All American Pressure Canner/Cooker Review

     Hey there gang! I had finally broke down and got me a pressure canner! Why do you ask? As the months get colder this year I do more inside cooking and baking. Mostly soups and stews. I also make socks which I use for several things. I could buy canned stock from the store, but home made is WAY better! But leftover soups, stews, and stocks end up in my freezer. And if I need them, I have to thaw them. So I looked into canning. Soups, stews, and stocks perfectly preserved in a mason jar, just pop the lid and they are ready to go. No refrigeration needed. But learning about high acid, low acid canning and the risks if botulism. A pressure canner was the safest bet. The model I got is the All American model 921. It's a 21.5 quart pressure canner/cooker. All I can say about this is. This thing is a BEAST!! Check it out!

     Its also probably the more expensive brand to buy as far as pressure canners go. The price tag was also the reason holding me back on making the purchase $199 on Amazon. I originally was going to buy the Presto 23 quart. Which was about half the price of the All American $99 on Amazon. On reading reviews, they both can and function the same. The only difference between the two besides construct, is that the Presto can work on a magnetic induction stove as where the All American can not. Me having a gas range, this was not an issue. What sold me on the All American was its built more heavy duty. Very thick cast aluminum all around. Plus it has a metal on metal seal, no rubber gasket to replace down the line.

     Other things that come with this model of pressure canner/cooker is a big user manual/canning cook book. Covers lots of the do's and don'ts of using this product and canning it self. Plus some recipes. Two canning racks, so if you are using small mason jars, you can double stack the jars. The presto model only comes with one.

     And lastly the thing you will need that for some god knows reason why the presto model sells this separately but the All American includes is a pressure regulator weight. Which can be adjusted for canning or cooking at 5, 10, and 15lbs. pressure.

     What this thing does is it sits on the pressure release, blocking it so the pressure will build to the desired amount. Once the canner has exceeded the desired pressure the weight will start releasing pressure blowing off the excess steam to keep a steady pressure through out the canning or cooking process. Can you can with out this? Yes. But you will be constantly babysitting the canner watching pressure, adjusting heat. Trust me, you want this thing if you are pressure canning. I actually used it for the first time yesterday. Worked well! But thats another post!