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.
ohh, I’d can lots of jam, fruit, and relish in this!
Currently I’m waterbath canning in my largest stockpot w/ the Ball try-it-at-home basket thingy. As much as I drool over the beautiful speckled pots I can’t have one. Silly ol’ glasstop!
Bought a pressure canner last year and am totally obsessed with canning…also have an old water canner but living in an apartment stove space is limited.
because my microwave was installed too close to my stove, I had to search for a pot that’s wide and short. It took a while, but I found an old stockpot in which I use short and wide jars.
I use a pressure canner I bought years ago. Hubby bought me another one last summer. I could really use this one. I canned over 700 jars last year. Going to be teaching my youngest daughter to can this year.
Glass top stove so I use a Presto for pressure canning. Would love to be able to water bath so many jars without worrying about cracking my stove top!!
We use moms old speckled pot, and a variety of moms old jars that have been around for years. Just started talking about a pressure setup… This thing is nifty!
I’ve canned for years on my stovetop but this last year I burned out my large element. (I have a flat top stove….not good for alot of canning!) This unit sounds like what I need! The canning starts with the springers (spring salmon run) and albacore which I put up in my pressure canner. Then I put up as much as I can from the garden and end the year with salsa, soups and assorted pasta sauces.
I enjoy your blog very much and fingers crossed I win! So I don’t have to buy a whole new stove!
Learning to can was on my bucket list before my third baby. Have been in heaven ever since. I feel so squished on my Electrolux range with my huge water bath canner. Would love to move it to another space so I can have more goodies going on the other burners.
My canning set up is a canning pot about ready to rust thru, I am wanting to try this one out but I was not to families with out so thanks for information
I use Grandma’s Revereware. It really IS too small a pot for proper canning, so I don’t can as often as I want to.
I’m using an old stock pot I found at a garage sale with a canning insert. This new set-up looks amazing!
I’m intrigued, though it does seem like a two trick pony. I’m using my pressure canner for regular canning and a large stockpot for small batches. This of course would make it more convenient than lugging the heavy pressure canner to the sink to dump water. I could get an enamelware pot for water bath, but in my head It would be a one use item.
I lost my canning pot during a move so haven’t been able to can.
I use an 8 quart stock pot I “permanently borrowed” from my non culinary significant male dating partner.
Still just a water bath canner on the stove for those recipes, but I do use a pressure canner outside on a fish fryer, because it terrifies me to use it inside with the kids running through. I’ve been thisclose to ordering one of these beauties since they first released.
My canning set-up must now be redone! I now have an induction cooktop & none of my canners work on my cooktop. This would be a fantastic way to begin my new canning set-up!
I borrow a friend’s canning setup currently but have been dreaming about having my own since there are a lot of projects I want to do this season.
I’m using an old canning pan and want to upgrade soon.
I want this real bad! I’ve wanted this since the day it was released! Right now I have the traditional water bath set up on my gas stove. The thought of running my water bath outside on hot summer days sound like a fantastic set up. I also love the thought of clearing out room on my cooktop.
I use a stock pot or freeze.
This looks pretty interesting. I have a huge metal canning pot with a rack. It’s nice and light, so it’s easy to move once it’s got water in it. I’d love to be able to move off the stove though.
I have a steam canner I really like, but our new(ish) house has a glass stovetop and it doesn’t work quite as well. Dang it.
How very nice. Would love to can and can and can!
I can every year but just developed rheumatoid arthritis and won’t be able to manage my traditional setup with the huge water bath on the stove – this would totally solve everything, being able to set up next to the sink and that spout!
I don’t have a canning set up really. The couple of times I’ve tested the canning “waters”, I’ve just used my tamale steaming pot, but I really liked your thoughts about this one being used for tamale parties and that spout is perfect!!
I just have the basic set up but now have a glass stove top so trying hard not to wreck it. This would be wonderful to have!
Oh, I so need this.
I have a Fagor duo pressure cooker. It has a short pot and a tall pot, a lid and a basket inside the tall pot. Also a glass lid.
I use the tall pot with the basket to can my jam. It can’t hold pints in the basket, only the the small 6 oz jars. About six of them. So I have to make jam in small jars and do it in batches. Not entirely a bad thing.
But having a designated canner will free up a burner on my stove, plus this holds more. I have a corner sink so can set this on either side to drain.
I’m getting ready to try my strawberry rose geranium jam I’ve had my eye on for two years. My plants are finally big enough to produce enough flowers for the recipe.
This canner would be sweet.
I’ve actually looked at induction burners as I have a vintage gas stove (which I love). I even have a large enamel pot but I haven’t look the bottom to see if it’s flat or not. I don’t imagine they are they expensive.
I have a dehydrator set up in the garage for making the dog’s liver and kidney treats. (They really stink.) So it would be wonderful to have a canning set up in the garage as well.
For my jellys I use a stockpot and trivet, but for my heavy canning times- think spaghetti sauce, salsa, tomatoes, and peaches I use my stockpot, traditional large gray canner, and a smaller gray canner and yes I can on a glass top stove with no problems ever.
I would LOVE this canner! While the old enamel pot set up work fine, we have a propane stove and pay a pretty penny for it. However, electric is included in our rent. I also live in the desert area of SoCal and I could take this outside to can In summer months to keep the heat down inside. Awesome!! I love this idea. I’m going to check out the website. Thanks for the info!
I usually it’s use my pressure canner (with a loose lid) when I’m doing my water bath canning. I’m pretty obsessed
I use a hardware store setup–just the pot with a holder, and a weird mish-mash of jars. This would take my canning to a serious pro level!
I use my moms old stovetop black canner. It becomes pretty steamy in our kitchen!!!
This will be my first season canning so I don’t really have anything set up yet. This would be a wonderful addition to my kitchen!
We just have the Walmart basic and a glass cooktop so we haven’t been canning much lately. This would be great for us and our household.
Looks a lot more efficient than my stovetop waterbath canner.
I use a pressure cooker as a water bath canner and it is a little too big for my stove. When I get things going, I can wind-up using 4 of the 5 burners.
I have been canning for years and would like this easy to use machine. I have your jam and Jelly maker. If this is as good as that I would love to have one…
I have a Presto dial gauge canner, which I use for both water bath and pressure canning. The only real downside is that I have a gas range/oven, which I love for cooking, but it dumps an INCREDIBLE amount of heat into the house when I am canning. This looks like it would be a really neat addition to my set-up, letting me do more water bath stuff during the summer, setting up on the covered back porch. Very cool!
i use my grandmothers water bath and pressure canner. She is 102 years old. Her pressure canner is awesome, it does not have a rubber gasket to replace, all machined metal. I have enjoyed trying new recipes every year.
I’ve been using a large canning pot I bought last year, my first year canning.
I’m in the process of house hunting and worried about whether our new stove will play nice with my old canner. This would really ease my mind!
I use a large stock pot. It’s kind of a pain in the butt and I would simply love to upgrade to this! I’m trying to can ask our veggies and some fruit for the entire year. We shalt see what I’m actually able to do.
I use a “speckled” deep canning pot for water bath processing – pretty traditional, with wire rack, etc.
This would be a great addition! Thanks for the opportunity 😀
My setup? Has been sadly sitting in my craft/ storage room since my kiddo came into my life two years ago. Partially purchased new, mostly secondhand thrifting, I use a canning pot & rack and am proud to say, mostly jars gifted to me fromy mother.
My mom has been an avid canner since her mother in law (grandma Lillian) taught her how to can when I was about 10. My mother is a prolific and generous canner, and I got my setup in an attempt to be able to gift back to her, and friends & family. Being an independent sort of daughter, I ventured on my own my first few forays, but realized my mom’s wealth of knowledge was an untapped & valuable resource. Your blog and she were my resources when I was popping out jars on the regular for a few years.
This would be an excellent way to dive back in and get back into my groove!
I did some canning with my mother when I was young but have never canned by myself. At this point, I don’t have equipment. This would certainly give me a good start.
I don’t want to wack a hornets’ nest but I usually use a steam canner. It’s not the traditonal type, however. It is essentially a huge pot and one of the few I’ve found that really has the depth necessary for canning quart size jars.
i have a good old fashioned stockpot with a canning rack. Works like a charm but I’d love an upgrade! I too do summer canning outside with my propane burner.
I have been using an ancient canner that belonged to my Great Grandma and I love it but I think I would love this more. ❤ Thanks for the opportunity.
I am using a water bath canner right now but I would love one of the electric water bath canners. I have two pressure canners, so I would love to have two water bath canners going at the same time.