Over the last decade, the Ball Canning folks have brought a handful of canning appliances to market. The first was the FreshTECH Jam and Jelly Maker in the summer of 2012. The FreshTECH Automatic Home Canning System was the thing during the 2014 canning season. And now, we have the Ball FreshTECH Electric Water Bath Canner and Multi-Cooker.
This electric canner is exactly what I know a number of you have been hoping for. It’s a giant pot that has an independent element so that you can move your processing pot off your stove top and over to the counter.
It holds 8 quarts, nine pints, or a dozen regular mouth half pints (that means that if you stack them, you can process 24 quarter pint jars at once). It’s particularly great if your stove is slow to boil water or if you’ve been warned off canning on a glass top cooktop. It works like any other boiling water bath canner, so if you live at higher altitudes, you will still need to adjust your processing time upwards.
It has a spout on the left side of the canner, so if your kitchen is arranged in a way where you can set the canner to the right of your stove, you can drain the water directly into the sink. The canner comes with a steaming rack as well as a canning rack, so that you can use it for all your high capacity steaming needs (I could see it being perfect for tamale parties).
It can also be used as a portable cooker, so can work for large amounts of soup, chili, or even something like mulled cider. Nice if you help with community potlucks or church suppers.
I’ve now run a number batches of jars through the canner and I am really happy with it. It’s not going to become my primary boiling water bath because I make a lot of small batches and it doesn’t make sense to heat up this much water for two or three pints, but for larger batches, it’s a boon.
It’s also incredibly useful during tomato season and I’ve started bringing it with me to my classes and workshops where I know we’re making multiple batches and so we’ll need more canner space.
This canner does cost $149.99, which is a pretty penny if you already have a canning set-up you like. If you like the idea of moving your canning pot off your stove top but can’t swing that price point, there is a more affordable way to create something similar.
Get yourself an induction capable stock pot (a classic speckled canner with a flat bottom will work) and the induction burner I have (it’s just $60) and you have a canner you can run anywhere (I highly recommend outdoor canning on really hot days).
My bottom line on the Ball FreshTECH Electric Water Bath Canner is that it’s a great tool for people who do lots of large batch canning. If you have the budget and storage space for it, I highly recommend it.
Disclosure: The folks at Ball Canning sent me a FreshTECH Electric Canner for review and photography purposes at no cost to me. They are also provided a giveaway unit. No additional compensation was provided for this post and all opinions expressed are my own.
Oh man, would this be great! We have an induction stove which makes canning tricky with my old school, but not-so-old standard blue-speckled canning pot. Normally these one use contraptions don’t do it for me, but this one looks awesome!
I use my Great-grandmas water bath canner. She canned everything and I am slowly getting started. So far I have made salsa and jams. This year I plan to can a lot more!
I am new to canning I am trying to learn everything there is to know. This would be awesome to have.
I want one of these so bad. I have a $100 ball waterbath stock pot but a glass stove top so I get worried it is going to break. I have had my eye on this since it was announced. Really wish I hadn’t spent the money on that new pot now!
Prior to my move I used the big blue flecked enameled pot for canning — but now have a glass top stove with only 3 fully functional burners. I had thought I’d have to go to small batch canning due to space, but this FreshTECH electric canner would make things much simpler.
I would absolutely love to have this electric canner. I use my own canner which I have had for years. It’s stove top. I don’t use a pressure canner. Wish I could win this!!
I am currently using my mom’s waterbath canner from the 70s and also have a pressure canner but am moving to a house with a glass top stove so I can’t use it there, wahh! This would be such a wonderful addition to our set up! With a huge garden I am gonna need as many tools as possible to put it all up!
I water bath can on my electric apartment-sized stovetop, which means that the large canning pot is really too big for the burners, but it works well enough. I always love reading about the other options available – and dream of a day when they might be feasible for me.
I use one of those great big speckled pots – but it’s getting harder and harder to lift it when it’s full of water! Would love to have one that I can just set beside the sink, can, and then drain.
I have a rotating set of pots I use depending on the batch size. I have a stockpot with Blossom silicone trivet for smaller batches and a giant water bath canning pot with a special heat gauge on the glass lid that tells you when you’re in the safe canning zone, which means I don’t leave the heat on high and end up splashing water all over the stove from worrying that my boil is not boiling enough. The large one is invaluable for the large batches or when I want to do quart jars, but I’m intrigued by the idea of processing off the stove. Often, my stove has multiple preserves cooking in addition to the canner. Last year, I even had two canning pots going at once. That was a hectic day!
I’m in the market for a canning system. I’ve only ever made freezer jam. However, I used to help my Mom can peaches, jam, etc. This looks like a great system.
Thanks for the opportunity to win one!
I’m new to canning and have taken a few classes. I have a large stockpot, but would love to upgrade.
I just moved to my new house and unfortunately it has a glass top surface on the stove. I am going to need to figure something out different this season.
I have used the same water bath canner for at least 25 years. It looks pretty sad but still holds water. It’s a little more challenging to use on my glass top but I still manage. It looks exactly like the one my mom used my whole life. This looks like an answer to the problem of glass top stoves! Should be very popular!!
Stock pot with silicone ring needing and update.
ive canned my whole life , and would love to have this canner !
I have my mum’s old canning stock pot *somewhere*, but it’s lost among the piles of things in storage since I went off to college. Since then, I’ve just been freezing jars instead of really canning them.
We have a speckled canner but a glass top stove. We have canned outside on a turkey fryer base. Not convenient at all. Would love to win this canner!
I have my grandmother’s old canner but I am scared to use it! Right now I only can tomatoes and jellies, which I just get the lids and jars hot enough to seal. Would love to win this canner!
Wow, this looks great. I’m currently using a stockpot/silicone trivet (idea from you) set up and it works well but this looks pretty fabulous.
I’m using my mom’s old speckled canner. But I’m a tech geek and have heard good things about this new ball system! Would love to try it!
I use my grandmother’s water bath canner now but I also got a pressure canner for Christmas!
Ive been borrowing my mother’s canner for 30 years.would love to win one. I am going to put this on my wish list. Would a save on my flat top stove.
I use an old water bath set, I love canning pickles and sauerkraut that I make, and many other things that are so much better home made.
I just learned to can this past year. I needed to expand my home garden to save money and feed my kids healthy produce. As a consequence, I also needed to learn preserving. I got my water bath canner from my mother-in-law. It is one of the traditional, speckled, enameled pots with a rack in it. I found a jar lifter and other tools at a garage sale, got jars and lids on clearance at the store. I am processing bigger batches all the time, and having a tool like this electric canner to simplify the process would allow me to have extra time for other family activities. Thanks : )
Oh, me, me, me, me, please!
I’m hoping to get started canning in the next couple weeks, borrowing my mom’s equipment.
Haven’t canned in a few years, but would love to start again and teach my granddaughters!
I enjoy canning but have not been able to do much since I moved and have a smooth top stove. This is the PERFECT solution!
I use a large pot and rack. I am able to manage about 4 pints at a time, I’m so ready for bigger equipment. I would love to graduate to the electric canner!
I have the canning supplies that my mother passed down to me. Most of it is from the 50 and 60’s. I actually kind of afraid of some of it. I would love some new and safe equipment.
What a wonderful giveaway! I actually used my sweet neighbor’s canning equipment last time, and need my own. This looks great!! 🙂
I have put together my canning set-up mostly from yard sale finds. I have a large pressure canner that I just got a couple years ago. Unfortunately I have not used it much due to two terrible garden seasons. I’m hoping this year is better. I also have standard stock pots with the silicone trivets, and some large stainless pans I use for cooking the berries or tomatoes or whatever down. I would gladly give up the stock pots for this canner.
I love canning and never find it in my local stores. I wish to try it
really not doing anything. Still in the learning phase.
I only got to make 1 batch of jam last year (your delicious tomato jam), but used a large stainless steel stock pot with a silicone trivet. I have an induction cooktop and do have a little concern over using it for canning over and over. I just read an article that talked about how great this new canner is in the Washington Post this morning – looks like a winner!
I’m using a speckled canner on my stove top. I LOVE the idea of being able to can on my patio. Canning peaches & tomatoes on 100+ degree days in my kitchen is brutal.
I have an old modern maid propane stove out on my porch ( canning kitchen) that I use in summer to can on .with all the canning I do this would be a wonderful gift to me and my family. please enter me in this contest . Thank you
I currently use the speckled canner that my Mom passed down to me. Well, she graciously gave it to me when I began canning. I still hear about it every time they put on a Lowcountry Boil and can’t find anything big enough to boil the crab in! I’ve tried to find a similar one, but they’re not easy to buy anymore it seems. I use the trivet-like thing that came with it to keep the jars off the bottom. Other than that, I use a funnel, some tongs with grips and a kitchen towel to set my hot jars on. I admit it would be nice to have something off the stove to process jars in, since I’m usually still in the process of making a second batch when I’m trying to process the first. The pour spout would be nice, too, since I get impatient and want to dump the boiling water not long after I’ve pulled out my last jar. This is pretty comical and sometimes painful…
i have only canned one time decades ago. I freeze or donate all extra produce to local food banks. I would cherish this canner so I can take up preserving my tomatoes and jam. Fingers crossed!
Oh, winning this would be wonderful. I have a glass top cooker and worries every time I can. I currently use my pasta pot for the water bath which results in a fair amount of splashing boiling water because it’s really not big enough. I have decided against a proper canning pot, like the classic speckled one, because the base is just too wide and I don’t want a cracked cooked top. Thanks for the reminder about purchasing a separate element!
I use the classic speckled pot on my (ugh) electric stove. This pot would be an amazing addition to my canning life!
I have a glass top stove and cannot can on it. I use t he standard water bath canner and pressure canner outside on a propane camp stove. I usually have to wait for my son to be home so he can lift it for me. This electric canner will make canning a joy once again. I would just LOVE this canner!
I use a large stockpot with a separate canning rack I bought. It’s great because I don’t get to use the stockpot much otherwise, and the rack fits perfectly. It works well for now, but I can’t make large batches of preserves.
Big ol pot
I use a pressure canner I purchased in1977. A stainless steel pot for a water bath. I also do almost all my canning on my back porch using my Cache Cooker camp stove
I have a water bath and a steamer. My sister and I fumbled together and finally mastered my grandmothers chili sauce recipe!
I would love to win this. I have a glass top stove and just don’t feel comfortable canning for extended periods of time on it. I will can small batches of jam but thats about it on it. For my bulk canning projects, they are done outside, on the side burner of our grill. But, I have to depend on the weather for that. It is often windy, so pot doesn’t heat properly due to flame jumping around. I have to wait for late at night for it to be calm sometimes.
I have that classic speckled canning pot! It gets the job done! However, I’m going to upgrade to a pressure cooker with a gauge for canning fish this year. I have noticed that my canning pot doesn’t heat up the same way on different stove-tops and sometimes it can be an issue when trying to time runs properly. This seems like an easy way around that, and I’d love to have one!
I am currently canning with a water bath canner on an electric stove in our tiny apartment. It works well but i would really love to try canning new things. I can moslty fruits, jams and spreads for my co workers, dad, and family and freeze everything from my balcony garden that would require pressure canning. This new canning method looks interesting. i would really love to give this canner a test drive.