Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Well, I managed to break the handle on my pressure canner the other day. The pressure canner is still functional (and safe) but next time I exert some significant elbow grease to unlock/lock the lid Im probably gonna tear the handle off. So…time for a new pressure canner it seems.

Unfortunately, the one I would like to get is about twice the cost of the one I just broke. However, it really is a case of getting what you pay for. The one I want doesn’t use a gasketed lid so theres no issue of storing a spare or checking for decay/damage. Also it’s a bit bigger and more heavily made. Oh…and the handles aren’t as fragile.

Why a pressure canner? The obvious reason is to allow me to can things for later (perhaps much later) consumption. Oh sure, it can also double as an autoclave for sterilizing things or as a vessel for distilling water but its main purpose for me is canning. How else would you preserve something you grew or killed without a freezer?

If you haven’t explored the notion of home canning, I recommend you at least pick up a book or two on the subject. The guys who crank out those ‘For Dummies’ books have one on canning and food preserving, and it’s a pretty decent book.

In addition to a pressure canner (which is the most expensive part of the whole proposition) you’ll need jars, lids, bands, tongs and a few small kitchen tools you probably already have. Assuming you don’t break or damage the jars and bands (which are reusable) the only real consumable are the lids which are a strict one-time use item. However, you can buy ‘em in bulk at a lot of internet sites and that drops their cost down considerably.

In terms of ease of use, well, these things have been used by rural grandmothers since FDR was introducing state sponsored wealth redistribution. How hard can it be? There are several good books on the subject and although it may appear intimidating it’s actually very simple…just tedious in some ways. Its very much like reloading…a lot of prep work, a set routine that needs to be followed, and then a finished product that can hurt you very badly if you mess up.

Obviously the main thing is to not do a poor job and wind up killing someone with a heaping helping of botulism at dinner. While that is certainly a possibility if you screw up, those sorts of mistakes are generally easily spotted. All the texts tell you what to look for to ensure that your jar of food has sealed properly and isn’t contaminated with some sort of biological nasty. I was extremely concerned about screwing things up but after the first couple batches I know what to look for and if I have anything less than %100 confidence in a particular jar it gets dumped.

What have I been canning lately? I picked up a recipe for a soup that the wife likes and seems to eat daily. (Getting the recipe is a story for another day and Im not permitted to share the recipe so don’t ask.) So..when I make up a gallon or two of the stuff half gets put away in the fridge for immediate use and the other half gets canned and put back on the shelf for later use. If she gets off work and is hungry and can’t wait for something to thaw, and doesn’t feel like cooking, she can grab a jar of the soup off the shelf, dump it into a bowl, nuke it and have dinner. No muss, no fuss.

The market for canning supplies is, as you may imagine, seasonal. Obviously the demand will be high during summer/fall when gardens are being harvested and all those cukes, tomatoes, beans and pie fillings are being put up. After that its pretty much a slump until next spring. (Although the market never really goes flat…theres always someone putting up canned venison or Christmas preserves or somesuch.) End of season sales sometimes occur giving the opportunity to stock up on lids or jars…keep an eye open.

As I was editing this (yeah, I do edit these things and I still manage to have the frequent grammatical train wreck…) a customer came in and mentioned that the local Goodwill store had canning jars. Hmmmm. I headed over there and, sure enough, they were unpacking several boxes of them. Some looked new, some looked used and only one or two seemed to have any indicators discommending usage (obviously you don’t want a cracked or chipped jar…esp. do not want chips on the mouth of the jar where the sealing takes place.) All looked like they could use a trip (or two) through the dishwasher (if the dead bugs in some of the jars were any indication.) Prices were $0.15 for the small and $0.29 for the large. So…I’m gonna have to head back there later when I have the truck and pick up a few dozen. On the way back I checked out the other ‘thrift’ store a few doors down from me. Large jars were a couple bucks each…so, as you can see, theres something of a bargain going on over there at the Goodwill.

And, I have been recently informed that for my birthday (which is today, actually) someone will be getting me the pressure canner I wanted as a gift. Serendipitous, that.