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.
Is there a trick to removing the diffuser thing when canning and stand time are up?
My canner doesn’t have a diffuser. I’m not sure how to help! So sorry!
My fresh tech recently got pin holes in the bottom of the stockpot. Newell did a good job with warranty. I might add this was after 15 uses at the most.
That’s very frustrating! I’ve had mine for years without any kind of issue.
I can’t find written instructions to water bath eggs in the Ball electric easy canner anywhere. Where can I get these instructions? I am a complete beginner in this and I liked this water bath canner because it looked easy to do. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
That’s because there’s no safe way to water bath eggs. Consider looking into water glassing if you want to preserve eggs.
I can’t find an answer anywhere to this question – does an electric water bath canner heat up the kitchen (and put steam into the kitchen, too) as much as a conventional stovetop water bath canner. I am not talking about a stove top steam canner, as I do have one of those, also.
Thank you.
It doesn’t produce as much heat as canning on a stove top does, but it will still release steam into your kitchen.
I use a Victorio steam canner. So much faster, less water and does the same thing as water bath. Love it.
I just purchased the Ball electric canner, I unfortunately couldn’t find it local so had to order it. Should be here in a few days. Looking forward to not having to use my cooktop, which takes forever to boil water. I usually use the turkey fry burner, but hate that too because I usually end up burning myself. I will still use the turkey burner for pressure canning, but I feel like this Ball canner will be a game changer. So excited!
Hello!
Mine did not come with a recipe book. While doing pickels I get E03 a lot, help. Other than that I love it.
I’m so sorry, but I can’t help. I don’t have the booklet either.
I just purchased one. I want to do dilly beans. Can I skip the preheat jars to allow packing my green beans in a cool to touch jar.
yes.
I came from a family of 8 kids, and we had huge gardens and that’s where I learned to can. I am now 80 and am wanting to teach my grandchildren how to can. I feel they are going to need to know the art is sustainability! Would love a new canner, rather than using large pots to waterbath!
Hi, i love my Ball FreshTECH Electric Water Bath Canner. Been using it for abou 4 years now. I know it can be used for other things which really got me wondering if this can also be used as a steam canner perhaps? Please advise, thanks.
I’m not sure if the lid has a tight enough seal to serve as a steam canner.
je veux acheter ce produit, car je fais beaucoup de conserves
je demeure au Canada
Marielle
Perhaps Bernardin makes a version for Canadian markets?
How big of a pot can you put on the induction burner for canning? I see on the Amazon listing that 25 lbs is the most weight you should put on the burner. Do you usually have more than that on it? And do you use a Graniteware canning pot? I have three of them, I guess they’re the 21 qt size.
I am moving and will have a flat top electric range instead of gas as I have now. I will get the Fresh Tech canner, but thought maybe I’d get the induction burner too.
Thanks!
I typically use a light weight stainless steel pot that holds 5 quarts on an induction burner. It comes in under the weight limit. I don’t imagine a graniteware canning pot with seven quarts would be too much for an induction burner, though I think it does better with a pot that doesn’t overhang the footprint of the induction burner.
Looking for a birthday gift for my wife she put up 140 quarts this year looking for something easier for her
This would be a great gift for her!
I’ve been using the ball canner for almost 8 years. Just had to replace it this year. I canned for my family of 5 until the kids were all grown. Not its just us 2. He’s a trucker and loves taking homemade canned meals to warm up in the hotel. Saves money on his lunches each week.
I have this and I love it! It doesn’t heat the house up it clears the stove to make cooking jams jellies peppers tomatoes or whatever you sre making to can. Highly recommend
Can this be used for pressure canning?
No, this is only for water bath canning. It’s not a pressure canner.
The canner is indeed a terrific asset if you are doing a lot of batches. I had my own jam making operation supporting a local fruit stand, making a lot of product. Bought this canner and my efficiency went up, the temp in the kitchen went down. Then the spigot broke and Ball does not support this product with replacement parts. In fact, they are discontinuing it…. Amazon get replacements in, or so I am led to believe by reviews of the part, but every time I look they are out and don’t know when they will get more in..
I’m so sorry to hear that your spigot broke, but at least you can still use the canner without it (though I can see how it would be a pain to drain).
I am 73 years old and have been canning for about 50 years now. An electric canner is my dream machine. Canning now is more important now than ever and hopefully I can pass this along to my children and grandchildren.
Can I use this for steam bath canning?
Yes. It works well for steam canning.