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

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!

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.

Great pot for canning. Only complaint is I can only get 6qt in instead of the 7 it said. But realize bottles are not all the same size/shape. Cools quickly & nice to have a secondary indicator that pressure is off.

I’d never pressure canned before, so was a little intimidated. As another reviewer noted….the instructions that come with the pressure canner are very limited. I would suggest getting a good book, or check the internet for specifics.I was able to find plenty of info online, and jumped right in. So far I’ve canned raw chicken legs & thighs, raw pork roast, and cooked chicken vegetable soup. I’ve tried the soup & chicken so far, and both turned out great. From what I read online, I knew I wanted a canner with a weight, rather than digital. The weight works great, and find the rocking sound to very soothing, as I know I’m creating a great stockpile of healthy foods…usable at a moment’s notice. I love it!.

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