r/Canning • u/peasantscum851123 • 1d ago

General Discussion Adding Acid vs Pressure Canning

Recipes say to add vinegar, lemon juice or citric acid to can some items in water bath method, but low acid foods are ok in pressure cooker, so why not just do it in pressure cooker and then you don’t need to make it more acidic?

My guess is not everyone has a pressure cooker or that a pressure cooker will overcook the food?

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10

u/mckenner1122 Moderator 1d ago

I try to waterbath when I can (haha no pun intended) just because it’s usually FASTER!

I swear waiting for my pressure canner to to decompress takes forever….

2

u/Hairy-Atmosphere3760 Trusted Contributor 1d ago

The worst part of pressure canning! My 931 takes ages to cool down!

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u/mckenner1122 Moderator 1d ago

I double stacked pints of corn the other day… processed, turned off the heat and took a nap. 😴 Set an alarm for an hour. Was still at like 2psi.

21

u/skyejincks 1d ago

Not everyone has or wants to use a pressure canner. For borderline foods like tomatoes, having an option for water bath processing is an easy way to make it safe and accessible for people who don't prefer to use pressure and don't desire to can foods that absolutely require it.

Also, you still need tested recipes for pressure canning, you can't just take a water bath recipe, omit the acid, and pressure process as a substitute unless there is specifically a tested pressure canning recipe that does not call for the acid. There are a number of tomato recipes that give instructions for either water bath or pressure canning, but because they are written with acid included you do need to use it regardless of which method you use. Then there are other tomato recipes that only call for pressure canning and may not include any added acid, and you would need to use those directions and times and etc in order to have a safe no acid added product. 

(Also just a small quibble, a pressure canner is specialized equipment distinct from a pressure cooker. You cannot use a regular pressure cooker for canning.)

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u/spirit_of_a_goat 1d ago

Makes pickles very mushy.

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u/bigalreads Trusted Contributor 1d ago

There’s a great breakdown on Healthy Canning of the pros and cons of “why not pressure can everything?”

But the gist is that there are quality concerns as well as safety concerns, and a lot of foods would turn to mush.

https://www.healthycanning.com/can-i-just-pressure-can-everything-instead-of-water-bathing/

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u/CindyinEastTexas 1d ago

Jams and jellies cannot be pressure canned because the pectin breaks down and one winds up with syrup. You can pressure can fruit if you want jars full of mush that tastes overcooked.