When you first start canning, it can be intimidating. At first, you may think it’s just putting veggies in jars and placing in boiling water to achieve a vacuum seal.
But, when you dig into it, you find seemingly complicated instructions that include gauges, weights, elevation nuances, warnings about low acid vs. high acid foods, and more.
Yikes!
The truth is that canning food isn’t hard once you get the hang of it, but there is a learning curve for beginners.
That’s why we love the Presto Digital Pressure Canner, especially for beginner canners, because this innovative canner flattens the learning curve to make it much more manageable!
Why We Recommend the Presto Electric Pressure Canner for Beginners
Easy to Use
How exactly does the Presto Digital Pressure Canner simplify things for beginners?
Well, it’s like having someone hold your hand throughout the process. It’s always simpler and less anxiety-producing when someone else “holds” the ropes as you learn them.
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The digital readout and automatic functions—built right into this electric canner—work to lead you step-by-step throughout the entire pressure canning process.
Even veteran canners will appreciate the clear signals to move you along from the initial setup to the final venting.
There’s no need to set timers to check the dial and regulate the temperature—not only because there is no dial, but because the temperature regulation is automatic.
The Presto Digital Pressure Canner adjusts pressure and venting based on internal temperature.
This simplifies the process because it’s not up to you to ensure the pressure provides a high enough temperature to prevent toxins from forming in your food. And, because it senses the internal temperature, it naturally adjusts for altitude differences—one less thing for you to worry about.
As the canner guides you through the process, it signals your next steps by beeping. This means you don’t have to stay nearby while it runs.
I honestly can’t imagine how pressure canning can get any easier than this (well, other than maybe a robot maid).
In my humble opinion, the Presto canner is the simplest way to pressure can without farming out the entire job to someone else—robotic or otherwise.
Safety Features
This Presto model is loaded with safety features. These not only provide peace of mind while using high pressure, but there’s also a feature that alerts you to incomplete processing. This means less concern about unknown food safety issues.
We also appreciate that this canner was tested extensively by Presto to meet USDA guidelines. We’ll talk more about that in a minute, but I love that this canner is produced by a trusted, time-tested name in the canning industry.
On a different note, it also keeps your jars warm while you get the food ready to can. This is important in preventing temperature shock and jar breakage.
Alternative for Canning on Glass Stovetops
Some people have no issue with pressure canning on their glass stovetop. However, technically speaking, many glass stovetops are not rated for use with a pressure canner. The weight can simply be too much for that type of stovetop to bear.
The Presto Digital Canner can sit safely on your countertop!
Also, being that this canner is electric, you’re no longer tied to your kitchen for canning.
If you’d rather can on a porch or in an outbuilding to keep the house cooler (although it already does a pretty good job of that), you can. As long as you are near an outlet, you’re golden.
Canning outside your kitchen also means you can use your stovetop to cook dinner without counters cluttered with canning supplies and food waiting to be processed.
(The struggle is real!)
Potential Disadvantages
No product is perfect, so let’s address potential disadvantages of the Presto Digital Pressure Canner:
- The aforementioned jar warming feature means you can’t raw pack as easily as you might like.
- The venting labels can be a little hard to read.
- Because of the electronics involved, the electric canner may wear out or break down sooner than its manual alternative.
However, Presto is a well-known, respected brand known for their quality in canning products. The fact that this pressure canner has only one function—canning—means there’s less to break than appliances that try to do too many things.
How Does the Presto Digital Differ from Traditional Pressure Canners?
As previously mentioned, the Presto Digital Pressure Canner is much simpler to use than a traditional pressure canner.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the primary differences:
- You don’t have to regulate a heat source.
- You don’t have to figure out whether the pressure is right for your location or if the steam appears regular and consistent.
- You don’t have to check dials and gauges or trust your eyes to determine if the canning process is going well and/or if it’s time to go to the next step.
- You don’t have to use a stove. A traditional pressure canner usually relies on a stovetop for heat, and that can be tricky when your stovetop has small burners or a fragile glass surface.
- You don’t have to hang out with your canner who, let’s face it, is not the most interesting companion. With traditional pressure canners, you need to stay nearby the entire time to monitor things, whereas the Presto canner uses audible signals to let you know when you’re needed.
Is the Presto Digital Canner Safe or Approved by the USDA?
We briefly touched on this above. While the USDA hasn’t approved this digital canner, the fact is that the USDA hasn’t approved any canners, digital or otherwise.
The USDA doesn’t test and endorse canner brands, period.
What they have done is publish guidelines for safe canning, and Presto tested their canner to ensure it meets them.
Yes, that means we have to trust that Presto isn’t lying to us, but that holds true with any brand.
Since Presto is well-respected among canner manufacturers, I’m okay with that.
Personally, I wouldn’t purchase an electric pressure canner unless it was from Presto or All-American—and All American doesn’t make one. That meant my choice was a no-brainer.
How to Use the Presto Digital Pressure Canner: Video Tutorial
Opinion: Is the Presto Electric Pressure Canner Worth the Money?
While I can’t answer whether this canner is worth the money for you, I can say that I, personally, don’t regret purchasing one.
It has eliminated most of the more annoying aspects of pressure canning, which means I can now preserve just about anything I want to put into my pantry—without disrupting my life.
As a busy homeschool, work-at-home mom, the ease-of-use of this canner alone has made it worth the money.
I’ve already canned many things that seemed “too fussy” to can previously, so I’m saving more food (and money) than before.
- Automated for simple home canning.
- No adjustments needed for pressure canning at high altitudes.
- Doubles as a boiling water canner for preserving fruits, jams, jellies, and salsa.
- Innovative sensor automatically detects and holds the exact temperature for the required time for safe home canning
- Digital interface guides user through each canning method
- LED display icons illuminate each step from start to completion.
- Includes recipes with standard processing times in accordance with USDA guidelines
- Preheats jars and keeps them hot until each jar is filled.
- Ten built-in safety features including cover locking system
- Includes instruction/recipe book, quickstart guide, and canning ra
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
FAQS
Can you use a digital pressure cooker for canning?
Please don’t confuse the label “digital pressure canner” with “digital pressure cooker.” Some have asked if it’s okay to use an instant pot or other type of pressure cooker to can.
Absolutely not!
Pressure cookers are made to cook dinner. They’re not made to consistently and accurately regulate the pressure and internal temperature needed to ensure food is safe to sit on a shelf.
How many pints or quarts does the Presto Digital Canner hold?
The Presto Precise Digital Pressure Canner holds 8 pint jars (7 wide-mouth) or 5 quart jars (4 wide-mouth) when pressure canning.
It also doubles as a water bath canner for pint jars, of which it holds 8 regular or 7 wide-mouth for boiling water canning.
We hope this Presto Digital Pressure Canner review answers your questions—especially if you’re a beginner canner who, until now, has been too overwhelmed to pressure can.
In my opinion, anyone who is serious about food preservation is missing out if they don’t add pressure canning to their skillset.
All meats and low-acid foods require pressure canning to safely store them on a pantry shelf.
Without a pressure canner, you’re missing out on the benefits of homemade, shelf-stable, ready-to-eat convenience meals!
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I read an sales ad for this canner and it said for pressure canning quarts only. Pints and half pints were water bath canning only. If that true and if it is then why?
Hi Sali, I have my manual here in front of me. With this canner, you can pressure can quarts, pints, and half-pints.
This canner can also be used as a water bath canner using the proper “boiling water canning” setting. However, since jars must be submerged by at least an inch of water throughout the processing time when water bath canning, quarts cannot be water bath canned in this pressure canner because it isn’t tall enough.
Does that help clarify?
Are any recipes requiring pressure canning safe to use in the Presto? Or should you only use the recipes provided in their manual?
You can use any pressure canning recipe with the Presto. Just be sure to follow the manual’s instruction regarding jar size & count. 🙂
How do you know how long to process a different recipe, when you are not setting the lbs of pressure along with the time?
According to Presto, there’s no need to set lbs of pressure because of their internal sensor, but their customer service would be able to provide a more thorough answer than I can.
Why do they say 12 Quart canner and it only holds 5 quart. I love mine but it’s a bummer it wasn’t bigger to get at least the traditional 7 and taller to be able to use water bath feature for quarts
Canner sizes are measured by how much water the container can hold, so the size of the canner itself is 12 quarts. It is a bummer that it doesn’t hold more. However, since it’s an electrical device, I imagine a larger canner size would draw too many amps, and it would no longer be a safe countertop appliance for use with a standard 110-volt outlet.
Can I can less jars in this electric canner? Say 3 or 4 pints? 3 quarts ?
Hi Beda, the minimum jar capacity for this electric pressure canner is 4 pints or 2 quarts. Hope that helps!
Why did pressure canner electric cause tomatoes to cook liquid level
I’m not sure I understand the question. Could you rephrase it, so I can try to help? Did your jars come out of the canner with less liquid in them than when they went in?
How would I modify this to accommodate raw packing of meats?
You can skip the jar warming function by pressing the next arrow arrow twice. When the screen says “insert jars,” press the next button as usual. When it immediately goes to “warm,” hit the next button again, and it should move to the next step without forcing you to heat your jars. 🙂
I’m sorry, I love the reliability of my traditional pressure canner. It has lasted over 20 years, can be used without electricity, and holds up to 20 pints or 7 quarts. Technically, you could in a pinch use it on a well-regulated fire, and I use mine all the time on a propane cooker. For me, the point of canning is self-sustainability — being able to provide for yourself without dependency on the market or the grid. An electric, computerized canner just comes up short on all of that. Also, having owned electric rice cookers before (and loved them btw), I am positive this canner model is not going to last 20 years. I suppose if the reason you do canning is because you prefer your own special recipes it would be okay, but for self-sustainers, it’s a no-go.
I get it, and I agree with you. But this is an excellent option for people with glass stovetops who might be nervous about the weight of a loaded, traditional pressure canner. This electric canner also removes the intimidation factor that prevents so many people from canning.
But I believe as you do – for self-sustainability – a traditional pressure canner is a must.
Can I use wide mouth 1/2 pints? Can I double stack wide mouth 1/2 pints?
Yes and yes! This canner holds 14 double-stacked wide mouth half pints. 🙂
do I need to purchase a seal for this canner or does it come with a seal?
It comes with a seal. Everything you need is in the box. 🙂
Does it fit the standard-size rack for stacking?
According to the user manual, you don’t need a rack for stacking as long as you position the jars a certain way, and they provide a diagram showing you how to position them. Just a note—only half-pints can be doubled stacked in this canner. 🙂
Can this also be used as a pressure cooker?
No, it can’t be used as a pressure cooker. It can, however, be used as a water bath canner (for pints and half-pints only).
Why is the capacity different for wide-mouth (4) vs. regular mouth (5) quart jars? I measured the circumference of both jars, and they are both 12.25 inches around. I’d really like to be able to can 5 wide-mouth quarts at one time, but want to make sure there isn’t an issue that isn’t apparent.
I’m not sure. For me, I can fit a combination of regular- and wide-mouth for a total of 5, but I can’t fit 5 all wide-mouth jars.
I pressure cooked hamburger in my stove top canner for 90 minutes and it came out beautiful. I did the same in the Presto Digital and it came out so overcooked and dark. I wish someone would let me know why. The second batch I did for 75 minutes and it came out better.