Sometime yesterday, Jarden Home Brands added a new Ball branded appliance to the Fresh Preserving online store. Called the Ball FreshTECH Automatic Home Canning System, this device takes the place of a traditional water bath in the processing of jars for shelf stability. A couple weeks ago, I went up to New York for a media event at which the FreshTECH Automatic Canner was demonstrated and was intrigued by its potential (though just to be clear, I also have a number of reservations about it. We’ll get to those later).
Instead of submerging the jars in a pot of water, it works with just a few inches of water. The device uses that water to create steam and a small amount of pressure to ensure safely processed and sterilized jars. For those of you who are made nervous by the talk of pressure, know that this canner doesn’t get anywhere near the amount of pressure that your average pressure cooker or canner reaches. It goes to just 3 psi, in order to get the temperature to between 215 and 218 degrees F.
The capacity of this canner is three quart jars, four pint jars, or six regular mouth half pints. They don’t recommend stacking jars inside the canner, so if you were to use wide mouth half pints, it would only be able to hold four.
The way it works is that you put your full, closed jars of product in the canner and punch in a code that corresponds with the recipe you’ve used. It will slowly heat and build pressure. Once it has reached the appropriate temperature and pressure setting, it sings a little tune and the processing period begins.
When the time is up, the canner then cools and depressurizes. The period the jars are in the canner are often longer overall than in a traditional canning, because of the necessary heating and cooling. However, it’s all hands-off time. You don’t have to tend a canning pot or check to ensure that it’s maintaining the proper boil.
I haven’t had my hands one of these FreshTECH Canners yet, but am expecting a review unit in the next week or so (I’ll follow up with first-hand thoughts after I’ve had a chance to use it). But from observation, here are some of my initial thoughts.
It could be a great device to get nervous beginners acclimated to canning. It may also be a boon for people who want to can but have small kids or work responsibilities that makes it hard to tend a canning pot. You put the jars in, set the machine and it processes them without another thought. You just have to stay close enough to open it and remove the jars once the time is up.
One thing that gives me major pause is the fact that the manufacturers currently recommend that you only use this device with their recipes and they have no plans to offer instruction as to how you can adapt it for use with your favorite recipes. I can understand that they don’t want to be responsible for preserving projects gone awry, but to my mind, if a recipe is safe for boiling water bath canning, it should be safe for use in the FreshTECH Automatic Home Canning System. The fact that it seems like they’re trying to create a closed system of recipes and products makes me hesitant.
The other thing that concerns me is what the FreshTECH communicates to the canning uncertain. I spend a goodly portion of my life calming the fears of beginning preservers and so am well acquainted with the level of anxiety that canning carries. Because this device uses a small amount of pressure to elevate the temperature a few degrees over the boiling point, I worry that some will interpret that to mean that the boiling water bath (the gold standard of high acid canning) is no longer good enough and that an elevated temperature is necessary for all products.
All that said, I am still curious about it and am looking forward to seeing first-hand how it works. My best case scenario is that it becomes a useful appliance in a home canner’s toolbox (though at $299.95, it will be a pricy tool).
What do you all think? Is this something you’d use?
What are the numbers for?
This post is so old that at this point, I have no idea!
Who do I purchase the product from?
Unfortunately, I don’t believe that Ball makes this product any more!
Can I cook raw chicken in this canner like I do in an instant pot?
No. This isn’t a pressure cooker. It is strictly a canner.
need the book for Ball FreshTECH Automatic Home Canning System recipes
I am so sorry but I do not have it.
i would get this in a heartbeat if i am to ever get into canning. my grandmother would have been mesmerized with this!
Why can I not find the recipe book that is supposed to be with it. Mine did not have it when it came in.
I’m sorry that it wasn’t included! I don’t know how to help, unfortunately.
I have been using mine for 5 years love it. Will never do pickles in it “mushy”. I can a lot jelly/ jam. This device is safe and great for ones whom are new to canning. Highly recommend.
So glad you’re pleased with it!
It would interest me because as I have aged, it’s more difficult to handle the pot that I use in which to water bath. Filling it and removing from the stove once used(then dumping the cooled water on a thirsty plant) is burdensome, especially with arthritis. However, safety of the canned product is tantamount. so research would have to prove the new product delivers such.
I have the canner. I bought it for the very reasons listed. But I want to just can fruits ..no sugar products. I have the lemon..acid. But what recipe do I follow. I dont see a list of just plain fruit that I can just water bath can. I think the slight pressure used is an additional safety in water bath canning. I love the whole concept but i want simple canning…not jams or jellies. No to little sugar used. But where can I find a simple canning of fruit.
Unfortunately, this canner can only be used for the recipes/products in it’s instruction booklet.
I bought one of the REALTech canners. I have used it while waiting for my peaches to come on the tree so I can can them. I need some information from how to can them. But cant find the WEB site where I can hopefully find up to date information about the canner. URRRR!
Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be making or supporting that appliance anymore. I’m so sorry!
I started canning, waterbath, due to the garden overload and not wanting to waiste hard earned vegis. That said, I keep a small garden and thus do not get a large yield at once. This canner comes with a small recipe book with quantity canning. I like this very much. Still getting use to it. They really need to put out a larger recipe book for these smaller batches though. It is very limiting and I find that I keep just going to the regular Waterbath for more recipes, when I wanted to use the electric canner. Maybe I should just do a larger garden?? LOL
Unfortunately, I don’t think they are going to create any more recipes for that appliance.
I would like to can blueberry syrup using fresh blueberries. Which fresh tech recipe would work Jams & Jellies or Fruits? Will use blueberries, agave syrup, lemon juice ( no pectin used)
I’m so sorry, but I can’t advise on the FreshTECH! I just don’t know enough about it.
I want to consider buying a Fresh tech machine but dont know where to get it. I live in Southern Ontario Canada
Perhaps there’s a Bernardin version available in Canada?
To the person who was concerned about it having a warning about not cooking low-acid foods — it has one, up front, loud and clear.
I love this canner. I only want to do small-batch canning and high acid foods are fine with me. I just wish I could find new recipes for it. I do use some “tried and true” analogs for various recipes, but I’d love to see more. People claim that Ball has posted new ones online, but I’ve never found them.
I happen to love the canner. I make small amounts at a time so it is perfect for me. No muss no fuss and no scalding water. My only complaint is the limited number of recipes.
So my sister picked this up for me last year for $15 at a BJs Outlet sale. I have glass-topped stove, so the only thing I have to use for water bath canning is my tall stockpot, which holds only 2 quart jars or 3 pint jars (I also need the stockpot to cook my apples down). For $15, this electric canner has been extremely helpful. No hot water splashing in my kitchen (I have to fill my stockpot to the top for the quart jars) and with small kids around, it takes a lot of heat and danger out of my kitchen.
That said, I wouldn’t have paid $300 for it and it is bulky (we store it in the basement in the winter and spring). I wish I could use a pressure cooker or had a stove top conducive to a larger, traditional water bath canner, but this gets the job done and I feel like I’ve canned more the last 2 years with it than I did before I had it (and if I need to do larger batches, I can use the auto canner AND the water bath at the same time).
The tomato recipe is the one I used anyway and the pickle recipes are the same ones on the Ball Dill Pickling spice jars, which is what I used anyway. Jam was something I have only made with the electric canner, so I can’t compare that. I’m doing applesauce the same way I always have, as the receipe doesn’t really deviate from the electric canner one. Peaches are the only question mark – I’m trying them for the first time this year and the auto canner doesn’t have guidance for regular peaches in syrup, just “honey spiced peaches.”
I have the Fresh Tech Automatic canning system and the Jam maker. I was shocked to find out that the recipes for jam, that came with the automatic canning system, are too much, in volume, for the jam maker. Before I used the auto-canner recipes I called the Ball Company to ask if I could use the canner recipes in my jam maker…they said “Of Course!” NOT!! It will boil your jam maker over—for crying out loud!!
Also, I think their little rule about only using their recipes is self-centered, on their part. I have used other recipes in the Auto-Canner. They did fine. You just have to use the same volume of ingredients and same jar sizes.
Their recipes aren’t consistent, either. In the Italian-Style Pasta Sauce recipe it says it produces 4 pints of sauce for canning, with no instructions for making a larger amount. Yet, in the Basic Tomato Sauce recipe you can make 4 pints or 3 quarts?! Why not 3 quarts in the Pasta sauce? To a novice canner they would believe that you could not make 3 quarts with the first recipe. Those recipes need to be corrected.
And they have not made any new, useful recipes, yet.
I am still waiting.
Hi! I’m late to the auto-canning party, but I’m wondering if it really is dangerous to use it with my own recipes. There are only a handful of jam recipes in the booklet that comes with the appliance…and frankly they don’t sound all that interesting, pina colada jam? What the heck would I even put that on?
And the promised new/additional recipes don’t appear to have materialized on the website.
Anyway….what it comes down to is if I can’t use other recipes (that would be safe for water-bath canning), then I’m not sure I have a use for the auto-canner. Thoughts?
Hello,
I received the FreshTech Automatic Home Canning System for Christmas of 2014 and as berries are becoming in season, I have finally used it. There are pro’s and con’s but overall I am satisfied. I do agree with you on the recipe monopoly — it seems like the company would appeal to more consumers if they were more flexible. They do have a good website and I have to admit I have “fudged” on some of the recipes and have used other brands of jars. All of my jams have turned out just fine.
Thanks for your blog, it’s so informative! 😀
hi there;
just found your blog and really appreciate your safety comments for canning. i love canning but we don’t have the time and also struggle with second guessing the safety, so i love the idea of the Ball machine. i see you were going to do a review on it but don’t see it anywhere in your site…did you ever do the actual review? should love to here about it before we spend that $300..
Darlene, I never managed to do a review of that machine. So sorry!
I would love to try one of these because I have a ceramic stove top and don’t want to risk breaking it.
However that said I would also like to can meat when it is on sale. Meat has to be processed at 180 degrees for 90 min to be safe. If it would do that I would want one tomorrow.
The small capacity is an issue too but I’d settle for doing whatever quantity I could do.
Ball should know there are people like me interested in canning larger quantities and low acid foods especially with an electric pressure canner.
Meat has to be processed at 250 degrees to be safe. You need to do it in a pressure canner. While this automatic canner uses a small amount of pressure, it is not a pressure canner.
No, low acid foods, such as meat, need a higher temp and psi to about 11-15. This assures the microbes that grow anaerobically a killed. This device seems to only substitutes for the waterbath canning method.
can this canner use 12 0z. jars. would like to know before purchasing one. would treat them like pint jars for timing. please reply
I believe it can handle the 12 ounce jars.
Success at last (just finished two 4 pint batches of peaches-every jar sealed) !!!!! Maybe not for canning pros, but this canner is well worth my money.