pressure.

 

When you first load your canner up, and put the lid on, and get it hot enough to where steam is going through the vent pipe, you should time it for 10 minutes, letting the steam escape freely. After 10 minutes, then you put on the weight, adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a rocking weight a few times/minute and you should be good to go from there.

 

Let us know if we haven't answered all your questions...and congrats on your soup!

[YYY]

Hi Darlene,

 

Thanks for your response.

 

I started trying to get a replacement as soon as the store opened this morning at 9am. I was told that there was some kind of big meeting and the people that could OK this would not be available until after 1:30pm. When I called back, I was told to just bring it back for a replacement. I'll pick up my replacement tomorrow. Yeah !!!

 

I feel that I need to talk to the Mirro Company. The manual doesn't make several things clear, so I think I need answers before I try again.

 

Thanks again,

 

YYY

[Amishway Homesteaders]

Good for you - a lesson for all of us

You got problems - take it back!

the worst they can say is no. But you tried

 

and keep those receipts!

[Violet]

I am glad you are getting a replacement canner. Hang in there, canning gets easier as you do it. You will gain confidence and love it !

I don't know what your book says, but be sure to put in 2-3 inches of water to start with. I know some manuals say 2 quarts, but that didn't seem to come up that high on mine.

This link may help you, too. From National Center For Home Food Preservation.

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/...ss_canners.html

Good luck and happy canning !

[YYY]

Hi again Everybody,

 

I exchanged by canner today. Yippee !!! No problems at all.

 

One of the sales ladies told me something that I want to pass on. She said that because we live in a high altitude, we need to put more water in the canner than the instructions suggest (at least 1 cup more than the company recommends). She said it has something to do with food cooking faster in high altitudes. I don’t know if food cooks faster here or not. But I do know that my canner cooked dry after I put in a suggested amount of water.

 

Violet suggested that I put 2-3 inches of water in the canner. My instruction manual said to put in 2 quarts of water on one page and on another page it said to put in 2 ½ quarts of water (as I said in an earlier post, the manual’s instructions were not always clear). I put in the higher amount, 2 ½ quarts, and it only measured about 1 to 1 ¼ inches of water. So from Violet and the sales lady, I now know that I need to add MORE WATER.

 

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

YYY

[Cat]

[Shawna]

I wanted to add something in here. The Mirro people at the 1-800 number are FANTASTIC. The next time you can something, call them and you can literally put the phone up by your canner and they'll let you know if your temp is too high (that way you know just how *hissy* your canner should be!).

 

The first day I pressure canned, I was on the phone with the Mirro people probably 3 or 4 times. They were super, super nice and answered every question I had. The one woman even stayed on the phoone with me until my canner was hissing exactly as it should (I had the stove turned up too high when I called. She listened to it and told me to turn the stove down, then waited on the phone until the gauge rattled just right!).

 

I just wanted to let you know that you can call that number in your manual and they WILL help you! It's great to have someone actually listening to the hissing and can tell you whether or not that's *right*!

 

Have fun! And good luck!

 

 

Shawna