How To Can Food Without A Pressure Cooker: Yes or No?

Want to know how to can food without a pressure cooker? Or whether or not it's even possible? Stick around and I'll share some time-tested anecdotes that will give you the answer.

If you're looking to follow some simple step-by-step instructions how to can food without a pressure cooker, this article is for you.

Before you get started, you should know that canning food without a pressure cooker in the ways described are not approved by the USDA. Please treat this information as entertainment only and certainly not as advice.

Having said that, the methods described herein have purportedly been used for centuries by the Amish and other agrarian cultures throughout time and I'll try to reference them appropriately where I can.

With this in mind, you should read with care and make absolutely sure that you understand what you are reading and you always follow established, time-tested recipes to the letter.

And, as always, remember the golden rule of food preservation: if it looks off, smells off and tastes off; it's off.

Your ancestors knew how to can food without a pressure cooker

It's always wise to be cautious when it comes to preserving food but likewise, it's also important to remember that your ancestors knew how to store and preserve food for the long term without electricity and without a pressure cooker; which means that if they could do it, so can you.

You can't really use pressure cookers for canning because generally, they are too small to do it safely.

The USDA recommended pressure processes for low-acid foods is to use a canner that holds at least four (4) quart-size jars standing upright on the rack, with the lid in place.

Most pressure cookers are not large enough to hold this. As a consequence, this makes them generally unsuitable for preserving low-acid foods.

The terms however are often used interchangeably when talking about canning and preserving food so be mindful – especially if you don't own either yet and are thinking of which pressure cooker is the best for preserving food at home.

It works by raising the internal pressure inside the canner above the external atmospheric pressure by using steam, water, or both. This increased pressure helps raise temperatures inside the canner high enough to kill all microbes that may be in your food.

With a pressure canner, you can also preserve high-acid foods like fruits, jams, and pickles, too.

How to Can Food Without a Pressure Cooker (safely)

Of course, your ancestors never had access to fancy pressure cookers, so it won't surprise you to learn that you can preserve food without a pressure cooker by using the simple water bath canning method.

With the water bath canning method, you’ll still need to follow the rules to the letter for time and temperatures depending on what you're preserving.

Oftentimes these lessons, like family recipes, are handed down through generations: so discount them at your peril!

Water Bath Canning Method

I'll describe the water bath canning method here as told 2nd hand via people who claim they have direct experience of Amish methods. The Amish, as you know, have been canning food (everything!) for centuries, and should therefore be considered an authority on the topic.

The method is really simple and involves:

• Adding your food to be preserved to a mason jar and then covering them with a brine
• Placing the jars into a pan of water
• Bringing the pan to a boil to kill off any bacteria inside the jars whilst also
• Creating a vacuum inside the jar and ‘sealing' it

How To Can Food Without A Pressure Cooker Using The Water Bath Canning Method:

1. Wash and prepare your food (wash then cut up to suitable size).
2. Create a water solution (brine) with 1 teaspoon of salt per quart and 1 tablespoon of vinegar per quart of water.
3. Add your food into the jars, filling to the jar neck.
4. Pour over your brine, filling the jar to the neck.
5. Run a knife or spatula around the edges of the jar to let any trapped air escape.
6. Place the jar sealing lid with the rubber ring on the jar.
7. Screw the ring top to touch tightness (not overly tightened).
8. Place your jars into your pan and bring the water to a boil.
9. Leave on a rolling boil for as long as your recipe requires.

Different recipes will require different lengths of time to boil.

How Long Should You Boil Your Jars When Water Bath Canning?

Fruit Boiling Water Bath Time Table in MINUTES

Fruit	Pints & Half Pints	Quarts	Half Gallon
Apples	25	30	40
Applesauce	20	25	35
Apricots	25	30	40
Strawberries	15	15	25
Cherries	20	25	35
Cranberries	15	15	25
Currants	20	20	30
Dried Fruits	15	15	25
Figs	90	90	100
Fruit Juice	15	15	25
Grapefruit	20	20	30
Grapes	20	20	30
Nectarines	20	20	30
Peaches	25	30	40
Pears	25	30	40
Pineapple	30	30	40
Plums	25	30	40
Rhubarb	20	20	30
Tomato Juice	40	45	55
Tomato Sauce	40	45	55
Salsa	20	25	35

Vegetable Boiling Water Bath Time Table in MINUTES

Vegetable	Pints	Quarts
Asparagus	30	40
Green Beans	20	25
Lima Beans	40	50
Beets	30	40
Broccoli	25	40
Brussel Sprouts	45	55
Cabbage	45	55
Carrots	25	30
Cauliflower	25	40
CreamCorn	85	N/A
Corn	55	85
Eggplant	30	40
Greens	70	90
Hominy	60	70
Mushrooms	45	N/A
Okra	25	40
Onions	40	40
Peas	40	40
Bell Pepper	35	35
Pimento & Peppers	35	N/A
Potatoes	40	40
Pumpkin	55	90
Rutabagas	35	35
Soybeans	80	80
Summer Squash	55	90
Winter Squash	55	90
Sweet Potatoes	65	90
Turnips	20	25
Pinto Beans	75	90

You can check whether or not you achieved a vacuum seal by pressing the lid of the preserving jar. If it ‘pops', you haven't got a perfect seal and you'll need to keep your jar in the refrigerator and eat within two weeks or try to water bathe it again in your next batch.

As always, if you see any mould, discoloration, smell a foul smell, or notice the lid bulging, throw away the food.

What other methods of food preservation are there?

Canning isn’t the only way to preserve more of your harvest. You can also dry fruits and vegetables, make jams and sauces, or pickle your produce.

Fore more in depth information about alternative methods of food preservation, visit our dedicated guide.

One more thing, before you go…

If you can't afford a pressure canner, (or if you just prefer low tech methods like I do) you can still preserve food long-term by using the ancient water bath canning method.

Although many current institutions (like the USDA) will tell you that certain foods need to be pressure canned, the great authority of our ancient ancestors and, more recently, the Amish, would suggest otherwise.

Everything can be water bath canned; you just need to know the correct recipe and cooking times.

That's not advice, by the way, it's just another rabbit hole requiring your attention and discretion to discern truth from illusion.

If you have a canning recipe you'd like to share or an ancient secret you're willing to offer that can help your fellow canners, homesteaders and self sufficiency seekers learn how to can food without a pressure cooker safely, please leave a comment in the comments section below.