Canning question

[elalexander]

We haven't canned for about six years but will most likely start back this year. My question is that since we canned last we have bought a ceramic top stove. Someone was telling my wife she can't can on a smooth, glass top stove. The owners manual just says use flat bottom cookware, and does not mention canning at all.

We dont want the stove top to break and have a hot water bath fall and scold someone. Has anybody heard of this, and or know what kind of canning supplies I may need. Our old canners do not have a smooth bottom but rather several rings.

 

[greenmule]

Yeah,not sure if its the weight or something else,but we bought a new stove a year or so ago and didn't get one of those cause we can[can't remember the exact reason].

 

[JohnDeere4300]

We haven't canned for about six years but will most likely start back this year. My question is that since we canned last we have bought a ceramic top stove. Someone was telling my wife she can't can on a smooth, glass top stove. The owners manual just says use flat bottom cookware, and does not mention canning at all.

We dont want the stove top to break and have a hot water bath fall and scold someone. Has anybody heard of this, and or know what kind of canning supplies I may need. Our old canners do not have a smooth bottom but rather several rings.

We do a lot of canning but not on that type of stove...i did a search on the Web and there was many links that may help you.

This is what i typed in to search the Web.

"canning on a flat top stove"

 

[studor]

Our recommendation, therefore, is to contact the manufacturer of your smooth cooktop before making your decision to can (or not) on it. They are the recommended source of this information and may also have up-to-date alternatives or suggestions for equipment that you can use. We also caution that you might have to be sure they understand how large your boiling water or pressure canner is, how long it must be heated at high heat, how long the hot canner may stay on the burner until it cools after the process time, and that the canner is made from aluminum (if it is).

August 25, 2006
National Center for Home Food Preservation

This sounded like reasonable advice
regards

 

[Bird]

The manual for our KitchenAid electric ceramic range has specific instructions for "Home Canning" which does say to use only flat bottomed canners, it should not extend more than 1" outside the cooking area, and when canning for long periods, to alternate the use of surface cooking areas.

It also says on coil element models, "installation of a Canning Unit Kit is recommended. If not installed, the life of the coil element will be shortened." I have no idea what that "Canning Unit Kit" consists of.

 

[elalexander]

Thanks for the advice. My wife makes a hugh 24 quart pot of veggie soup to freeze and this sits on the stove most of the day. I'll have to call Frigidaire tomorrow.

It makes you wonder how many people are using these things to can with and what type of failure, if any, people are having.

Bird, what type of canning baths, pressure cookers do you use? Are there any designed for flat top stoves? From what I have seen it seems the heat for long periods are well as weight are the two reasons given for not using these to can on.

 

[Bird]

Eric, all we have anymore is just a small aluminum pressure cooker, and haven't done any canning recently. If we were going to use a bigger one, I'd use our LPG burner outside that I bought for frying fish and making blackened fish.

 

[greenmule]

Probably two reasons not many complants as to canning on these type stoves,one would be,most people who do can don't go for these newbie things,two would be probably only one out of 5,000 homes even can food anymores.

My wife cans probably 2-300 jars a year,greenbeans,beets,pickels,tomatoes and tomato juice,apple sauce,jellys,blackberries,etc,etc.

 

[elalexander]

Thanks Bird. My neighbor is going to do the LP /camping burner type set up to can on his carport. Seems like a lot of hassle to an already busy time of year.................canning season. Greenmule I remember my Mother in law's dinner with all of those canned goods from their garden. I think my two favorites had to be the corn and Sauerkraut. We had a nice size garden when our kids were at home and did some canning and freezing but not 2 or 3 hundred. Those of us lucky enough to have girls that do,did or were raised with canning and growing vegtables and fruits are lucky. Like you said only 1 in several hundred of thousand people can anymore. Sad in a way, especially when there is a news report about something in lettuce, tomatos, peppers or most recently peanuts making people sick. It sure is nice to have strawberry shortcake in December with berries you picked and froze in June.

 

[Bird]

Yep, Eric, before we had to move back to town 6 years ago, from what we raised ourselves, we "canned" blackberry and plum jelly, green beans, new potatoes, blackeyed peas, beets (both pickled and not pickled), and cucumber and okra pickles. We both canned and froze yellow squash and zuccini, and we froze corn, okra, bell peppers, and pecans. Canned corn is good, of course, but we both prefer it either fresh or frozen. And my wife and a neighbor worked together making and canning salsa, but I never had anything to do with that.

Of course at that time, we had a conventional electric range; not a smooth top.

And years ago, the biggest canning job was when we, or my parents, visited Alaska and brought back salmon to can. But we haven't done that since 1990.

 

[TJB63]

Great Post - I'm looking into getting into Canning, I'm moving in about another month, Sadly my New Home has a Glass Top Stove, So I guess I need to come up with other means.

 

[elalexander]

Hi TJB. Welcome to Tractors R US I'll see what I can find out from the stove manufacturer and from Ball and maybe someother canning supply people. If you are getting excited about canning wait a week or so when garden threads with pictures start to pop up.

I bought a 4' tiller for my tractor last year and have a walk behind tiller for our "table" garden. Not really enough to can but it keeps fresh veggies on the table. Anyway, I took the deer fence down Friday evening and used my real tiller to make our garden bigger. It all started when the seed company catalouges started to show up. Now we will have a 18x38 garden so we will be able to put some things up. Biggest problem is the garden don't get full sun all day. Several trees around that "filter" the sunlight. It has been doing good the last couple of years, but full sun would be much better. My better half is wanting a bee hive to help pollunate and make honey. We both eat local honey. It is supposed to be good for allergies etc. Have to wait and see about the bees. Pretty neat idea though.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

My better half is wanting a bee hive to help pollunate and make honey. We both eat local honey. It is supposed to be good for allergies etc. Have to wait and see about the bees. Pretty neat idea though.

My better half wants bees also.

I can give you a link where you can buy everything that you would
need to get started....it is a good place and they send us catalogs too.

We use a pressure and a dry bath canner.

 

[elalexander]

Thanks JohnDeere4300. We would like to know the web site for bee supplies. I think I get catalouges for everything but bees.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Thanks JohnDeere4300. We would like to know the web site for bee supplies. I think I get catalouges for everything but bees.

The place that sends us catalogs on bee supplies is having a problem with their web site....the site is...www.glorybee.com.....I don't know if the site is down or if they went out of business...Sorry about that.

But you can search the web...."bees and supplies"

Look for a place called..."Ruhl Bee Supply"....They have been in business for 111 years....But there is other company's when you do the search also.

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

I'm new here. Started canning again a few years back, had not since leaving home many years ago. I had a new gas range at the time. It has a glass top with elevated grids and you can use a waterbath or pressure cooker on it. However, I use one of the turkey cooker outside on my patio, it works fine. I'm thinking of getting an older stove to use outside just for canning. Hubby is going to put me sinks in the garage where I can wash and prepare veggies and not have all that mess in the house, particularly for tomato juice.

 

[dmccarty]

We have a flat top stove and I would not have any other kind. I'm the one that cooks at home.

We have a heavy AL pressure cooker that hold 7 pints I think. Maybe 4 courts. The thing is heavy. Our stove is a Maytag and the manual is similar to what Bird quoted. Don't put a pot on the stove that went more than an inch outside the "burners". Not had a problem with it at all.

I did see something interesting on TV a few weeks back regarding flat top stoves. My kids like to watch Jon and Kate Plus Eight. Kate was cooking a big pot of veggie soup, took the lid off, and put it down flat on the stove top. There was moisture in the lid which formed a seal on the stove top. As the lid cooled it formed a vacuum and busted the flat stove top!

I never even thought of that happening but it makes sense once you know it can happen.

I never have put down lids like she did, that makes a mess that has to be cleaned up. Sure ain't doing it now mess or no mess.

Later,
Dan

 

[Bird]

I never thought about that happening, either, Dan, but like you, I never put a lid down on the stove top anyway.

 

[Bird]

Dan, after I said I hadn't thought of it, I was just now checking our manual for something else when I found:

"Do not leave a hot lid on the cooktop. As the cooktop cools, air can become trapped between the lid and cooktop, and the ceramic glass could break when the lid is removed."

Of course it does seem to me that instead of saying air could become trapped, it should say a vacuum could occur.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

We bought a new flat top stove when we moved into the new house. Canning is not recommended on the flat top so we also have a canning kitchen down stairs with the old stove. I forget the main reason but I know one was something about the constant heat, if you turn the flat top on high for instance, the "eye" will glow red as it heats up then will fade some and the glow again. The for some reason affects the canning process.

I am not the canner my wife is. She is a school teacher and canning is her hobby during the summer, beans, every kind of jelly, juice , spaghetti sauce, salsa...works the you know what out of me in the garden...been like this ever since she was published in Taste of Home magazine.