Customer Reviews

All-American 41-1/2-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First off, Very fast shipping. Ordered on Saturday and recieved on Tuesday. We do a fair bit of canning. About 200+ pints/quarts per year. This canner is an absolute piece of craftsmanship. Very heavy and well built with an impeccable finish. The wire racks could use a few more rings for smaller pints and half pints but it is not a major issue. Great capacity which will make our canning much faster and easier. The heavy cast aluminum makes maintaining an even temperature very easy and I find I can use less gas to maintain the desired pressure compared to our old pressure canner. Very accurate weight and gauge makes getting the proper pressure a breeze. If properly cared for and maintained I can see this canner lasting generations. Expensive but definitely worth it for the serious home canner. Recommend highly.

I recently purchased this cooker thru Amazon. First unit had a serious enough 'ding' which caused me concern. I requested a replacement cooker. Amazon cross shipped w/o any problems. Amazon took care of return shipping as well. Am very pleased with replacement pot and Amazon's service.

I purchased the largest model because it provides ample room for pot-in-pot cooking where I can use a stainless steel pot. The first dish I prepared was a huge batch of chili with dry kidney beans in under 90 minutes!

I was concerned that the large pot will require too much of a gas flame to maintain the pressure but that is not the case. Once the selected pressure is reached, it can be maintained very efficiently.

The metal-on-metal was also an initial concern but it works flawlessly. That is a big plus - no rubber gaskets and replacements to worry about years ahead. The pot is extremely well constructed. It is precision 'machined' on the inside making it very attractive. Minor con - the 2 canning racks that come with the product do not do the pot justice. They could be better.

WARNING - the pot is VERY substantial in size, girth and weight. Purchasers should take this into consideration beforehand to make sure they can handle, use, clean and store it readily.

I highly recommend Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry's product as well as Amazon's shopping experience.

Wow, two cases of fish in pint jars in one whack! Everything works like a charm to produce top quality jarred fish. We love the all american cuz it is heavy duty lasting quality and flawless construction. This is the last canner we will ever have to buy. end of story.

The All-American 41-1/2-Quart canner/Pressure Cooker, is one of the best investments I have ever made. Canning a weeks worth of supper, is quick and efficient afternoons work. Then I can have a hot nutritious meal ready to eat in just minuets. I have canned 60+ quarts of meat, chicken, hamburger, steak. 60+ quarts of pinto beans, talk about quick inexpensive re-fried beans. To can the beans, I soak the beans over night, then cook during the day in a 22 quart roster ovenRival 22qt Roaster. When I get home in the evening I put the beans in quart jars and add a teaspoon of salt, then put 18 to 20 quarts in my All American canner. While the total time for processing including loading the jars with beans to getting the jars out of the cooker is three to four hours, my time spent is only an hour. I have caned tomatoes, soups, stews, vegetables. I know I can feed my family, for less money, have meals ready to eat in just a moment. Or for that matter my children, 16,11,9 can fix dinner for the family.

I am going elk hunting, If I get an elk I will bottle it. This way even if the power goes out the food will be preserved.

If you are concerned about,healthy eating, cost of food, preserving food, emergency preparedness, being able to eat a good healthy meal when you only have a few minuets to fix it. Get one of these canners, I also have a 20 quart canner that cans 7 quarts at a time with the two canners I can can over 2 dozen jars at one time.

I love this canner - but I ended up buying one of its smaller brothers for most of my canning jobs. I can generally get 31 pints into this thing (32 if a couple of jars on the bottom layer are skinnier than usual). That sounds wonderful: until you figure out how long it takes to load that many jars. If I am doing all the work by myself it adds well over an hour of cooking time to the stuff I'm canning - which doesn't do it a lot of good. Nowadays I reserve this canner for occasions when I've got extra hands to help get it loaded quickly.

Other than that insight, all I can do is second what others have said: a wonderful device, packaged poorly (will probably get dinged in shipping, but either Amazon or All American will make it good), with racks that are really a joke (I made myself a set of decent ones), and it is way too big and heavy to go on a stove-top.

All-American 41-1/2-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner is an excellent product quite capable of lasting generations of use. It is a true investment in your home food preservation and self-reliance. This pressure cooker/canner holds 32 pint jars or 19 quart jars and is big enough to actually produce enough food for a year of family meals in a reasonable time with a reasonable effort. Top of the line quality and an American made product.

I have the 41 1/2 qt canner, (holds 19 qt. jars) since 1996. I can't even beginto
to guess how many jars of 5 star food it has processed and still going strong after all those years. The gauge tests accurate and is original. I am just now replacing the pressure release plug and the old one is still pliable. It is original also. The canner is still beautiful after all the scrubbing, moving, dragging, etc. In the 2009-2010 canning season alone, it has has processed to date, 498 jars of food, with more coming today. I am sure this canner will outlive me and go on providing great food for the generations who will be lucky enough to inherit this invaluable tool. It is so nice to know what is in your food as well as what is NOT in your food.

a must for pressure canning, excellent quality, and well worth the price
shipped with leaky pressure gage but called the product company and got a swift replacement by just one simple phone call. a plus was they didn't require I send proof of receipt and the now fogged gage back before they would consider replacement..
caution- this will not fit on the average electric stove but works quite well with propane burners, natural gas is not an option where we live and so I do not know if this would work on the standard gas stove, and it is HUGE and not exactly going to fit in the average kitchen cabinet
I agree with less than ideal racks that come with product but was able to find inexpensive racks that fit well and work with pints and half pint jars well at the local hardware store
the fact that you can have this arrive the next day for a few dollars through amazon prime is quite amazing considering the size of the product-

The reason I say "almost" is because after using this canner for one season I decided I had to buy another... Once you have two of them, they WILL be the last ones you ever buy! This season I just finished 200 Lbs of peaches, 100 lbs of pinto beans, a huge batch of grape jelly, 50 quarts of dill pickles and 50 quarts of bread and butter pickles, all of the beets etc. from our garden, and 120 quarts of my husbands elk! These canners are workhorses that can handle anything you can throw at them. The description says it will hold 19 quart jars, I found that I can fit 10 on the bottom level and 11 on the top if I use "Ball" or "Mason" jars. If I use the Chinese made Wal-Mart jars then it only fits 19. When the canner is empty I can move it around ok, but once it is loaded... Forget It! It is so huge and heavy it takes two people to move. I use it on some propane camping burners (from our turkey frying kits) and I can put the flame clear down on low once the pressure is reached and it will maintain 15 lbs just fine. I simply adore the fact that it is metal on metal, no more gaskets to replace! Bottom line is that these are the absolute best pressure canners in the world and will last several lifetimes! Spend the extra money and get yourself one... or two :) you will not regret it!

1st unit received had smashed top handle. the item picture shows metal going through the bakelite handle. This is just not the case.
the 2nd unit came in undamaged as far as i can tell.

cons.
should show in the picture the top handle is all plastic no metal running though it so if damaged during use handle won't just be hot it will be non existant.
After casting, imperfections are usually filed off or ruffed with grinder then finnished with file. although it is only cosmetic bolth had grinding goughes in several places.the second one i have and plan to keep has these grinding marks as well as risen burrs that should have been removed.if the location were elsewhere i would return it.

Pros.
Was concerned that my electric range would be hot enough after looking out the size and thickness of the unit. after venting for 7 min upon startup it took only 15 min to reach 15psi. after this it took less then half power to maintain pressure.(Please note the unit was empty)
much quieter then i expected. i would call it near silent.
large capacity still need to try this out seeing how combinations of jar sizes fit)
give it 8 out of 10 on pure Cosmetics. blemmishes and handles could be better.

*Final though* wish i could fit 2 of them on my stove at once