Canning newbie, help me buy my equipment

[Soliloquy]

I have a glass top electric cooktop. :sigh (I miss my gas stove from 3 houses ago.)

I plan to can lots of thimble berry jam this year. Next year I hope to do tomatoes, too.

I was looking at the canners at the store and they come in a couple of sizes. Does the canner have to fit the element on my cooktop? I have the most annoying cooktop. It has 5 elements but only one of them is large and it isn't as large as an average stove. :-/

Anything else I need?

Which kind of pectin do you buy for jam and why?

[ReedleBeetle]

I don't know anything about the glass cook tops. :no With gas, I know the size doesn't have to match. With what you are canning, you can water bath, so you can buy a MUCH cheaper canner.

Tomatoes are easier to can than jam. :shifty Neither are "hard" though.

I have used gelatin instead of pectin when making jam and I have used the Ball pectin. Just because it was there, easy to find. :shifty

I would just go ahead and get the ball canning kit that has the jar tongs, the air thingy, the magnetic lid whatchmadoodaddy, and the jar funnel. All helpful. :yes

Jars, lids, rings and you are good to go!

[Punkie]

If the recipe needs pectin, we always use the Pomona's Pectin (http://www.vitacost.com/pomonas-universal-pectin), and it works great.

I second the suggestion for the basic Ball Canning Kit (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ball-21-Quart-Fresh-Preserving-Canner-with-4-Piece-Canning-Kit/14551493). It has everything you need to get started, and is so easy. :heart

[RiverRock]

I've only used a pressure canner for tomatoes. I know that books recommend canning jams and jellies, but I just pour the hot mixture into sterilized and hot jars. If you are starting with jam, you might not need a canner. I prefer a long-boil method that doesn't use pectin or as much sugar. Underripe fruit naturally has pectin in it, so adding a bit to your ripe fruit usually works well. Using pectin is much quicker (almost too quick for me). Bernardin has a couple of good recipe books with more details about how to use pectin or long-boil methods to make jam.

[Maedchen]

I have a glass top stove also. From all that I have read, you can not can on the glass top. It will cause it to crack because it gets too hot.

Since I can't afford a new stove, I go to my daughter's house to run the canner. (I am really, really tempted to try and get a small one I can use in my basement to can or take out on the patio and can there. (I have seen the one on pintrest that is gas topped and runs off of a propane heater.

Also, if you have a fairly large family or lots of things to can, go ahead and purchase the larger canner that can hold 2 stacks of jars. It will cut down on how many runs you have to do on the stove.

[Punkie]

Here's a helpful page I just found: http://www.pickyourown.org/cannings4glasstop.htm I like this website for other canning info. :)

[mellifera]

I've only been brave enough to can jelly on my glass-top stove. If I were going to get into canning things that require more vigorous boiling, I would get a stand-alone electric burner.

[houseforjoy]

i gave up on canning and just switched to freezing:shifty

freezer jams are super easy (and you can do raw jam:rockon) and for tomatoes i just take the stem and core out and throw them seeds, skin, and all into our nutri bullet thing and puree them whole and uncooked. then i can pull a bag out and use it for sauce, chilli, spag, soup whatever. i will freeze a few bags cut up and seeds removed for things like chili where you want chuncks, but mostly i just use purred.

the only thing you can't really freeze is salsa. at least i haven't found a good way to do it yet.

[Sparrow]

I bought a cheap propane burner because we have a glass top. I got it for less than $50. It can then come in handy for camping too!

My main concern is that my stove shuts itself off if it gets too hot. Honestly I'm more concerned about the temperature fluctuations and not maintaining a safe temperature than breaking my stove.

I think some people have put a grill thing under their canner. DH wasn't keen on doing that.

[Soliloquy]

The feed store sell stand-alone electric coil burners and they're not expensive, I think they're only $15. I have a friend who cans on her glass top, even with her pressure canner. It makes me nervous, though. We do NOT have the funds to replace this cooktop, even though I'd be thrilled to replace it.

:ot It is even more annoying because it is a super expensive Electrolux Icon. It is the worst thing I have ever cooked on, it burns things so easily. I've cooked on cheap apartment stoves, gas stoves, over a campfire . . . this thing is the worst.

[Sparrow]

We bought a plae once with a $2000 stove in it. My kenmore $800 one we put I. This house is much better

[Soliloquy]

So, I did some research. Electrolux cooktops are safe for canning and will get hot enough IF you use a flat-bottom canner (http://www.amazon.com/Collection-Stainless-Steel-21-Quart-Waterbath-Canner/dp/B001XW61B6). They cost $80 at Amazon and don't come with all the gizmos.

Or, I could use my gas grill or buy a stand-alone electric element. :think

The gas grill would keep the heat out of the house but be less convenient.

[Maedchen]

That is just a water bath container good for fruits and jellies.

Did it say that you can use a pressure canner for canning on the Electrolux. They get extremely hot and you have to run them for an hour or more when canning.

[Soliloquy]

For now, I only plan to do jams and tomatoes. We don't like anything else canned. Eventually, I might want to can soup for preparedness but definitely not in the next two years. I have tons of freezer space so I freeze veggies and soups.


My biggest thing right now is the size of the element. I need to go measure it and check against that SS water bath canner.

[kklibrarian]

I have never canned on a glass cook-top, so I can provide no advice in that respect. I do jellies, preserves, pickles, and tomatoes all in a water bath canner. I have the Ball tools that come with the "beginner kit" and my grandmother's copy of the Ball Blue Book. I recommend both. I have other canning and preserve books, and I do :heart them, but I still go back to the Ball Blue Book again and again.

[Soliloquy]

I'm going to do it this week! My largest element is too small for the SS canner so I'm getting a stand-alone electric coil and the beginner canning set. I have marionberries, cane sugar, pectin, and jars!

I also have a Ball preserving book. :tu

[Amber]

I can on my glass top range :shifty I mostly do applesauce. I break all the "rules" for using a glass top range though. My canning pot doesn't have a flat bottom, and is 1.5-2 inches bigger than my biggest burner :bag I have been doing it on this stove for 5 years, and at our previous house (same model stove) for at least 2 years.

But...I also wouldn't be devastated if I broke my stove :shifty It is a very low in model and while it works perfectly fine, it doesn't have some of the features that would make my life easier. The people who lived here before us also scratched up the top of it :doh

When I get a new stove I will probably use my big propane camping stove to do my canning.

[Soliloquy]

I have several friends who can on their glass-top stove. I absolutely HATE my cooktop. Hate it. But we just cannot replace it right now so I don't dare try.

Anyway, I bought that single element stand-alone electric coil for $15. It cannot be used for canning. :doh I had my canner on that thing for over an hour and it never boiled. I finally realized why. Even on "high," it cycles on and off. :rolleyes I was able to return it. Dh looked online and there isn't a single, stand-alone electric coil that is capable of canning. So, FYI, if anyone is looking for one, get propane.

But, I remembered :doh that I have a small electric (coil) stove in my kids' room (we have a MIL suite above our garage and that's where they sleep). So, that's become my canning kitchen. I canned my marionberry jam up there and it turned out! :woohoo