Canning Can I stack half-pint jars in my canner?

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Martinhouse

Deceased
I have a small eight-pint Mirro pressure canner. It will can seven standard pints or four quarts at one time. Also seven of the little half-pints at one time.

I am ready to can store-bought canned fruit which I have drained and pureed so I can eat it. I have a huge amount (as much as six 5-gallon pails full!)and wonder if I can stack these half-pint jars so that I can can 14 at a time rather than just seven. I have my mom's identical canner so I would have another one of those metal plates with holes in them, that goes in the bottom of the canner under the jars. Or, for a thicker separation of layers, I might see if I have a small round cooling rack that would fit and provide more separation than a thin sheet of metal. If not, I can use the second plate and put a couple of burner stars under it.

Hope someone here can help.....I will be ready to start canning Wednesday morning.

Thanks

P.S. My stove would not handle a pot to heat the puree for filling jars and running the two canners on different burners, plus heating the saucepan of water for preparing the new lids.
 
M

Martinhouse

Deceased
I thought about water bath, but these seem to not be very tart and I don't want to add lemon, plus there is so much of it I thought pressure canning would help me feel they were safe to eat for a longer period of time.

Thanks, guys, for the quick answer!
 
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anna43

Veteran Member
I've never been happy with pressure canning fruit. It turns to mush. If you don't have a Ball Blue Book go to the USDA website at National Center for Home Food Preservation | USDA Publications (uga.edu) which has all the canning, freezing dehydrating etc. information that anyone could ever need. Best of all the information is 100% reliable.

You can double stack in your pressure canner if you have a rack to put both on the bottom of the canner and between the rows of jars. My larger canner allows me to stack pints so I can do 18 instead of just 9 at a time. Never heard of double stacking in a water bath and wouldn't try it myself.
 
M

Martinhouse

Deceased
The fruit to be canned is pureed, so turning to mush is not a problem.

I don't have a Blue Book. I've always used the directions that came with my canner and have never had a problem.

Whenever there's been something to can that isn't in my book, I call my sister and she usually finds it in the book that came with her pressure canner. And she has a Blue Book, too.
 
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herbgarden

Senior Member
I hope this isn't too late. I have that size Mirror canner. I do 2 levels but, put an old small cookie rack between levels. The food has lasted years. It is still good. I can the half pints for my MIL . good luck. I hope this helps you
 
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