Canning Rack

A canning rack will eventually tend to rust and will need to be replaced.

I used my rack for years and years. I finally replaced it last month. My new one is so nice and shiny!

Remember that if you are buying a new canner there should be a rack included with it!

Be Creative

You can be creative when it comes to the rack if you want to use a stock pot for water bath. The only rules are, The jars must be covered with water by 2 inches and the jars must be held up off the bottom of the canner. I've heard of using a kitchen towel but I have never tried it. I have a neighbor who uses a block of wood.

I also got this e-mail from Susan

Hello Sharon
A comment on the question about what to use for a rack on the bottom of a canner. Recently I needed another rack because I was stacking pints in my pressure canner. Couldn't locate the second rack - husband was enlisted for help. He came back with a very used table saw blade - 10 inches across.

It worked very satisfactorily. It is now stored in the canner - ready for next time. Thanks for a great site! ~ Susan

Now that is a mans idea! Sounds like something my husband would think of. I'll bet it worked great. You could even place a few screw bands under it to lift it off the bottom of your pot and use it as your bottom rack if needed. (she also reassured me that yes she cleaned it up first)

And here is another from Cherie

I have a regular bath canner, a pressure canner and on the weekend purchased an very old and large enamel canner with no rack. I used the rack from my pressure canner in it but the rack is too small. My husband suggested the BBQ pizza pan that we do not use. It has holes in it. It fit perfectly in the regular size canner.
I went to our local Canadian Tire store and found a larger pizza pan with small holes. It fit in the large canner which is 15 1/4 inches across. I drilled some of the holes larger. I can not wait to try it out.

Seems like those husbands have some great ideas. Let me know if you come up with something creative. I'd love to share.