Rational Preparedness

Wow! An All American 30-Quart Pressure Cooker Canner Review

All American Pressure Canners

The All American 30 quart pressure cooker canner is a force to be reckoned with.  This is a high quality, heavy gauge canner that will take whatever you can dish out. You can cook with it as well as can. This canner is made to last a lifetime. It’s features a durable metal on metal sealing system, double thick edges, and 6 lid locking clamps!  Let’s dive in a little deeper…

 

Contents

Why Should I get an All American 30 Quart Pressure Cooker Canner, You Ask?

Product links to Amazon

The All American 30 quart pressure cooker canner is truly a prepper’s or any home cooker’s dream come true.  With it, you will have the highest quality experience on the market for preserving low acid foods.  You’ll have peace of mind knowing you have safe and delicious foods ready to eat, at all times.  You will have the confidence that the canner will be there for you for years down the road.  You won’t have to worry about ordering seals later or removing and cleaning them.  You probably won’t have to worry about damaging it if your alternative heat source gets too hot.

How Does the All American Do This?

The Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry has made the All American Pressure Cooker Canners since 1930. They’ve had a long time to get it right. The canner is made of heavy gauge hand cast aluminum with double thick edges for protection and long term durability.  It weighs in at about 28 lbs empty, so this is a truly heavy duty piece of equipment. The thickness and resulting weight provide me with a measure of comfort- this is not some flimsy toy.  It is important to keep in mind that the weight may be a detriment to those who have physical strength limitations.

There is no guess work when placing the lid on the All American.  The lid locking system uses 6 large turn screw styled knobs for a tight seal every time. The lid cannot go on wrong with its double thick metal edges.

This canner does not rely on a rubberized gasket as do most home canners. For me this is a huge plus as I would not want to ruin a batch of food that I need to can upon learning the day of canning that my sealing gasket is no longer functioning. I don’t like to shop so the hassle of buying new gaskets for other canners leaves a lot to be desired.  What if the other brands that sell gaskets go out of business 10 years later?

 

 

 

Pressure Selection

The pressure regulator weight is sturdy and precise. You have the option of 5,10 or 15 PSI.  This option is sold separately with another brand.

How it works:  The weight sits on top of a vent pipe (cone in the picture) and steam pushes it up when the select If you look inside the hole on the weight, you can see a pin, that fits the vent pipe on the lid. Each of the three pins is a different depth.  It takes a different amount of pressure to lift the weight depending on the shape of the pin.  

 

 

 

The Gauge

 

The geared gauge is clearly marked and easy to read. Once the pressure gauge reads zero, it is safe to remove the weight and then unlock the canner.  Notice the thick handle securely attached to the top. This is truly a useful feature that is noticeably absent from most canners.  It means the lid can be lifted more easily with one hand.

An over pressure plug is included in the canner and should rarely if ever be needed. The plug is a safety back up if the vent pipe is clogged.

 

 

Bring the Heat

 

The Presto canner comes with a 12,000 BTU limit.  This canner does not.  This is good because outdoor burners usually start at 15,000 BTUs and are commonly 30,000 BTUs.  Presto says not to use them.  You could turn them down but it’s a dangerous guess.  With the all American, you will know that if you turn the burner on high to bring the canner up to pressure, it won’t be damaged.  likewise, if you use a rocket stove, you have no idea what the BTUs are.  You can feel safe there too.

Once it is up to pressure, you will still need to limit the BTUs you are using.  Adjust the heat source until the pressure regulator weight jiggles at most four times per minute. If the heat is consistently too high  a constant flow of steam may be released and thus not create the correct pressurized environment for canning.

There is a possibility of damage to smooth top kitchen ranges as the All American is quite heavy and is not smooth on the bottom. You can of course use this on most kitchen stoves, but I do strongly suggest owning an alternative cooking apparatus. In an emergency, you may not have the luxury of using your large appliances. This would work great on a large scale rocket stove or even a heavy duty camp style stove.

For propane stoves, I like the Camp Chef Outdoorsman because of it’s sturdy stance.  For a rocket stove, I like these EcoZoom Stoves.  There are a couple of other makers that make some that are nearly identical.

 

Capacity

 

 

The 30 quart canner is the smallest canner that allows you to stack quart jars.  Being able to stack them doubles the capacity of quarts and none of the other common brands have one tall enough to do this with.  I means the difference between being able to do 7 quarts and doing 14 but it does not mean doubling the size of the canner.  This can be a big time saver if you want to do quart jars or even 24 oz jars.

The manufacturer suggests a capacity of 19 pint jars, but most people report 18 as the upper limit. If you aren’t as excited about such a large canner, the canner comes in several sizes ranging from 10.5 quarts to 41.5 quarts.  The 30 quart All American Pressure Cooker Canner comes with 2 racks. If you add a third rack (found here), you can  achieve a total of 36 half pints.  I find that half pints are great for me for many vegetables or for meat if I plan on dining alone.

As a pressure cooker, the size of this would be hard to beat. You can do a huge roast easily and quickly.   If cooking soups or stews is your thing, be prepared to have your belly full and your freezer stocked!

 

How do I use the All American Pressure Cooker Canner? 

 

Rational Preparedness included a simple guide to canning in a previous article here.  Canning can be a fun and easy activity once you learn the steps. The purpose of the guide is to let people who are new to canning understand what is involved and just how easy it is.  Beyond that:

Your canner comes with a 54 page instruction and recipe booklet that very thoroughly answers this question in more detail.  The first step to using any new pressure canner is to read this instruction manual.  It not only tells you how to operate the canner safely, it tells you the cooking times for various types of foods.  Cooking times vary by pressure cooker and you can use this guide as a way to always know how long to cook something.

If you want to use the canner for canning, there are instructions for that in the booklet too.  I purchased this ball canning book that you see in every store that sells anything to do with canning.  It’s a great book and I recommend it.  When I searched Amazon to get that link, I discovered dozens of similar books. You always want to follow key instructions in a reputable canning recipe book because these are more than just recipes.  They are instructions for how to make sure every last living thing in that canning jar is dead, before you put it on the shelf.  It’s important but not complicated.

Final Thoughts on the All American Pressure Cooker Canner

Everything about the All American Pressure Cooker Canner just screams high quality coupled with high capacity. This is the sort of equipment that our grandparents would have used- thick metal, heavy duty construction, big enough to can for an army.  A friend shared a picture of his older model All American canner. You can see it is a well loved and very well used All American.

While these cooker canners are made to last a lifetime, I do not suggest buying one used. Without a gasket for sealing, the integrity of the metal to metal sealing with the aid of the locking clamps is integral to the use of the canner. If someone dented or scraped into the aluminum around the rim(it would take some serious force) it could be ruined.

The All American is made in the US and is backed by a warranty.  We reached out to the company for some information and we were treated very kindly and our questions were answered promptly. In this day and age, that means something.

If you are hoping to buy only one canner in your lifetime, the All American Pressure Cooker Canner is the one for you.  The 30 quart gives you the capacity to tackle a large quantity of food and have it prepped efficiently.  It includes a variable weight so achieving the proper pressure is easy without any additional purchases needed.  Replacement parts are readily available and rarely needed.  With proper care, your pressure canner can be passed down to your children one day.

For those of us that need something a little lighter in the wallet as well as to carry, the Presto Canner is my next best recommendation.  It is a great little powerhouse of a canner and it is easy to use.  For my complete review on the Presto check out my article found here.

How Much is it?

Prices for products are constantly changing.  You can see the current price for the whole line of All American Canners on Amazon.

3 Comments

  1. Jeanne

    Had a canner with the gasket. Nothing is really wrong with it but buying the gaskets is a chore. The last time I bought one where I got them the guy told me they were probably going to be phased out in the next few years. He only had a couple and I bought them all. I got the aa canner and finds its a learning process to use and has been hard to get use to.i wouldn’t want to be new at canning to use it. I’m still not getting the too seated right and occasionally steam comes out the side. I do like the lid a lot. Well that’s it for me

    Reply
    1. Joe

      Thank you for your very informative comment

      Reply
  2. Michael Jennings

    You mentioned nothing about induction. The AA is NOT induction capable. If a person has an induction stove top, their only choice for the AA is a propane stove. Most glass top manufacturers will void any warranty if they determine that the AA has been used or the damage is caused by a canner as it far exceeds the weight limit of these cook tops.

    As for gaskets becoming obsolete, I’ve had and use my Presto Canners and have yet to have an issue with the gasket. I still have the original gasket in one of them and there is not one problem with it after 4 seasons of canning. I keep a backup on hand just in case. Any home food preserver should be keeping a backup on hand just in case the gasket does fail.

    Reply

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