Customer Reviews

Ball Jar Collection Elite Stainless-Steel 21-Quart Waterbath Canner with Rack and Glass Lid

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I stumbled upon this when searching for a "flat bottom" water bath canner for making dill pickles...it was recommended on a blog somewhere. I hesitated since I had never heard of "Jarden" brand, but then realized it was made by "Ball" of the mason jar fame.

The pot is a heavy bottom bot that sits flat on my glass cooktop. I checked the owners manual for my range and it stated I could can on top of it as long as the pot was flat and it did not extend too far over the edge of the burner. CHECK YOUR MANUAL to be certain, or call the company...not worth it to screw up the sensors on your stove, or damage the material.

The see-through glass is really handy for visual monitoring and it's well made. Stunning stainless steel takes us out of the stone age in water bath canners. I am very pleased.

I've been canning for years, and I really appreciate this stainless steel water bath canner, which replaces my rusty, decrepit old graniteware. This is a well-made kettle. In addition to its sturdy construction and the thrill of having a kettle that doesn't look like it's been around since the 19th century, I like this Ball brand product because:
(1) it has sturdy, easy-grip, rubber-covered handles; (2) it has a non-flimsy glass lid; (3) it has a good rack, the kind with indentations that allow you to rest it on the sides of the pot to load, before lowering it in. The unfamiliar "Jarden" name put me off for a moment, until I realized that it was the name of Ball's corporate parent. So if your old canner looks like my old one did, indulge yourself. I figure I won't ever have to buy another one.

Love the canner and liked that it was a Ball product. Works great on my glass top stove!
My box was setting on the patio, in the 99 degree sun, when I come home. When I open the box the canner felt very warm. I noticed the label was rolled up on one end and pulled it off with no residue of any kind on the side of the pot. For future buyers, just set the pot in the sun for an hour and pull label off with no problems.

This is so much nicer than the old graniteware canner. But really it's nothing more than a 21 quart stockpot with a cheap chrome rack. It's not a bad stockpot, but here's a better choice: buy a 24 quart Alpha stockpot (Alpha Heavy Gage 24 Qt Stainless Steel Stock Pot with Glass Lid By Savezoneusa /Alpha) for fifty bucks. It's a great stockpot that happens to be the same diameter, so a canning rack fits perfectly in it. It's a little heavier and is an excellent stock pot.

Then buy a stainless steel canning rack to go in it. Victorio VKP1056 Stainless Steel Canning Rack, Flat. Now you have a rack that won't rust and a great canner that also doubles as a very large, heavy duty stockpot.

I bought this from Tractor Supply, but I used it this past weekend. It is a really beautiful set, shiney stainless steel, with glass top. I have a Kenmore glass top stove and was hesitant to use this on it. It has a smooth and flat bottom and worked perfectly. Very nice. A little pricey, but worth every penny.

While this is a decent pot, there are a couple of annoyances, and a significant problem with this as a canner. The label doesn't come off cleanly, as has been said. I find the handles too small for comfort, particularly on the lid. Most importantly, there is only 2-5/8" above the top of a quart jar--really not enough to safely contain 1-2" of water and a rolling boil. This is with the rack sitting flat on the bottom (jar bottoms about 1/8" above pot bottom) which is probably not ideal for water movement. (Total depth of pot is 9-1/8" to ledge lid sits on, 9-1/2" to very top.) Yes, this is no different than the typical enamel canner, but for the cost of this thing, it ought to be a perfect canner, ~and~ make my morning coffee.

Received my Jarden canner over the weekend and put it to work canning jalapenos. It worked great and held plenty of pint jars. During processing I found out an easy way to get the label off. After reading reviews about the label problem I tried leaving the label on during the first canning run. Halfway thru I gently tugged at the label while the canner was hot and the label peeled right off. No residue or label was left on the canner and the side was nice and shiny where the label had been. A great canner that will see a lot of use this summer.

Greetings Fellow Canners,

I don't always take the time to leave a customer review unless a product really knocks my socks off, and this is one of those products worth sharing and I'm giving it 5-stars!

This updated model was brilliantly designed, well balanced, clear glass lid (which is a huge plus, allowing you to see into the pot without removing the lid and loosing your heat) Large 21 Quart capacity, Excellent quality and beautiful to boot! You get what you pay for, and this pot is worth every penny. With this size of pot, its versatile enough for other uses too. You won't go wrong with this purchase. The rack is stainless steel but not the welding seams of the rack. One word of warning, Do NOT leave this rack soaking in water for long periods of time or rusting will occour around the seams.

I have a pressure canner which I use for canning most everything, but I needed a water bath canner for my pickles, applesauce, and jams. I really like using this canner on my ceramic top stove, but like another reviewer mentioned, the rack rusted on the very first load of jars. It was rusted before I lifted it out of the water! It stained the bottom of the canner with rust spots, which came out with a little Barkeeper's Friend. Plus there was a small dent in the bottom of the pot when it arrived. It's not super heavy duty stainless steel, and the walls are thinner than I would have expected, but it beats the look of the stoneware canners (which I can't use, anyway) and it should hold up over time. You don't want these things to weigh a ton anyway, since they more than triple in weight when you load them up with jars.

I plan on purchasing a stainless steel rack to replace the rack it comes with. I like that this can also double as a stockpot for large batches of applesauce or chicken stock. I used it for pickles and applesauce and they turned out great. It would be absolutely perfect if not for the stupid rack. I know the price is probably high because the pot is stainless, but I don't feel that you should have to purchase a $30 rack when you've already spent $80 on the canner. As for the sticker, it was easy to remove once I got water boiling in the pot, but it left a "sticker shadow" behind. It's a discoloration of the metal, and I can't remove it.

Bottom line, good canner, crappy rack. The only option for flat-top stoves.

This is my first canner. I decided to buy the SS canner because I have seen those enameled pots and how they always chip no matter how much you try to take good care of them. The pot and rack in my opinion are of good quality and construction. It was mentioned about the problem removing the pot label. Most labels of that sort do require heat to remove them.To bad they did not mention label removal in the directions.I have removed labels of this sort with a hair dryer or a heat gun.Waiting to remove the label the first time you use the canner and waiting till it is hot is the most practical way to do it.This is the way I did mine as was suggested by others. The rack did seem heavy duty enough to me.Of course,you are supposed to remove the jars with your jar lifter one at a time and not try to lift all of them at once with the rack. There was just the slightest bit of discoloration on the rack where the wires cross,as was mentioned. Did not seem to be a big problem to me.I just washed the rack with the sponge scrubber at the same time as I washed the water staining from inside the pot.Some people complained about the water sputtering and boiling over.That was one thing they did mention in the directions.Item #8,Process jars in a gentle,controled boil.During processing adjust heat as necessary to prevent water from spurting under the lid while still maintaining a gentle ,controled boil.As far as the bottom of the pot warping for you flat top stove people,it was mentioned that you should let the pot cool to prevent warping. Hey!I don't know about that,but isn't that the obvious thing to do? I am certainly not going to try to cary a pot of that size over to the sink to dump untill it has cooled. I have enjoyed the canner and am looking forward to more canning projects. We did dill pickles and peaches so far. Apples are comming in season and we want to do some Applesauce and spice apples. We bought the Ball canning book and are looking forward to even more things to do with our canner. Norman R Lipkus