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.
I am definitely in need of a new set up. Just using a big stock pot and sometimes a small pressure cooker. HELP!!!!
I have been canning for three years. I started after I began gardening. I have the standard enamel covered pot with rack. I would love this because I do have a glasstop unit.
I have no proper canning setup have done it with friends mom / do cold canning with ball jars at home. I would love this thing as im buying the land next to my house just to have a nice garden. thank you have a nice weekend.
When I became an empty-nester, I gave all my canning stuff to my daughter. Now we like to can together. There are times that I need my own pots to can and I know longer have any. My daughter lives 1 hour away so I am in the market for my own set again.
I learned to can with my parents but dropped out of it as an adult. I picked it back up again about 5 years ago when I started making salsa. now I am into jams, relishes as well as salsa.
I’ve been canning for years, I love it. I have an old enamelware canning kettle. It’s all I’ve ever used. I would love to try something new like your Fresh TECH Electric Canner!
I have just recently gone organic, sugar- and grain-free. i am learning how to grow my own veggies and preserve them also. All i have is a stock pot and my granny’s BALL mason jars. I would love to be the recipient of the new FreshTech system give-away: it would be a great addition to my kitchen if i were to win it!! I would use it proudly.
I have a water bath canner for my stove. I’d love to have something like this that doesn’t take up so much room on my stove!
Hello ! I have a regular water bath canner. The stove I have fluctuates in temperature, so a portable unit would be awesome….thanks ! 🙂
Would love to win.
I have bits and pieces from grandma, mom and then I’ve collected from swap meets, estate and garage sales. Modern is great, but you can learn from vintage and then really enjoy the improvements.
I grow an organic garden and teach my neighborhood children the love of gardening and how to “can” food. I’m disabled and could never afford this, but it would be great to win this…it would be a great help since I use an old water bath canner I got at a garage sale years ago.
I have a waterbath canner and a glass top stove i use to can jams with. this looks like it would help give me more room to work.
“in the market for a new rig”. I lost all of my canning supplies due to an F4 tornado. The supplies I miss the most are the jars etc. that I had gotten from my Grandma and my awesome Aunt. I found a canner at a yard sale last year and used it .
I was given a pressure canner by my late Mother when she discovered how late I was staying up to can vegetables from our garden and having to get up early the next morning to go to work. She gave me the canner for my birthday and I used it until five years ago when we were robbed and they took my canner and all the canning supplies I had accumulated over the years. Now I am back to the old dark blue water bath canner I was using previously. The canner pictured looks like a dream come true.
I have a stockpot that I use with a silicone trivet for most things. I have also used a 4th burner pot on occasion.
I’V WATCHED MY MOM AND DAD FOR YEARS THIS YEAR IS MY YEAR TO LEARN I JUST NEED THE R IGHT EQIPMENT TOLEARN HOW TO DO IT RIGHT
I have a water bath canner. The old school way! lol
I have always wanted to learn how to can and it would be wonderful to win this as my husband and I are both disabled, receive disability ( very limited income ) and wouldn’t be able to afford this on our own. Growing up, the mom of one of my good friends canned a lot of the veggies from their garden, so my “love affair” with wanting to learn started fairly early on. Thanks for this opportunity!!!!
My husband and I use the old blue flat bottom with the white flecks. We use a propane burner out doors because we have a glass burner stove and the burners just don’t do the same job as the old coil burners.
I learned to water bath can from my grandmother and mother. I have reignited my interest in canning in the past few years and love to give gifts to friends and family. I use a blue speckled enamel pot and the stove top sure gets crowded quickly! This looks like the perfect solution.
Ive been using an old canner i got at yard sale.
Have been using since the 1980 .
House gets so hot in summer with the canner
My garden has been doing really great of late.
When i saw this canner my first thought was what a blessing this would be .
I can even in winter when theres a sale.
I am not using anything right now as we moved and someone threw my pot away!! I’m so sad because I have to wait now to get something new!! I would absolutely love to win this!!
I am in the market for a new canner. There are so many things I wanted to can last year, but I didn’t have a canner at the time. One way or another I plan on putting fruit and veggies up by canning this year!
I’m pretty new to canning, but I love it! Such a feeling of pride when my husband and son open a new jar of their favorites! I use the water bath, just bought a big pot that works pretty good. I plan on upgrading at some point. Can’t wait for the gardens to start doing their thing!!!
I made do last summer with a granite canner from my sister and an electric counter top burner as I have an older glass top range.
I recently lost my leg, below the knee. Standing at the stove processing my jars has become difficult for me to do. Lifting the pot is extremely difficult. Having the electronic canner with the spout to remove the water without having to lift it would be so helpful! !!!!
I have the traditional canner but in my new house I have a glass top stove. So we put a burner stove on our porch but it’s a pain to go back and forth.
I use a steam canner, but I love this setup, frees up space on my stove!
I have both a pressure canner and a plain old-fashioned black speckled manual water bath canner.
I would love to be able to not be limited to just using my stove plus being able to make more at the same time.
Started canning last summer after a friend got me started. I really have no setup and do it the old fashioned water bath to seal the lid. This pot looks amazingly easy and for my big family would probably be a time saver.
Using a stock put with metal trivet. I have a ceramic top stove so I can’t use a traditional canner.
My gma has taught me all about canning, and im addicted. I have found most my materials, old blue pot, etc. at garage sales. I have heard of these different products, but would love to hear more reviews.
My setup is pretty basic. I have the tradition black/white speckled enamel pot. It is just like the one my grandfather used (after my grandmother went blind, she taught my grandfather how to do the canning) but his was no longer usable, so this is a recent purchase.
i am using a cheap canning pot. I’m always terrified it’s going to break my stoves glass top!
I use the old water bath canning equipment that my mother used. I remember the epic weekend that mom, one sister and I canned 96 quarts of tomatoes. Some new equipment would be awesome.
Steam canner
I use my dad’s old equipment… It’s all his fault I’m now addicted to gardening and trying to save it all 😉 The indoctrination started in grade school and continued his whole life. They are some of the very best memories I carry 😀
Julie T. says Well I had to teach myself to can back in the 1980’s when I had my first born son Daniel. No I did’nt have a canner at all and had to make do with a spaghetti pot but it worked. Then after two more boys were born my mom gave me a used canner that she used when she made tomato juice for my dad. He really loves it. And her mom helped her to can all that tomato juice. I really only like it tomoto juice right off the stove with a little salt in it to drink before it is canned. Boy does that bring back memories for me. Well my mom is trying to settle in to the nursing home and boy she does not like it one bit even though it is good for her and my dad is doing great in their. I guess what she did to help feed her family stuck with me and now all I want to do is grow vegetables and can my own food for my family. There’s nothing wrong with that.
this is my 3rd year canning !!! I’m obsessed it’s so addicting !!! Love love love to can !!! My sister & I can together & learn together !!! It works out great we use 2 old enamel canning pots !!! I would love this electric canner !!! I have the jelly maker & a huge pressure canner but I’m scared to use it I don’t have that much confidence in pressure canning yet !!! The electric water bath canner would be awesome !!!
I use a stock pot!!!
I just use an old stockpot. New is nice too.
I am a novice to canning,however I would love to have the right tools to do the canning. I have tried it once,and I used what I have which is a heavy tall pot. I hope to win so I can do more canning and it would be awesome for the tamales party. I so much love my friends canning and wish to do my own. Thank you for this giveaway
I am new to canning and not sure how to go about canning. My other has given me her 40 year old canner and some of her canning recipes. Any advise is welcomed.
Great Grandma’s pressure canner – haven’t water bath canned in years, but I’d be happy to give it a whirl again!
I use my grandmothers canner, you can’t go wrong with it! It’s sentimental but I would love the upgrade.
I use a stock pot, and am still using the Ball “beginner’s” green basket. I have a couple of jam recipes in particular that are now popular enough with friends and family that 3 jars at a time makes into a very long day. Thanks for the idea of the induction burner! That or the new Ball electric would be a great help at peak season.
I use a large pot, I need this! Love making salsa and green beans.
I just began canning last year. I only canned tomatoes from my garden. I had an old pressure cooker but didn’t trust it. So I haven’t had a chance to do much canning. I am grateful just for a chance to enter this contest. Thank you. Win or not I will continue to learn more about canning. It reminds me of my grandmother mom and aunts doing this on wood burning stoves when I was a young girl. I love those memories:)