Granite Ware Pressure Canner/Cooker/Steamer, 20-Quart

There are lot of very rudimentary and therefore really scary questions in the "Questions" section for this product. So, I'd like to emphasize in this review that there is a right way to can food and lots of wrong ways that could send whoever consumes your canned goods to the hospital. Please do NOT rely on the questions section for this product to educate yourself on how to properly use the product without killing someone. The US Department of Agriculture has very informative guides on their website with everything you need to know about safely canning food. google "USDA canning guides" I'll also put the link here: [...] I'd give it 5 stars as a pressure CANNER and 3 stars as a pressure COOKER. Overall for the price, and for what I use it for, it earns a solid 5 stars from me. As for this particular model, it is anodized aluminum — this means that: 1. It will NOT work on an induction cooktop; and 2. It also means that the pot is safer to cook in than just a raw aluminum pot. The aluminum is nice for a pot this large because it's easier to lift and handle. A couple of tips: When steam starts coming out of the center vent, you might also notice it coming out of a hole by the handle. This hole houses the lid lock and it prevents the lid from being inadvertently opened under pressure. Occasionally this will not pop up on it's own. If it doesn't try these things: 1. rotate the lid slightly left and right using the handles to give the peg that pops up clear access to pop up. When it locks, you will see it pop up and steam will no longer come out there. 2. If that doesn't work, try putting weight on the center steam vent and let it build up a little pressure in order to pop the lid lock up. You can then also try wiggling the lid a little to help it. Once it pops up, if you are canning, you can take off the center steam vent weight and allow the pressure cooker to vent steam for the required 10 minutes to exhaust all the air out. For the price, this is a very economical canner. And as a pressure CANNER, it's great and does the job. As a pressure COOKER, I would suggest you be very cautious about burning food to the bottom since it has a relatively thin, lightweight bottom. I use mine for cooking up big pots of chicken stock because there's so much liquid, there's just not a concern of burning anything to the bottom. But most other things I pressure cook, I do in a nicer pressure cooker with a thicker bottom disk for more even heat distribution. If you're looking for a pressure cooker only, you might want to look at other options. Also, one more important point that you might not notice from the description or photos: while the pot is about 12 1/2" - 13" the actual base/bottom of the pot that contacts the stove top is only 9" if that makes sense. In other words the bottom 9" center of the pot extends down about a quarter inch and this is flat. Outside of that 9" bottom flat surface, the bottom curves slightly out and up to the edges. I beleive this makes heating the pot more efficient. The average size of a large stove burner is closer to 8" So having a larger burner than that is not necessary.

Update: Im beginning my third year canning with this canner! Still does an amazing job and has held up nicely. Im currently still using all the original parts including the seal! I do oil my seal after every use. Would recommend to anyone looking for a canner! Original post: I love this canner! No issues at all. I would like to say I see some are having issues with a stain around the top. Put a little crisco or oil on it before canning and it cleans up easily. Super easy to use would recommend to anyone wanting to learn to pressure can!

This is a very nicely made anodized aluminum pot / pressure cooker. All the edges are smoothed, the handles are very sturdy (needed for a 20 qt pot), the anodize finish is very well done and it's UL approved. Some of the reviews here were not quite accurate so I was somewhat hesitant about pushing the buy button. As far as I know, this is the only pressure cooker made with anodized aluminum, which seals the raw aluminum from contact with food. I have several stainless steel pressure cookers which are great, but at this size they become too heavy and are very expensive. I stay clear of uncoated aluminum pots for health reasons and ease of cleaning. * The enclosed manual is updated (2015) and is written is good English. It gives basic usage instructions and simple canning rules. There are no recipes. * Perfect for glass cooktops. Why? While the pot is 12 inches wide, the base contacting the surface is only 9 inches which is in range of the large burner on cooktops. The rest of the base is lifted by about 1/4 inch. In addition, after reading quite a few contradictory rules about using large canning pressure cookers on glass cooktops, I've come to agree with the one that says the pot temperature stays below 250 deg. F and is within the designed temperature of cooktops. Frying or stir frying a large diameter pot on a glass cooktop is probably not a good idea. * Cannot use on induction stove: there is no steel in this pot bottom. * How many bottles can it hold? 7 quarts, 8 pints, 24 half-pints (by stacking 2 layers), or 4 half gallon. I tested it with Ball jars, wide mouth, with lids. The half gallon is a tight fit, but the cover will close with some room to spare. * Safety: there are 2 pressure release valves, a pressured lid lock, and the weighted pressure valve. The lid and pot flanges are pretty robust. * The pressure seal is silicone rubber and should last a long time even though the manual 'suggests' replacing it every year. The silicone rubber seals on my other pressure cookers are going on 10 years with no leaks. Of course, I only use them several times a month so your mileage may differ. All in all, a very good buy.

While searching for a pressure canner/cooker I came across this product. After reading the glowing reviews and shopping around for price I decided to make the purchase. This large pressure cooker fits 7 quart jars, 8 pint jars or 24 half-pint jars at a time and is made of anodized aluminum. Aluminum is a non ferrous metal so it will not work on an induction cooktop. I have no issues using it on my gas stove in my apartment and it heats up quickly. The canner comes with a rack to hold jars, a rack for steaming, and a 3 piece rocker pressure valve. The simple weighted pressure valve avoids the ever troublesome pressure gauge (which needs to be calibrated yearly) and means that this canner is actually affordable. The valve allows for the canner to operate at 5, 10, and 15 psi depending on how it is configured. The valve itself will achieve 5 psi and begin rocking back and forth when it reaches pressure. The pressure can be increased by adding one (10 psi) or two (15 psi) of the metal washers that are included. All in all I am very happy with this canner. Has been easy to use and clean and exceeded my expectations. If you found my review helpful, please do me a favor and take a second to click the "Helpful" button below. Thank you!

I have been using the Granite Ware 20qt pressure cooker for two weeks now and have canned beef, meatballs, ground meat and chicken. This canner comes with nice accessories. However, you can only can one layer of jars in this pressure cooker. When using the stainless steel rack you can only fit in 7 pints or quarts. I did purchase a 10" stainless steel rack that fit in perfectly on the bottom of the cooker so I found I could fit in 9 pints jars this way. If I had planned to do a lot of pressure cooking, I probably would have consider getting a pressure cooker that would allow me to cook two layers of jars at one time, however, the cost would have been greater. I am happy with my purchase of this pressure cooker and it does a good job for my needs. The price was very reasonable with the accessories.

Love this canner so much I bought this one for my daughter. Great quality. Easy to use.

I have never canned before, especially with a pressure canner, so I was a little nervous. But I followed the instructions in the included manual, and voila, 8 pints of canned tomatoes! It is extremely well made, a good price on Amazon, and does what it is supposed to do. I also ordered the Presto canning kit and Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, so I now have all I need to preserve just about anything. On the down side, but not enough to downgrade the rating, the manual only tells you how to use the pressure canner and does not include recipes for vegetables or fruits. But the Ball book is loaded with them, so the three items, canner, canning kit, and book, make a terrific and complete threesome. I highly recommend.

This is my first pressure cooker and I am using it primary for canning. It is remarkably easy to set up and use, and it does the job perfectly. I have read reviews about the rack being poorly made, however, that was not my experience. Yes, it is made of wire, but if you follow the instruction and do not overheat the cooker, the wrack seem sturdy enough to last a very long time. If you do happen to damage it, there is a full parts list and even web sites listed in the instructions where you can get a replacement. I would highly recommend this if you want a moderately priced pressure cooker/canner that will do the job easily.

We tried this out last night. A great canned so far.

Used this for the first time today. Never used a pressure canner before, just followed the instructions and worked great. Processed 7 quarts of tomato sauce. Can't wait to try canning some fish. Looking forward to processing a lot of produce from the garden this year.

Best product for the money and easy to use. All canners should be this easy to use . Mine gets a lot of use.

Great canner, does the job but my only complaint is with the wire rack that prevents the jars from touching the bottom and breaking, the said wire rack isn't perfect because some of the jars cannot sit straight...

I use it for canning and it is perfect