# All American Canner- smooth top stove



## cvfmom (Oct 29, 2002)

This year we are venturing into canning. We freeze alot of veggies out of the garden and want to take the plunge into canning. Being newbies with this I see that many say the All American Canner is a smart buy but I saw where you might not can use it on a smooth top stove. Has anyone used them on this type electric stove. Any suggestions on other things I need to buy will be greatly appreciated. DH is growing a beautiful garden, got our first squash and zuchinni this week. Already made a batch of zuchinni bread.

Thanks for any help!

Stephanie


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

I would not use my AA on a smooth top stove. I bought a Presto for using on the smooth top stove, and a hot plate for using with the AA canner. 

The AA is very heavy compared to the Presto, and the Presto has a different shaped bottom so it "fits" the element of the smooth top stove much better and is not suppose to cause the problem with transferring heat to the surrounding glass of the cooktop. 

now I have an induction cook top, so it won't work with either canner. But last summer I put a heavy duty coil cook top in my garden shed so I can do the bulk of the harvest season canning out there, and I have the hotplate for when I want to can in the house.

Cathy


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## sewserious (Apr 2, 2010)

Most canners cannot be used on a smooth-top stove. The weight and diameter can damage the stove quickly. Some canners will not heat evenly due to the shape of the bottom. Presto is the only brand that states it can be used on smooth-top ranges/cooktops and then will depend on the one you have. You will need to check with the manufacturer.

I replaced my smooth top cooktop with one with coils. Mine was a ceramic one, and the manufacturer (Whirlpool) stated no canning at all because it could crack the ceramic. Cost me a little over $250 dollars but it was so worth it! I went with a less expensive canner in order to afford to replace the cooktop.


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## jmtinmi (Feb 25, 2009)

If you are going all out on canning (congrats), invest now in an outdoor campstove. We've use one for canning for years in a protected area (aka garage) and it keeps the heat out of the house and heats up the canner quickly. All you need is a fold up table sitting next to the canner for removing your jars for cooling. Be sure to cover the cooling jars with a thin towel to keep drafts off of them! 

Good Luck!


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

What about using a pressure canner (with a flat bottom) or regular old aluminum pot (flat bottom, too) for water-bath canning on a flat top stove?

We just bought a new stove this spring and I hadn't given thought to canning on it!


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

Most all of the flat/smooth top stove warranties include a clause something to the effect that your warranty is void if used for canning appliances. That is regardless of the brand name - Presto- AA, Mirro -as they all are quite heavy. Now if the warranty has expired then you can use the PC on it but understand that you may be replacing the glass top as it may fracture. Is it really worth that risk? 

In addition the burners on many of the smooth top stoves have an auto over-heat shut down built in. Users report that it makes it impossible to maintain the pressure in a PC as the burner keeps shutting down.

Otherwise it is recommended that you invest in an alternative burner - preferably one of the many propane models as they provide much better heat adjustment control - for canning.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

My flat top stove was a Whirlpool Gold (bought in 2004) is said canning was fine as long as the pot fit the burner (did not extend over). It also said to wait until the top cooled down completely between batches. 

I would put the big burner on HIGH until it was boiling, then turn it down to about 4 to vent, then I'd put on the weight and crank it back to HIGH and as it got close to pressure, I would start turning the temp down about "2" at a time. High was about 10, so I'd turn it down to 8 for a few minutes, then 6, then 4 and then 2. It kept pressure just fine around 1.5 - 2. 

The only time I had problems with my burner "shutting down" was when I had it on high and didn't have the pot centered on the heating element. With the Presto this meant getting at eye level with the bottom of the pan and checking to see that the bit of hot element I could see was about even around the pan. My big hob was about 1/4" diameter more than the bottom of the pot. When positioned correctly, the burner would stay on as long as I had it set on high. If it was not positioned correctly, I could see the burner go on and off, and then it would take a longer time to get to boiling.

I sold that stove for $100 earlier this spring when I got my induction cooktop - now talk about something fun to cook on! 

BTW- the best appliance I have to can on is my Whirlpool coil cooktop. It has 2200 watt heavy duty burners and I can both the Presto and the AA canner going full speed at the same time and use the other burners with no noticable drop in power. 

I've told DH that if we ever build an attached garage I'm expanding the laundry room into the end of that garage and making a full blown processing kitchen (meat and veggies) in that area. It's too cold to use my summer kitchen for about half the year here in SD.

I routinly used my 12 qt flat bottom stock pot to water bath can in (1/2 pints) on the glass top. The hardest part was coming up with something to keep the jars off the bottom, but after that as long as there enough room for the proper amount of water things work fine. I did this mostly for jams and such. Once I got the Presto I started using that to waterbath also, since it holds more. The part of the Presto that comes in contact with the stove is about the same size as the bottom of my 12 qt stock pot. It is the same for both the 16 and 21 qt canner, I'd get the 21 qt so you can also waterbath quarts (it is taller, not wider than the 16 qt).

This is how I do my in-the-house canning now. 











Cathy


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

I've been using my big 25 qt. All American on mine for 5 years now without any problem.


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## Merit (Jul 15, 2009)

Macybaby, do you mind pulling the model/serial number or other identifying info off your Whirlpool coil cooktop? I tried unsuccessfully to google it. Thanks much!


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

Merit, I'll look when I get home, I also looked online but didn't find one that looks like this (watch I'll get home and find out it isn't even a whirlpool like I thought). The unit does not specifiy that it has heavy duty coils, but when I researched it a bit, I found that the light duty ones have less wraps around and lower wattage. The only other difference between the true HD coils you can buy is that they have frames to hold the canner farther up. I've not had problems with these supporting the weight. I did purchase a cheaper coil hotplate at one time and the weight of the canner caused the coil to stop working. 

I was searching for some way to solve my canning problems with wanting to go induction, and using propane burners was not working out. DH and I were at Menards and they had one of these on display for $219 so we bought it. We purchased the display unit - I think someone had special ordered it and decided not to take it so they were dumping it. We are at Menards at least once a week and I'd never seen it before, and it was exactly what I was looking for. I considered a small RV type unit, but they did not have powerful burners. 

DH hooked it up in my summer kitchen, and it sure works nice. 












And in use










Edited to add :I looked online - I think it is a fridgedaire. I'm not "big" on models - it was cheap and I could take it home with me (and where I live, that is a very big plus).


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## sewserious (Apr 2, 2010)

That is the exact cooktop I bought, but I got the stainless steel one since we had to buy a new dishwasher, our old one quit, and I want to switch everything to stainless at some point.


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