I was canning some salsa from the Ball prepackaged mix and it says to
process in a boiling water canner. I don't have one, but I do have a steam
pressure canner. Is there any particular magic about having the jars
covered with boiling water? What I'm asking is would it be somehow unsafe
or really detrimental to the quality of the recipe if, instead of filling
my steam canner all the way to the top and heating all that water I just
pressure can at the 5 lb setting for the same amount of time?

I would think it would certainly be safe, since the temperature would
actually be higher? Is having the jars completely covered somehow required
or can you just do it with steam?

Sean Elkins wrote:
> I was canning some salsa from the Ball prepackaged mix and it says to
> process in a boiling water canner. I don't have one, but I do have a steam
> pressure canner. Is there any particular magic about having the jars
> covered with boiling water? What I'm asking is would it be somehow unsafe
> or really detrimental to the quality of the recipe if, instead of filling
> my steam canner all the way to the top and heating all that water I just
> pressure can at the 5 lb setting for the same amount of time?
>
> I would think it would certainly be safe, since the temperature would
> actually be higher? Is having the jars completely covered somehow required
> or can you just do it with steam?


Just use the pressure canner as if it were a water bath canner. Fill
the canner with enough water to come up to the shoulder of the jars. It
doesn't have to cover the lids. Put the lid on the canner *with the
gasket* like you were gonna pressurize it, but leave the vent open.
Begin timing when steam pours out the vent.

Best regards,
Bob