Pressure Cooker vs. Pressure Canner

How can I be sure I have a pressure canner not just a pressure cooker?

Older model pressure canners (made before 1970) were heavy-walled kettles with clamp-on or turn-on lids fitted with a dial-type gauges. A vent port, in the form of a petcock or counterweight, and a safety fuse were also present.

Modern pressure canners are lightweight, thin-walled kettles and most have turn-on lids. They usually have a perforated metal rack or basket with handles, rubber gasket, a dial or weighted gauge, an automatic vent/cover lock, a vent port (steam vent) to be closed with a counterweight or weighted gauge, and a safety fuse.

Note: When purchasing a used pressure canner, make certain all parts are accounted for and in good condition. It is nearly impossible to find replacement parts for older models


Pressure canners are not the same thing as pressure
cookers, and it is important to understand the difference.

Pressure cookers or pressure saucepans are used to rapidly cook
meats, vegetables and other foods for a family meal. But they may
not maintain adequate pressure, and they heat and cool too quickly to
use them to safely pressure can foods.

Pressure canners have either dial or weighted gauges. Pressure canners are
necessary to safely can foods such as meats and vegetables that are low in acid.
Pressure canners and pressure saucepans come in a wide variety of sizes.

Pressure canners may hold up to 22 Quarts of canned food, and are able to process food at
pressures up to 25 pounds. Some popular brands of pressure canners are Mirro,
Presto, and All American.

Pressure cookers usually hold no more than 4 to 6 Quarts, and they may, or may not, have a way to regulate the pressure. Some pressure cookers come equipped with a weight to cook at 5, 10 or 15 pounds of pressure, while others have no way to regulate pressure settings, or simply have settings of ‘low’, ‘medium’ and ‘high’. Pressure cookers do not come with pressure gauges, and they cannot be safely used to can foods.