Questions & Answers
What is a Steam Canner
Steam canning, or atmospheric steam canning, can be a safe method for home preservation of most high acid food (i.e., food with pH of 4.6 or below). The steam canner was initially developed in the 1920s as an alternative to the boiling water canner; however, it was not approved for home canning until 2015. Steam canning is a more environmentally friendly process than boiling water canning for the following reasons: (1) the steam canner uses much less water than a boiling water canner and (2) the steam canner reaches the required temperature for processing more quickly and thus uses less energy than the boiling water canner.