water bath canners, to preserve high acid preserves (pH equal to 4.6, or less) via steam instead of boiling in water. This steam is not under pressure (like pressure canning) so steam canning cannot be used for low acid preserves. Water bath recipes for naturally acidic (or adequately acidified food), listed on our website with water bath canning instructions, can also be processed in a steam canner, if the processing time is under 45 minutes for your altitude (as per the recipe processing chart). If processing time is above 45 minutes, process your preserve in a water bath canner instead, as steam canners can only process preserves when water is present to create steam (they may have little, or no steam left for processing accurately after 45 minutes or so, and cannot be “topped up” without impacting on processing).
The steam must be kept at the temperature of boiling water at the beginning
of timing/processing (and during processing too, without a reduction in
temperature) and food/jars hot before going into the steam canner helps to keep
a high temperature so food is processed accurately. Steam canners use much less
water than water bath canners, requiring approximately 6 cups of water per
batch.
HOW TO USE
A STEAM CANNER:
1. Pre-heat
jars. You can use jars up to 1 litre (1 quart) in size, if they fit into the
steam canner (with lid fitting on the canner securely).
2.
Place rack into the steam canner and add water, until water is on top of
the rack a little bit.
3. Pre-heat water in steam canner.
4. Fill
hot jars with pre-prepared preserve (high acid, pH ≤ 4.6) – food is packed hot or
raw, liquid is hot.
5. Add
hot jars to steam canner. Place lid on top of canner to secure.
6. Vent
air out of the steam canner as it comes up to temperature.
7. Once
steam canner has a steady flow of steam, and the dial reads 100°C (212°F), set
timer for processing - time as per your altitude, must be 45 minutes or less
for steam canning. Adjust heat to regulate steam as required (too much steam = risk
of running out of water during processing). Steam must always be present, to
ensure the correct temperature for processing is occurring.
8. Remove
steam canner from heat once processing is complete. Leave jars in steam canner
for 5 minutes.
9. Remove
steam canner lid.
10. Remove
jars from steam canner and place onto a heatproof surface to cool down for 12-24 hours before labelling and storing in a cool, dark
and dry place i.e. pantry.
Amazon AU Link: https://amzn.to/3lN4JJ4
Author: Megan Radaich
Image Credit: Google Image
Publication: www.foodpreserving.org