What are you canning today? Part 8

[Jeepers]

My Presto gaskets work in my Mirro canner. My Mirro is from the 1970s and it makes a great soup pot if nothing else. 

 

My issue is finding the correct size for my Presto. My instruction book doesn't list the number. It says to look on the canner. Canner is in Indiana. Lehman's have all kinds of sizes. They have all of the parts too. Even the little screws for the handles. They just aren't listed in their catalog nor online. I guess you have to call them?

 

I came close to buying an All American the last time I bought another canner. But I weighed all of my pros and cons. I'm short and reaching over a hot canner to screw and unscrew those toggles would be an issue for me. And they are so heavy. No way could I lift one. I would will it to my DIL but she has arthritis pretty bad and I know she wouldn't use it. The price is pretty prohibitive too. I'm not saying never, but I don't see one in my immediate future. I think the medium size is over $400.00 now and I don't think I have that many more canning years in me to justify the cost. I think about it but I always seem to talk myself out of it. 

 

I rarely use my Mirro anymore. I like the Presto because it has a gauge on it. I go by the jiggler but I also like to keep an eye on the gauge to make sure the jiggler is doing what it is supposed to do. My gaskets last for many years. I still like backups though.

 

I just wet the gasket under running water and swish water all around the lip of the canner top and put the gasket back in. So far that has worked too. It seems like just taking the lid off and putting it back on is what helps. 

[Littlesister]

Jeepers, glad to know about the All-American canner. I haven't checked them out as of yet but have been thinking about one. But at $400, that would be a no go. I will check into the presto and also call Leman's about the Mirro. Maybe I can get replacements that way. I have ordered from them many times online as well as through their catalog but yes, they don't put a lot of things in there compared to going to the store. 

[Midnightmom]

15 hours ago, Littlesister said:

So, will be investing in an all-American canner in the near future.

Have you considered the ForJars? It's new on the market. 

Temporarily sold out, but should have them back in stock when you're ready to purchase.

 

https://forjars.co/products/forjars-pressure-canner

 

 

 

 

ETA: Sutton's Daze "Monday Night Live" chatting about the (2023) Black Friday sale with Mike and Alina from ForJars. If you recieved your canner and have any questions this would be a good video to watch - at least for the first 15 mins.

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Midnightmom

[Mother]

I bought an All American canner a couple decades ago at an auction.  It was in perfect condition and in the original box and had the instruction booklet.  I was buying boxes of canning jars for a dollar a box and no one bid against me.  The canner and boxes of supplies were thrown in free.  A call to the All American co. gave me the information that the canner was made in the late 1930’s and was perfectly safe to use.  I did get a new gauge for it but the original one tested good later.  I have a Mirro and a Presto too.  Both old.  It has only been the last few years I have not used any of them because I no longer can anything.  The last thing I canned was pork in 2019 and venison and venison broth in 2020. I have not moved a canner in years.  Never could move them full. 
 

I did freeze banana slices yesterday I got a good buy on them for 29 cents a pound.  We use them to make ice cream in our frozen desert maker.  I also froze a pumpkin mixture in ice cube trays to use with the frozen bananas and crushed ginger snap cookies to make our healthy version of pumpkin pie blizzards. 

 

 

[Jeepers]

Midnightmom, how did your stress test go? Glad to see you made it through!  The last I heard the ForJars were made in China. Has that changed?   

 

Mother, that's what I mean about buying an All American. How much longer would I really be using it. I love to can as long as my body holds out. But being realistic...

 

 

Oops, I was talking about the lids. Not the canner.

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Jeepers
Added Info

[Littlesister]

Midnightmom, I saw those when I got an e-mail about the lids during a black Friday sale. They were out of them at that time as well. So still waiting for them to get them in again. They are not the stainless steel like I have now. But aluminum, so they should be much lighter and easier to move around. I do have my eye on those. 

 

Mother, you got really lucky on those prices. We don't have auctions around here any longer that I know of. The last place that had them was destroyed in a hurricane many years ago. It took out the building they had them at. 

Your deserts sound really good.  I don't do deserts much anymore with having diabetes. But I will make them when the kids are here. 

 

[Mother]

LS, this auction was a private auction for an estate.  We still have them here.  
 

What I like about these frozen deserts are there is only the natural sweet of the fruit.   Frozen bananas and frozen oranges together make a creamsicle taste.

[Littlesister]

Mother, I was thinking about the auctions, but we do still have estate sales around here. 

Now I am going to have to try those deserts. I will have to be careful of natural sugar but once in a while should be ok. 

[Jeepers]

Midnightmom, I didn't even know ForJars made a pressure canner. It is about the same price as a Presto but you get two racks and an extra gasket. That is a big bonus. Plus the other items included. If I didn't already have three canners, I would really consider that one. Also with discount codes a lot of people are offering. 

[Midnightmom]

8 hours ago, Jeepers said:

The last I heard the ForJars were made in China. Has that changed? 

 

 

 

Here are prior reviews of other lids: 

 

Denali lids

 

 

Ball, Golden Harvest, Mason (from Amazon)

 

[Midnightmom]

9 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Midnightmom, how did your stress test go? Glad to see you made it through! 

 

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I guess with the newer technology they only need to "stress" (speed up) your heart for a very short period of time. You are laying down on a table which they move into the scanner (but you are  not completely in it - your head is outside), they take some initial/base readings, then they pump ya' full of the radioactive isotope which opens up the vessels to your heart (and speeds it up?) Then they measure how well your heart is vacating the blood that is in it. At least, that is what I think it was doing. No pain. Some wierd sensations. A lit bit of heavy breathing to "catch your breath" and you're done. Sitting up caused a lot of vertigo and longer than for just a normal sitting up from a prone position, but caffeine (Diet Coke for me) helped to settle that down. They are supposed to call with the results. Will it be before the weekend - and Christmas??? I have no idea. 

[euphrasyne]

I love estate sales and garage sales.  It is sort of date day that me and DH do every so often.  We get up early, take the truck and get some snack food and wander about to the ones posted.  We are always happy at the end of it.  Last time, I got a 4' metal cabinet (retro 50's office and faraday cage worthy)  and a GIANT cooler for $60 together.  

Edited December 21, 2023 by euphrasyne

[Darlene]

On 12/20/2023 at 2:50 AM, Midnightmom said:

 Maybe one of the "changes" that @Darlene should make to the forums is to change the name of this category to - "What are you PRESERVING today." 

We can do that 

[Littlesister]

Euphrasyne, you made a great haul that day. I am waiting for spring to start going to yard sales again. But I am also trying to downsize the house and get rid of the clutter. Cold weather has put that on hold. So, when I go to garage sales, I need to behave myself. 

[Jeepers]

Midnightmom. Glad you dd so well. And thanks for the info. I wondered how they went about doing those. 

[Jeepers]

Interesting videos. I do have the patience to watch the instructional ones. 

 

I have heard good things about the ForJars lids. But I wonder how much is hype due to nearly every canning channel gets them for free and then gets to offer their viewers a discount code. Could be a conflict of interest but I don't really know. Just my suspicious mind probably. But I haven't really heard anything bad about them except they are a little more prone to buckle IF you screw the bands on a little too tightly. That is more of a user error though. I think I heard that from Leisa. Interesting about weighing them. Wonder how much a ForJars lid weighs? 

 

I have a ton of Ball lids and I still have 2 sleeves of lids from Lehman's so I'm not in the market any time soon. But I wouldn't hesitate buying the ForJars lids. Especially if I got a discount. 

[Littlesister]

I have already used some of the ForJar lids. So far, they have held up well with no issues. I also have some from Leman's and the ball lids as well. I have enough to get me through the next canning season. Plus, I have plenty of tattler lids.

[themartianchick]

I am not canning anything today, but I did score a new pressure canner over the weekend! My daughter's friend wanted to know if anybody wanted it. (Of course, I volunteered!) My daughter is only comfortable with a water bath canner and doesn't have time to learn to pressure can right now. I haven't seen it, but I have been told that it has never been used. I can't wait... I have only ever had one of each type, but a second pressure canner would allow me to do so much more.

[Jeepers]

Way to go TMC!   A brand new canner, even sight unseen, is fantastic.

 

I didn't really think I'd use a second one until I had one. Great for big batch canning where you don't have to stretch the process out over two days. Plus they make excellent soup pots!  

[Littlesister]

That is great TMC.  I do have 2 pressure canners but one more never hurts. And for free that is wonderful. Having 2 of them does make the canning go much faster. 

[Midnightmom]

My neighbor just gave me a 2gal ziplock bag full of white meat turkey "for my dog." Rest assured, she will get some of it, but I believe I see several pint jars of white meat turkey in my future.  

[Annarchy]

6 quarts & 9 pints of roasted chicken bone broth…..

 

 

 

[Mother]

Nice, Annarchy, 

[Littlesister]

That looks great Anarchy. I need to move some pictures off phone to computer. To many baby pictures plus some of what I have canned lately. 

[Jeepers]

That looks so good Annarchy! That is on one of my to-do lists too.