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I'd consider a pressure cooker and home canning, if I were you. Actually, I'm considering it for myself. If you get a stovetop pressure cooker, it takes up no more space than a large saucepan. Home canning is easy, and your storage then only costs you for the space, not electricity, and no worries about the food going "off" if you use it within a year or so.
At the moment, I only have jelly jars, but need to pick up some larger canning jars for my other canning projects - beans among them.
I can just about everything. It IS an initial investment if you want to can meats, beans, etc. You can get a decent canner for about $125, the jars run about $13 a case. But it's a one & done investment.
I bought a couple of my canners, my pride and joy an All American canner, and a second Presto from shopgoodwill. If you buy used, you may half to replace seals or buy a weight.
I also recan #10 cans of food, some food does better than others.
I posted this a while back in another thread but, after my wife's gastric sleeve surgery, she's only supposed to eat 1/4 cup protein and 1/4 cup vegetables. Her daughter canned 3 or 4 dozen meals for her in 6 oz. jars. She had meatloaf, chicken noodle soup, hamburger soup, roast and potatoes, and quite a few other selections. Made it easier on me fixing her meals.
We would let her know when we were out and she'd come to pick up the jars and drop off another box full.
I can just about everything. It IS an initial investment if you want to can meats, beans, etc. You can get a decent canner for about $125, the jars run about $13 a case. But it's a one & done investment.
I bought a couple of my canners, my pride and joy an All American canner, and a second Presto from shopgoodwill. If you buy used, you may half to replace seals or buy a weight.
I also recan #10 cans of food, some food does better than others.
Was looking the other day and big time inflation on stove top pressure canners/cookers. The All-American are nice but whew, new prices are kinda insane. Be aware some of older All American and some National and others that didnt need seal, are very old. They may have a manual steam bleed setup rather than a weight. This means you depend entirely on gauge and your ability to turn down heat to keep canner at pressure equilibrium. The steam bleed valve is for fine tuning. This works, assuming gauge is still accurate. But you can also usually replace the steam bleed with a stem and weight from a later Presto or All American. Its relatively minor cost should you wish to do so. Most all these, the hole for the stem or steam bleed valve was 1/8 NPT thread (standard pipe thread). A few older ones had 1/4 NPT thread. You can use a brass or stainless threaded bushing to reduce size if it has 1/4 NPT. Standard fitting any hardware store. this is rare though, most had 1/8 NPT. New gauges are also available.
For canner there were the older #7 National/Presto CAST aluminum canner also sold under some other names. They came in either 16qt or 21qt models. Extremely popular back in the day. Some even had wood handles. As long as bottom is flat and not warped, they usually work and gasket still available for them. They used old style flat gasket, helps to lube it with bit non-perfumed petroleum jelly. The gasket fits in little slot around rim of the lid, sometimes there will be bits of old petrified gasket in the slot that has to be removed with knife or whatever. Really robust design. Just saying. Yea not as nice as the gasketless kind but still very serviceable. Also canner usually had a wire basket to hold the jars. Its not absolutely necessary though jars cant set directly on bottom of canner, but basket is very nice. Keeps jars from bumping each other.
If you are thinking of buying a used pressure cooker/canner, cant emphasize enough CHECK FOR GASKET AVAILABILITY if it uses a gasket, BEFORE BUYING. Kinda worthless if you cant buy or sometimes in case of older flat gasket make one if you can find the appropriate material in appropriate thickness and can use scissors. Food grade silicone tends to work well, whatever material needs to stand up to heat and steam and be food grade. Better to buy a factory replacement gasket if possible.
Also if you have no common sense, used pressure cooker not for you, probably a new one isnt either. You need to just eat out and let somebody else prepare your food.
Was looking the other day and big time inflation on stove top pressure canners/cookers. The All-American are nice but whew, new prices are kinda insane. Be aware some of older All American and some National and others that didnt need seal, are very old. They may have a manual steam bleed setup rather than a weight. This means you depend entirely on gauge and your ability to turn down heat to keep canner at pressure equilibrium. The steam bleed valve is for fine tuning. This works, assuming gauge is still accurate. But you can also usually replace the steam bleed with a stem and weight from a later Presto or All American. Its relatively minor cost should you wish to do so. Most all these, the hole for the stem or steam bleed valve was 1/8 NPT thread (standard pipe thread). A few older ones had 1/4 NPT thread. You can use a brass or stainless threaded bushing to reduce size if it has 1/4 NPT. Standard fitting any hardware store. this is rare though, most had 1/8 NPT. New gauges are also available.
For canner there were the older #7 National/Presto CAST aluminum canner also sold under some other names. They came in either 16qt or 21qt models. Extremely popular back in the day. Some even had wood handles. As long as bottom is flat and not warped, they usually work and gasket still available for them. They used old style flat gasket, helps to lube it with bit non-perfumed petroleum jelly. The gasket fits in little slot around rim of the lid, sometimes there will be bits of old petrified gasket in the slot that has to be removed with knife or whatever. Really robust design. Just saying. Yea not as nice as the gasketless kind but still very serviceable. Also canner usually had a wire basket to hold the jars. Its not absolutely necessary though jars cant set directly on bottom of canner, but basket is very nice. Keeps jars from bumping each other.
If you are thinking of buying a used pressure cooker/canner, cant emphasize enough CHECK FOR GASKET AVAILABILITY if it uses a gasket, BEFORE BUYING. Kinda worthless if you cant buy or sometimes in case of older flat gasket make one if you can find the appropriate material in appropriate thickness and can use scissors. Food grade silicone tends to work well, whatever material needs to stand up to heat and steam and be food grade. Better to buy a factory replacement gasket if possible.
Also if you have no common sense, used pressure cooker not for you, probably a new one isnt either. You need to just eat out and let somebody else prepare your food.
Gaskets (any and all) can be made at a very reasonable price.
Gaskets (any and all) can be made at a very reasonable price.
Flat gaskets can be homemade, though sometimes materials necessary arent that cheap. This isnt like salvaging a chunk of old inner tube.
You arent going to make the C-type gaskets/seals or other more exotic shapes. And some of those can be VERY expensive OEM factory made. And lot off brand cookers out there in recent years, so they are on market few years then disappear. And they use C-type or other oddball stuff. There are some universal C-type from China sold by diameter, but they tend to be kinda on wimpy side, so may or may not work for your pressure cooker. On positive, they do tend to be very cheap to buy. So if you think they might work, might be worth a gamble. Oh and be sure you read carefully whether diameter is outside diameter or inside diameter. they are sold in centimeters or millimeters, so if you measure in inches, have to convert.
Flat gaskets can be homemade, though sometimes materials necessary arent that cheap. This isnt like salvaging a chunk of old inner tube.
You arent going to make the C-type gaskets/seals or other more exotic shapes. And some of those can be VERY expensive OEM factory made. And lot off brand cookers out there in recent years, so they are on market few years then disappear. And they use C-type or other oddball stuff. There are some universal C-type from China sold by diameter, but they tend to be kinda on wimpy side, so may or may not work for your pressure cooker. On positive, they do tend to be very cheap to buy. So if you think they might work, might be worth a gamble. Oh and be sure you read carefully whether diameter is outside diameter or inside diameter. they are sold in centimeters or millimeters, so if you measure in inches, have to convert.
Stay with the pressure cooker, the subject at hand. Easy to make and inexpensive.
Stay with the pressure cooker, the subject at hand. Easy to make and inexpensive.
Uh, the OLD pressure cookers upto 1960s were either flat gasket or no gasket.
Nearly all pressure cookers 1970s and up use a C-shape gasket or of course the All-American still no gasket. If you care to SHOW how easy you think it is to make a C-shape gasket at home, always willing to learn.
Uh, the OLD pressure cookers upto 1960s were either flat gasket or no gasket.
Nearly all pressure cookers 1970s and up use a C-shape gasket or of course the All-American still no gasket. If you care to SHOW how easy you think it is to make a C-shape gasket at home, always willing to learn.
Educate yourself and go watch videos.
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