Pressure canner gauge

I took the gauge from my older All American Canner to be tested. It read 7, 12.5 and 18. I had been canning with it (chicken, cubed beef both raw pack and ground beef, cooked). I canned somewhere around 10 to 12.5 pressure because the canner seemed ‘happier’ there. But now I’m concerned. I canned A LOT of food! Do I have to throw it all out since I’m not positive I maintained 12.5 as they suggested? If not, what do I look for or what do I do when I use the food? I bought new gauges there that tested spot-on. But only the Presto Gauges did, The All American gauges were all off, some worse than the one I took off my canner. She said it’s in the shipping, All American ships them all in a big box and Presto Packages each gauge in its own box and Styrofoam and she finds that they are always off. Wish I had taken my gauge from the new canner I bought this year, so I bought a new presto gauge for it too, which tested spot-on. Anyway, did I spend weeks canning for nothing and wasting money on all that meat?

Deb Peters
Olmsted Falls, Ohio

I’m a bit confused. Did you take the weight or gauge, as the gauge has indicator markings from zero to twenty pounds where the weight only has the 5, 10, and 15 pound settings. Canning at 10 pounds pressure is the recommended pressure for canning unless you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet. Then you must increase your pressure a bit to suit your altitude as recommended in your canning book. My All American gauge is always right on and it’s 11 years old. Where did you get the gauge tested? You can buy new gauges right at your local hardware that stocks canning supplies and those are shipped in individual boxes if you must replace a damaged one. I’ve only had to do this once as I stored my lid upside down and water got in it and ruined the gauge. You don’t have to throw away your food as you canned it at 10-12.5 pounds as your altitude is 774 which is under 1,000 feet so your recommended pressure is 10 pounds pressure.

As always check your seals, the appearance of the canned food, its smell on opening, then bring to boiling temperature for 10 minutes before eating. — Jackie

Peeling winter squash

We hope we have several weeks left for winter squash to continue to grow but are planning to save some and to cube and can some as well. Do you have any tips on peeling and cutting up the squash? My hands always get slimy, making it potentially dangerous to be working with a large, sharp knife cutting through the tough squash.

DK Phillips
Columbus, Ohio

What I do is cut into the squash with the point of a large, sturdy knife then rock it back and forth, forcing it down as I rock it, cutting the squash in two at its “waist.” I then lay aside my knife and scoop out the insides and seeds, saving the seeds on a cookie sheet if I’m going to save seeds, then discard the “guts.” I scrape out the inside of the squash with a large spoon to remove any strings. Then I wash my hands and dry them. I take up my knife again and cut each half in two crosswise, leaving me four pieces. I set each piece down on a cutting board and cut 1-inch rings from the whole piece. Then I take a smaller knife and peel each ring. From then on it’s easy to cut 1-inch pieces from each ring. Done deal! — Jackie

10 COMMENTS

  1. Love your blog! Here is a simple way to cut winter squash. Cook it slightly, either in the oven for 15-20 minutes or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. It will then be soft enough to peel with a vegetable peeler, cuts easily into chunks, and seeds can be scooped out with a spoon.

  2. Thanks, Jackie. I feel much better. I waited to do any more canning, that way I know to be extra vigilant when using all meats and soups from August’s canning. I will restart now that it’s September. It was the not the weighted gauge, it was the dial pressure gauge that was off. I have two new and tested dial gauges that are spot on now. I had them checked at Lehman’s Hardware. They have someone that is certified in testing come from I believe the county, if not it might be the state, twice a year and everyone gets their pressure gauges checked for free. I did not know you need to have the weighted gauge checked. Will look into that. I figured the weighted gauge would not change. Thanks again, Jackie. Just got my first magazine this week. Excited to see what it holds.

  4. Marlene,

    It sounds like you just didn’t get your fat hot enough and got mostly liquid, not melted fat. I either grind or chop my fat into 1″ pieces and put it into a turkey roaster in the oven at 250 then let it “bake” until the fat is mostly melted and clear. Then I dip out the leftover meat/fat and dip the melted fat out (the pan is OUT of the oven then!!!) and strain it through a clean cloth. I’ve never had it turn out like yours did.
    The leaf fat isn’t the problem; all pork fat makes lard.
    The only time I’ve had tan lard was when I took two days to entirely melt all the fat down and it kind of cooked too much. It did get hard though.

  6. would an electric knife work on the squash? also I tried rendering my lard, put it in oven, then on top of stove—put it in jars after straining, it never hardened or turned white, it is icky looking and runny, also has separated and is tan looking. is it any good, or should I toss it?
    it did seal though. someone told me that the leaf fat wasn’t there that’s why it didn’t turn out. ????

  7. would an electric knife work on the squash? also I tried rendering my lard, put it in oven, then on top of stove—put it in jars after straining, it never hardened or turned white, it is icky looking and runny, also has separated and is tan looking. is it any good, or should I toss it?

  8. I was just going to share that I use a meat hand saw to cut larger squash into workable pieces. I don’t have the strength to use large knives. Give it a try. Very easy and efficient.

  9. Sweet corn slices off the cob so well if you use a bundt pan, and stick the small end in the opening–and proceed to cut the Kernals off,they fall right into the cake pan, and are easy to dump into a larger bowl. A Angel food pans works quite well too–but the liquid drizzles out the bottom somewhat.

  10. I found an easier way to cut any squash that is round by mistake. I put it in the sink and center it on the drain hole. That holds it fairly stable and then I use a heavy knife to cut it crosswise then continue on as you mentioned. It works for me better and is more safe I think then cutting it on the cutting board.

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