Pressure Canning Starter Wort Process

you know. i do understand where theredben is coming from although i think reading something like that nobody would ever dare canning lol. but i think a post making it seem very dangerous would at the least stop average joe brewer from going ahead and thinking hes doing something awesome and not realizing hes screwing up. a little knowledge goes a long way in canning. i cant speak for all caners but im lucky enough to own an all american caner which is a dream of a machine for canning,, all parts are made very well.. the thing was purchased in 1983 and has metal to metal sealing. its as old as i am and still works flawless.(my parents thought they were genna can then had a kid i guess)
i said in an earlier post that caners are totally sealed, just realized the other day that i "updated" my caner with a weighted PSI system.. so it is possible to be open to the air lol.. but i have also noticed the parts are so well made that it actually holds negative pressure after cooling.
but the "pressure cookers" you buy today for cooking a roast quick are not canners. can they be used as canners? yes. does it open up a larger chance of getting infected? yes. how likely is it to get infected doing it as proper as possible? very f'in unlikely. you have a much better chance of getting hit by lightning..
none the less, it is a good idea to warn people of the possible dangers involved

Hmm... Not sure about the canners you buy today. I have my mom's, which I know was being used back in the 70's. I think you can cook in ANY pressure canner if you want to.

I have also just read that the GOV organization recommends pre-steaming before applying the weight. I did not know that was a preferred method. Apparently they say you should allow the visible steam to release from the vent port for like 10 minutes before applying the weight. Not sure why.

Greenbasterd said:

i said in an earlier post that caners are totally sealed, just realized the other day that i "updated" my caner with a weighted PSI system.. so it is possible to be open to the air lol.. but i have also noticed the parts are so well made that it actually holds negative pressure after cooling.
but the "pressure cookers" you buy today for cooking a roast quick are not canners. can they be used as canners? yes. does it open up a larger chance of getting infected? yes. how likely is it to get infected doing it as proper as possible? very f'in unlikely. you have a much better chance of getting hit by lightning..
none the less, it is a good idea to warn people of the possible dangers involved

Click to expand...

Perhaps I need an education here but why would you say pressure cookers are different than canners? My pressure cooker is weighted to 15 pounds and once the internal pressure is achieved and the wort is at 240 degrees, it will kill off the spores just as much as a canner, autoclave or any other device that can reach that temperature. As long as the lids are on and you let the cooker/canner cool at room temp, a seal will be made.

The idea here is to kill the spores in the jars so they can't multiply in a sealed, oxygen free environment.

Homercidal said:

I have also just read that the GOV organization recommends pre-steaming before applying the weight. I did not know that was a preferred method. Apparently they say you should allow the visible steam to release from the vent port for like 10 minutes before applying the weight. Not sure why.

Click to expand...

Yeah that's what the instructions for my Presto - bought just last month - say. The idea is to drive out all the air so that you have only steam in there. The canner may not equilibrate at the correct temperature if there is air inside.

scoundrel said:

Perhaps I need an education here but why would you say pressure cookers are different than canners? My pressure cooker is weighted to 15 pounds and once the internal pressure is achieved and the wort is at 240 degrees, it will kill off the spores just as much as a canner, autoclave or any other device that can reach that temperature. As long as the lids are on and you let the cooker/canner cool at room temp, a seal will be made.

The idea here is to kill the spores in the jars so they can't multiply in a sealed, oxygen free environment.

Click to expand...

ya i'm just not sure about the functioning's of these pressure cookers. i know they have auto releases and what not and they use silicone and plastic seals which can break down. i'm sure they work fine.
being that they are smaller people tend to do funny things with them to, like cold crash under a tap or with wet towel. which is a big no no.. alot of people take the weight off to rapidly release pressure which makes the liquid in the jar boil like a mad man.. cooking a roast these things are fine, but when trying to properly can, may lead to unsealed bottles.
also i think most of the pressure cookers not labeled as canners are weighted to 10 PSI still enough temp to kill, but might want to leave it 20-25 mins instead of 15.
basically i follow the canner instructions. let it cool in the canner and what not.. and i always listen for the sucking sound when i open a jar. i've never had an unsealed jar.. i've only canned about 100 jars in my life but never had one not seal

Greenbasterd said:

ya i'm just not sure about the functioning's of these pressure cookers. i know they have auto releases and what not and they use silicone and plastic seals which can break down. i'm sure they work fine.
being that they are smaller people tend to do funny things with them to, like cold crash under a tap or with wet towel. which is a big no no.. alot of people take the weight off to rapidly release pressure which makes the liquid in the jar boil like a mad man.. cooking a roast these things are fine, but when trying to properly can, may lead to unsealed bottles.
also i think most of the pressure cookers not labeled as canners are weighted to 10 PSI still enough temp to kill, but might want to leave it 20-25 mins instead of 15.
basically i follow the canner instructions. let it cool in the canner and what not.. and i always listen for the sucking sound when i open a jar. i've never had an unsealed jar.. i've only canned about 100 jars in my life but never had one not seal

Click to expand...

I tried that quick cooling method the first time I canned wort and lost half or most of the wort in each jar. I did not realize that this method is only to be used for cooking food for dinner, not for canning. Makes sense when you think about it.

The advantage is supposedly to help keep the moisture of the food in the food, and to cook it quickly rather than cooking with the usual methods. Waste of time IMO, really.

Just remember that cooling quickly is strictly for cooking, not for canning.