Pressure Canning Research Paper

Water Bath Canning Vs. Pressure Canning Food preservation has become very popular with food costs rising over the years. Even though freezing food is easy, convenient and fast, canning has become popular due to the long shelf life that canning affords. When canning, many decisions need to be made prior to starting the process. When I decided to start canning, I had to choose between the water bathing method or pressure canning method. When water bathing, the filled jars are prepared and put into a large canner that resembles a large stockpot. The pot is filled with water, covering the jars at least an inch, and left to boil. Once boiling, a loose lid is place on the pot and the timing begins. After boiling for a set amount of time, the jars are removed from the pot, and placed on the counter to cool. The pressure canner also looks like a large stockpot, but it has a …show more content…
The processing times are dictated by the item that is being canned. In water bathing, the filled jars can be placed in the pot with the water already boiling, but this can be dangerous. Once the processing is finished, the heat is turned off; the jars are immediately removed from the canner and placed on the counter to cool. The next batch of jars can then be put in the canner and the process can start again. When pressure canning, the water can be hot, but the boiling does not begin until the lid is locked on. Once on and pressure is built up, the safety mechanism on the lid prevents it from being removed. Therefore, jars cannot be immediately removed when the processing is done. It can take up to 45 minutes for the pressure to be low enough for the lid to be removed. The hot jars are then placed on the counter to fully cool down. Even though processing may take only 20 minutes with a pressure canner, the wait to start another batch can be over an hour, due to waiting for the lid to