How Many Quart Jars Fit in a Pressure Canner? Guides & Tips

How Many Quart Jars Fit in a Pressure Canner

To can your food with a pressure canner, you have to put it inside jars. The major advantage of this is that you’ll be preparing the canned food jar by jar. That’s why all pressure canners work with jars.

The two types of jars good for canning are pint jars and quart jars. However, this article focuses on quart jars. It discusses how many quart jars fit in a pressure canner.

How Many Quart Jars Fit in a Pressure Canner?

You can’t answer this question directly. This is because pressure canners come in different sizes. The size of your pressure canner will determine how many jars it can take. The higher the capacity, the more quart jars it can take. For example, a pressure canner that has a capacity of 16 quarts can take about 7 to 8 quart jars.

Also, we must let you know that pressure canners with higher capacity cost more. So, before buying a pressure canner, you should decide on how many jars of food you’ll like to can.

That will help you choose an appropriate size. If all you need is a pressure canner that can take 6 quart jars, why pay more for a pressure canner that can take more?

To make your choice easier, check the body of your pressure canner or its user manual. You’ll find the number of quart jars it can take. At this juncture, we must tell you about a common mistake that users make.

You should avoid it. Users sometimes fill their canner with the number of jars that it can take even if it is higher than the recommended number. This will reduce the quality of your canned food.

So, if the manufacturer of your pressure canner states that it can only take 5 quart jars, don’t stuff it with more than 5 jars even if there’s space for more. You’ll always get great results if you follow manufacturer’s recommendations.

To answer the question above, the number of quart jars that will fit in a pressure canner depends on the capacity of the pressure canner and manufacturer’s recommendations.

Capacities of Different Sizes of Pressure Canner 

Pressure canners come in different sizes and people want to know how many jars each size can take. Pressure canners come in 8, 12, 16, 22, and 23-quart sizes. To pick the most suitable size for yourself, it is necessary to know how many jars it can take. Check out the jar capacities of each size of pressure canner below.

How many quart jars fit in a 23-quart pressure canner?

You need to understand that there are two types and three categories of canning jars. 

Types

  • Regular jars
  • Wide mouth jars

Categories 

  • Pints
  • Quarts
  • Half pints

If you’re using a regular jar, this pressure canner can 24 half-pint, 20 pint, and 7 quart jars. For wide mouth jars, this pressure canner will take 16 pint, 16 half-pint, and 7 quart jars.

How many jars fit in a 16 quart pressure canner? 

This is one of the commonest sizes of pressure canner but it is not as big as the one above. It has a smaller capacity. For regular jars, this size of pressure canner can take 12 half-pint, 10 pint, and 7 quart jars. On the other hand, for wide mouth jars, it can take 8 pint, 8 half-pint, and 7 quart jars. 

How many quart jars fit in a 12 quart pressure canner?

This model is not as big as the other two above. However, it will take a small space in your kitchen. It can take 4 quart, 7 pint, and 8.5 pint jars. If you’re a bachelor or spinster living alone, this should be the best model for you.

How many quart jars fit in a 22 quart pressure canner? 

This model of pressure canner can take 7 quart, 16 pint and 26 half-pint jars, but you have to double stack the half-pint jars to make it take up to 26 jars. As far as we’re concerned, this model is almost the same as a 23-quart pressure canner. 

How many jars will an 8 quart pressure canner hold? 

This is the cheapest category of pressure canners. We don’t recommend it because we feel that it is too small. It can take only 3 quart and 2.5 pint jars. This means that if you want to can into 12 pint jars, you have to do about 6 canning sessions. That’s a whole lot of work. The minimum size of pressure canner we recommend is the 12-quart pressure canner. 

Final Words

To summarize the article, you need jars to can your food with a pressure canner and there are two types of jars. You can use the pint or quart jars. Secondly, the number of quart jars that your pressure canner can take depends on the manufacturer’s recommendation and the capacity of the canner.

Purchase the size of pressure canner that meets your needs. Don’t waste money to buy the one that takes more jars than you need. The number of quart jars a pressure canner can take is usually stated on the body of the canner or in its user manual. This is why you should always study the manual before using your canner.

Finally, if you find out that your pressure canner can take more quart jars than the recommended number, don’t exceed the recommended number. If you do, it will impact the canning results and also shorten the lifespan of your canner.

June Brandt
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