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.
Current setup. I finally bought a larger stickpot meant to boil lobsters in :/ i put a washcloth down on the bottom to cut down on the rattling noise. I did get the Ball jar lifter. I’m still a novice. I do mostly kams, but have canned salsa, peaches, and applesauce. I am a social canner. I love canning with my sisters and friends. Last time, hubby helped with salsa and I think we bonded 😉 This year, I hope to enlist the help of my kiddos, 13 & 11 yrs old. I’ll let them pick a food to can and they get to help step by step. Make it a family tradition!
Currently I just use a stockpot but canning outside is a great idea!
I just use my stockpot with a silicone basket.
I use my stovetop with a speckled stock pot for my canning waterbath. I would love to move it off the stove.
Wow! This is nice. I use MIL’s old canning pots. I only do tomatoes and jams/jellies because it’s very old and the pressure gauge is messed. It’s a great size and weight but takes a long time to heat up water! Anyway I would love to have this!
got an old speckled canner.
I use the old style water bath canner. I also have a pressure cooker that I use as well. I’d love to have another huge canner, because I can mostly big batches at one time. I love the spigot option on the canner!
My set up includes my pressure canner, an old stock pot with the rack from the pressure canner and assorted other knives, funnels, ladles, etc. I’ve got an old enamled pot and another official canning pot, but both are rusted. I can’t bear to throw them away, but do not know how to get the rust off. This would be amazing for hot summer canning! My husband often says that I can on the hottest days of the year….I think the canning is what makes them seem that way 🙂
I use a stock pot with stoneware plates above and below: I’m an unwilling luddite! SAVE ME
Why isn’t there a Canadian contest?
I use my stovetop to hwb, it would be nice to free up the stove. I also use the silicon trivet, works great, and just last year I sprung for a new pony ( my granetware pot finally rusted out after 40 years.
my favorite is a ‘smaller’ black-speckled pot that fits 7 pint jars. I love it for small batches for how quickly it heats up.
I use a pretty unexciting set up. I have a big black pot that I put jar lids all across the bottom. Sometimes I’ll also use a medium sized stainless steel pot if I’m making a small batch of jelly.
I’ve always wanted to start canning but I haven’t tried due to the fear factor of doing it wrong and the start up costs. This would definitely give me an incentive!
Why isn’t there a Canadian contest?
I don’t have a set up yet! This year I have started my first veggie garden, with my four sons. I plan to can all our wonderful bounty. I hope to teach them all the blessings of growing and making your own food.
I have the old speckled pot, as well, and when I’m doing huge batches of salsa or marinara, the stovetop gets very crowded! I would love this!!!
I have a fairly new water bath canner that I use with just an old trivet set in it. An electric water bath canner would be so nice and convenient to have.
I have a blue ball canning pot I bought 20 years ago. I tend to water bath more, but I do have a pressure canner too. Looking forward to this season’s garden bounty!
I use a large enamel pot, silicon tools, and Ball jars, all from Amazon.
I use a stainless pot and am lucky enough to have a pot filler faucet, which is great for canning.
I host massive canning sessions with friends, so this set-up would be very handy
for waterbath canning I use a stockpot and silicone trivet. Works fine, but the vent is quite low over my stovetop and I do worry about all the steam. This would be awesome!
I’ve just been using the largest pot that came with my pots and pan set. Really not ideal and limits me on what sizes I can actually can (those big jars of pickles just don’t fit!). Been looking to upgrade to something a little more versatile.
I have a water bath canner that I bought 30 years ago. It’s definitely showing it’s age. For smaller batches I just use a large stock pot with the insert to my small pressure canner to set the the jars on.
I’ve got my mom’s very old setup – nice huge pressure canner which doubles as a water bath canner. I wore out her speckled canner [and another of my own]. It takes up a lot of room on the stove though. It would be very nice to move it all outside in the summer.
I don’t can yet. Just learning about it now and wanting to start this year.
I have jars; that’s it. I usually go to my mother-in-law or my aunts house and help them and take home some of the bounty. I’m ready to make my own!!!
I’m using two hand-me-down enamel pots from my Mom. They are lovely. One is nice and huge and the other is best for pint-size or smaller jars.
We have bits and pieces cobbled together….my husband works with the pressure canner. I do water bath canning with an All-Clad stock pot (usually using the silicone trivet. We do have a canning rack that fits in one of those speckled pots too, but it seems that the bottom of that pot is so very thin.
I have the old blue speckled one but the rack is long gone. It still works though!
I have my grandmother’s Guardian Service canning pot for the stove. I am just getting started with canning, and I would love to try this out.
i actually do not have a canning set up yet! We just moved to a new house that has a lot of room for a garden and my husband and I are looking forward to getting started! It’s a learning process and I know that canning wi be in my future so I really appreciate all of your posts full of information!
I’m using my mom’s old setup–the classic speckled pot with a rack that fits five quarts or seven pints.
I am on my second one of an enameled stock pot and a glass top range. The pots are inexpensive, but they rust over time. I can’t help wishing and hoping I would win this!
So cool! When I was really canning, I bought a propane camp stove so I could can outside. Canning in an unconditioned house in 90+ degree humid Washington DC area weather. Electric canning would be so neat. I guess we’ll have to investigate the solar panels now!
I just bought a All American Pressure Canner but I have not used it yet. I want to read up on all the procedures before I try my first batch.
I use my mom’s 30+ yr old canning setup. I would love something brand new! Awesome giveaway. Thanks!
I just started canning 2 years ago. I love it. Started water bath canning with a large pot that was mom’s. Had to ask older people how to can. I used to freeze everything. I just bought a pressure canner for this year. I’m a little afraid of it, but have already canned a batch of potatoes. Bought the blue bell canning book. Anyway I’d love to win this.
I have the old speckled pot, but would like to upgrade!
I have a small canner and a large canner for tomatoes and strawberry jams in the summer. I love being able to pull out my little pot and make a small batch!
My current setup? Well, I haven’t used it yet. It’s a pressure cooker type, but I’m a bit afraid of it. I like the idea of this canner much better and I’d love to try it out. Thanks!
I have had to buy all my canning supplies. No one in my family cans but me. My poor stove hates me. The coating on the grates has started to melt off!
Several years ago I bought the big blue Ball pot and starter kit…it has served me well. 🙂
I use an old fashion one but it is very worn out. Many places are rusty. It just happens to be one of those things that never gets replaced. I would love to have a new more efficient one with out the small rust spots.
I have a speckled canner a smaller stock pot and green ball basket for smaller batches. This will be a neat way to move canning out to garage on the heat of summer.
I SO need this for canning this summer!
I have my grandmother’s old black speckled canning/lobster pot, with a metal insert from a bamboo steamer as my canning rack.
I have the worlds smallest kitchen so this would be so helpful! I love the idea of portability so canning can happen outdoors on hot days, too! Anything to make life easier during tomato season!
Love your book Food in Jars and have made a few of the recipes . I have a big old black canning pot and a steam canner… Have not yet worked up the guts to try a pressure canner… Would love to try this. Can’t imagine how nice the spigot would be…
I am so happy to read about this canner. I have been hesitating getting a ceramic top range because I could not can on it.