Canning Gadgets

Canning truly is a form of art. It’s something that requires some learning and patience, but the product is absolutely beautiful. I’m honestly so thankful we started trying it and that we’ve grown so much over the years too. Our skills have expanded but so has the amount of items we’ve accumulated to help! In addition to the original items that are needed to start canning, there’s a whole list of gadgets for canning that can help you speed up the process and make it easier to put away more food. 

Food Processor

If you’re going to be making salsa, you’re going to want a food processor. It makes the process so quick and easy to get done. We also use the processor for soup too as cutting up all those ingredients takes time. We love the Ninja food processor but I’m sure there are cheaper options out there that would probably get the job done.

Slap Chop

If you aren’t going to invest in a processor as part of your canning gadgets, at least invest in a food chopper. These will make the work take half the time and save your hands from all the cutting. They’re handy to be used all year round too, not just during canning season. Invest in one for your kitchen and then use it for canning as a bonus. Even in my small kitchen it’s worth it. 

Sauce Master

This is the only MUST HAVE of our canning gadgets. It makes it so that you are able to make tomato sauce, applesauce, pear sauce, any type of sauce. The importance here is that it makes it smooth. It removes all the skins and seeds for a great consistency in your results. Ours were purchased at garage sales and estate sales but this one from Amazon is really great. We modified ours to prevent some splatter but this already has a screen built into it. 

Electric Roaster

You don’t have to get one of these but it sure makes things a lot easier. I got mine at the thrift store and I still feel so lucky and blessed to have stumbled upon it. It helps us cook down massive amounts of tomato sauce to get a good thickness. It’s perfect for making great big batches of spaghetti sauce! Plus, you can use it to cook down fruit before putting it through the sauce master. Apples and pears for instance, can be cooked on low overnight so they can be run through the mill the next day. This can also be used for very large batches of broth and it’s very helpful for that too. This is probably my number two must-have gadget if you’re willing to spend the money. 

Instant Pot

Another item that you may not have to have but it will help if you plan to make a lot of broth. Bone broth can be made right in your stove but it can also be made in the instant pot. This will save you the time and effort that it takes to stand by your stove and cook it. Plus, it’ll keep it warm if you get caught up doing other things and can’t get it canned right away.  As a note, I prefer my Ninja Foodi over the actual instant pot due to its advanced capabilities.

Camp Chef 

The camp chef has been a game changer for us. My parents and I both have one so we can have six canners going at the same time. 2 on each canner and then another 2 in the house. It’s AMAZING how much we can process in one day using these stoves. I also love that we can take our canning process outside instead of being cooped up. It still kind of sucks outside in the heat of summer but when we process in the fall it’s super nice to be able to enjoy the weather while we’re getting work done. This is going to be the second best item I could recommend. 

Heavy Bottom Pots

If you are going to buy the camp chef you’re going to want these heavy bottom pots. The outdoor stoves heat up more quickly and it’s so much easier to burn things to your pan if you use standard thin ones. These pans were handed down to us from our grandma but we are so thankful for them. Plus, they’re really gray if you’re cooking up a batch of true Italian spaghetti that needs to be cooked all day long. 

Turkey Fryer Pot

Hear me out here because our turkey pot has come in super handy. We use it to collect all of our tomato sauce so we can get it moved into the roasters. It makes it so we don’t have to stop and keep emptying a smaller pot or container. We also us this to boil our meat birds so this one is a good multipurpose item to have on hand. 

In Summary: Canning Gadgets

None of these are really must-have items. There are plenty of ways to can without having them on hand. It truly comes down to how much you are canning and how much time you have. If you are looking to can a very large amount of produce and you have limited time to do it, these gadgets will help you. We’ve invested in them as a family, too, so we can help keep costs down. Although, I do think that the benefit will far outweigh the cost for all of these.