If I had a dime for every time someone told me they were too afraid to pressure can…I’d be rich! To tell you the truth, I was afraid to pressure can once. Yes, it’s true.

I’d grown up hearing tales of aunt so-and-so exploding her canner…of children getting burnt by the hot steam…so naturally a novice would be a little hesitant to take up the art of pressure canning.

But as always, I got the nudge from my husband to learn how. After all, he’d pressure canned (rather haphazardly sometimes, I must say) and he lived to tell about it.

So he bought me my first Presto pressure canner, and after reading the directions, and diligently making my safety checks…I’ve used the hound out of that thing.

The Basics of Pressure Canning

Let’s start at the beginning. So you want to learn how to pressure can. Here are a few basics you need to know in the canning world.

Water bath canning is for high acid vegetables and fruits, such as jams, pickles, and tomatoes. (Read my beginner’s tutorial for water bath!)

In theory, you should not water bath low acid vegetables like green beans, potatoes, or soups. For meats and low acid veggies, you must pressure can.

The pressure in a pressure canner will build up and heat the water to 250 degrees! This effectively kills off the nasty botulism spores that could potentially grow in the low-oxygen, air tight jar. The high heat from the pressure, together with the processing time, makes these types of food safe to store long term.

Dial Gauge vs. Weighted Gauge

This might sound complicated, but I promise it’s not!

I own a weighted gauge pressure canner. So when the steam starts escaping from the top of my canner, I will place a weight over the hole, then pressure will build accordingly.

With a dial gauge, you will just read the gauge, and turn up the heat until desired pressure is reached, start your time, and then make sure the pressure stays on the right number the whole time.

The Dangers of Pressure Canning?

I mentioned earlier the warning that come when I tell people I’m pressure canning.

Sure, there are dangers associated with using a pressurized pot of water…but there are dangers turning on the stove to bake a cake as well.

Before every use, I do a few safety checks:

-Make sure the blow hole is clear, so steam can escape properly.

-I fiddle with the release valves to make sure they are not jammed.

-And I look at and feel the gasket inside the canner’s lid to make sure it’s intact and not dry rotted in any place. It’s a good practice to oil up the seal prior to canning season. It helps the lid close smoothly and safely.

-I also will double check my pressure weights…to make sure I have the correct one stacked on it.

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Pressure Canning Equipment

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This is the pressure canner I own:

It is a weighted gauge and I have used it successfully for five years, no problems or broken parts.

Here is an example of a dial gauge.

It will come with a canning rack in the bottom. The only other equipment you need will be the standard canning equipment that is also used for water bath canning.

Canning tongs

Canning funnel

And of course, canning jars, lids, and bands.

Don’t forget your trusted recipe and any stockpots, spoons, and kitchen towels!

How to Pressure Can

Let’s start canning!

After you have performed the safety checks, it’s time to fill up the canner with water.

I use tap water from my kitchen sink. You will fill mostly all the time up to the three quart line. But you will definitely need to check your own canner’s instruction manual to see how to fill your canner. (Unlike water bath, you will not need to make sure the jars are covered in water!)

Mine always needs to be filled to the first line:

After you have put the appropriate amount of water into the canner, make sure the rack is on the bottom.

Then, you will put your clean, empty jars into the canner.

I scoop and fill a small amount of water into them from the canner, then set them up all around.

Turn on the heat, and as your jars are heating, you should have your food prepared and ready to go.

When the jars are heated, use your canning tongs to lift a jar out of the water, and carefully pour the hot water that was in the jar back into the canner.

Set the jar on a towel on your workspace, and fill with the food you have prepared to can. It may be hot pack or cold pack, depending on your recipe.

Filling Jars

As always, it’s super important to follow the directions for headspace. Too much or too little will affect the seal, or result in liquid loss.

You will fill the jar, leave the correct amount of headspace, wipe the rim clean, then screw on the lid with the band. You don’t have to screw the lid on super tight, just make sure it’s on there pretty good. I used to argue with my husband over “finger-tip tight” but we concluded just gently twisting is good enough. Don’t get too distressed about how tight the jar lids are.

With your canning tongs, gently place the jar back into it’s place in the canner. Hold the jar upright the whole time, don’t let it splash around, or junk might get into the lid.

Repeat this process with all your hot jars.

Pressure’s On

Once all the jars are filled (if you don’t have enough food for all the jars in the canner, leave the empty jars in the canner to hold their spot…or the boiling water will push them around and they could risk getting broke) it’s time to turn up the heat.

You should of left a little heat on this whole time you were filling jars.

Now, you will put on the lid.

Mine has arrows to show you where to line up, and then twist to make sure the lid is sealed. There should be no question about whether the lid is shut properly…it should be totally closed, no gaps, no wiggle room.

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Turn on your stove eye to high.

You will notice that the pressure canner makes hissing, steaming sounds. This is normal, do not panic.

After a few minutes, the release valve will pop up, and steam will start escaping in a straight cloud of steam from the top of the little blow hole.

When the steam starts escaping, time it for 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes, place the appropriate weight onto the steam hole.

This plugs up the steam, then pressure will start building in the canner.

When the weight starts rocking back and forth, the proper pressure is reached, and now you can set your timer for processing.

If at any time the weight stops rocking, that means you turned the heat down too much, and you’ll technically need to start time over. I have never had this problem. Just keep the heat up to keep the pressure up.

Pressure Release

When your timer goes off, turn off the heat on your stove eye.

The weight (or dial) will slowly release the pressure. Just leave it alone, and wait until the dial reaches zero, or the pressure valve-the release vent on the canner- pops down.

Now you can slowly twist off the lid to the canner. But still be careful, because steam is still escaping. Don’t drop hot water all over yourself. Just carefully remove the lid and set it aside.

The jars are still going to be boiling hot. So carefully lift the jars out of the canner with the tongs.

Place the jars on a towel on the counter.

Leave them sitting until they cool, and you will hear the sound of the seal popping after a few minutes.

See? Nothing to It!

Once you have used your pressure canner a few times, you will become more comfortable with it, and wonder why you hadn’t done this before. It’s not necessarily easy…but it sure isn’t hard. It just takes being careful and knowing what you’re doing.

Not bad!

Now you can safely preserve pretty jars of green beans, bone broth, soups, and meat and more!

I’m going to say it once more…always follow a trusted recipe. Make sure you have the proper pressure and time always! (High altitude must be adjusted as well…but it should always mention that in your recipe from a canning book.)

My favorite guide for pressure canning all these years has been Preserving Everything by Leda Meredith. I used her methods when I started out, and they have never failed me.

Best of luck on your canning journey!

For more canning recipes, see my Canning section!