Steam Canner: Types, Comparisons, and How to Choose

There are different styles of steam canners, different claims, and more than a few forum posts arguing about whether any of it is even safe. I’ll go over what’s actually been tested, the two main styles of steam canners you’ll find, and how to pick one that fits your kitchen.

If you’re looking for the full step by step instructions,  that lives on my steam canning start here guide. This page is about the equipment itself: what to buy, is it safe, and why.

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Remember there are 3 types of canners used for processing either high acid or low acid foods.

• Pressure canners – used for meats and vegetables. (low acid foods)
• Waterbath canners – used for most fruits, jam and jellies, and pickled items. (high acid foods)
• Steam canners – also used for most fruits, jam and jellies, and pickled items. (high acid foods)

What a Steam Canner is (and what it isn’t)

Steam canners work a lot like water bath canners—they’re both for high-acid foods—but there are some differences:

• Instead of submerging jars in boiling water, steam canners use steam to heat and process the jars.
• They use much less water, usually about a quart and a half, compared to up to four gallons for a full water bath. That makes heating faster and handling jars much easier.

Just to be clear: a steam canner is not a pressure canner, and it doesn’t do a pressure canner’s job.  Sometimes people say “steam pressure canning” when referring to pressure canning.  But this is not what I’m talking about. Don’t confuse steam canning with pressure canning.

Steam Canner vs. Water Bath Canner

A steam canner works as an alternative for a water bath canner, for the same category of foods. (High acid)The biggest difference is the amount of water and the style of canner. A water bath canner needs enough water to fully submerge jars.  A steam canner only needs water in the bottom of the canner, just enough to boil and keep producing steam. 

Once you’re actually processing, though, the two methods use the same processing times, from the same tested recipes. 

Is Steam Canning Safe?

Steam canning has gotten a lot more attention over the past few years, but it’s a method that has been around for many years. 

Even with all the anecdotal stories of success that I kept finding online, and all the seeming benefits, I never plunged into steam canning. I’m so picky with my concern over canning safety I really wanted to find that official testing. (I know it drives some people crazy. That’s ok we can agree to disagree on some things.) 

I decided to wait. I had heard that it was being tested so I waited…. and waited… and waited.   I finally found the research that I’d been waiting for.  (More on the testing history and details below) Steam canning is tested, it is safe. I tried it. I love it! No question about it. 

Interestingly, the testing did not include the recipes and booklet that come with the canners.   It may sound strange but even though the process and a few specific canners have been tested, the recipes in the steam canner’s included instruction booklet was not.  If you choose to use a steam canner go with USDA approved and tested recipes. 

Two Styles of Steam Canners

There are 2 styles of steam canners.  One has a shallow base with a tall domed lid.  The other looks like a large stock pot with a temperature gauge in the lid.  

Traditional Domed Style (Steam Canning Only)

This is the traditional steam canner that they used for the testing process.  It has a shallow base with a rack and a tall domed lid with vents on the side.  Those vents are important.  When the canner is up to temperature you’ll notice a strong stream of steam coming from the vents.  That steam needs to continue throughout the processing time.  (More details on the how to use a steam canner post.) 

Dual-Use Style (Both Steam and Water Bath Canning)

There is also a stainless steel water bath canner that has a thermometer in the lid handle and a vent hole.  This pot doubles as both a water bath or a steam canner.  If you don’t want to store two separate canners, this solves that — and the pot doubles as a plain stockpot. 

Dual use is the style I have. Both styles work but my kitchen is crowded enough without adding equipment I can only use for one thing.  “One pot, two jobs” is very useful if space is tight in your kitchen too.

The catch is…. The dual use canner has not been clearly tested. It’s a bit vague.

Let me be clear, the method itself (steam canning) has been tested as safe.  The domed lid canners have been tested as working appropriately for the method.  The dual use canner is not tested although it has been mentioned in publications that it ‘appears to work’.

I did a bunch of research on this and it has a rather complicated paper trail.  I’ve got all the resources I could find at the end of this article if you want to search it out for yourself.  It boils down to this.  

• The dual use canner was not a part of the original 2015 lab research,[1]  This testing was only done on the dome lid style. And only the Back to Basics and Victorio brands were tested.  
• A 2017 University of California extension publication included the dual use canner alongside the tested designs.[2]  This document includes a description of the dual use canner and clearly states it can be used for safe steam canning.  (This is when I started using the canner). ADD IMAGE HERE 
• In 2019, a publication addressed other canner styles directly, describing the physics that make a design likely to work.[3]  In this publication Barb Ingham states “At least one other type of steam canner has vent holes in the top of the lid and, properly vented, this model appears to work; check with a thermometer in the vent hole to make sure the temperature is ~212 degrees.”  I am making the assumption that she is referring to the dual use canner.  She stops short of saying the dual use is tested.  But doesn’t state that it is unsafe.  Just says “appears to work” 
• By 2020, Wisconsin’s follow-up guidance (authored by Barb Ingham) narrowed things to specifically recommend against adapting a boiling-water-canner-style pot for steam use,[4] stating specifically because it has not been tested they can ‘make no recommendation’.  
• The  most recent document I can find is a 2022 document [5] authored by Barbara Ingham , alongside specialists from NDSU, Iowa State, Kansas State, and Nebraska extension.  So it appears several people conferred and agreed on the information included.  It States that the canner has not been tested and refers you to “check back with the manufacturer for instructions on safely using other styles of steam canners.”   They do not explicitly say it is not safe.  Just check with the manufacturer.  That to me is a much softer stance. 

Should you use a Dual Use Steam Canner?

I’ll tell you honestly: I use mine and I’m comfortable with it. But if any bit of uncertainty makes you second-guess yourself before you even start: buy the dome-style canner instead.

Confidence matters here — if you’re going to actually get in the kitchen and do the project instead of leaving the canner in the box while you worry about it, starting with a clean uncomplicated choice is worth the peace of mind.

Links to Buy a Steam Canner

Back to Basics Steam Canner
I borrowed one of these to try it myself. It’s the traditional domed style — a shallow base with a tall vented lid — and one of the two brands actually used in the original 2015 lab research on steam canning safety. Since it’s steam-only, you’ll still want a separate water bath or pressure canner for low-acid foods.
Check current price on Amazon →

Kitchen Crop FruitSaver Aluminum Steam Canner
Another traditional domed-style canner, same mechanism as the Back to Basics model above. I haven’t personally tested this one, but it’s worth knowing: this appears to be the current version of the Victorio-brand canner used in that same 2015 research — the manufacturer has sold the same model under the Victorio, FruitSaver, and Kitchen Crop names over the years so it gets a little confusing.
Check current price on Amazon →

Victorio Stainless Steel Multi-Use Canner (VKP1130)
This is the one I actually use. It works as both a water bath canner and a steam canner, so I’m not storing two big pots in my kitchen. I like having tyhe temperature gauge in the lid. It takes the guesswork out of knowing when you’ve hit the right temperature. One thing to know: this is the dual-use style, which wasn’t part of the original testing — see the research breakdown above if that matters to you.
Check current price on Amazon →

Can You Convert Other Canners Into a Steam Canner?

Two versions of this question come up.

Can I use my regular water bath canner as a steam canner? 

No. A standard water bath canner is designed to fully submerge jars in boiling water — it doesn’t have the vented dome lid (or the temperature gauge of the dual use canner) that a steam canner needs to actually produce and hold steam correctly. 

Can I use my pressure canner as a steam canner?

I wouldn’t. I know it seems like it should work.  But it is not tested and there may be issues. It looks like it “should work” isn’t the same thing as research confirming it does work. If you want to steam can, a canner actually built for that job is the safer route.

Is steam canning or water bath canning better?

Steam canning is not ‘better’ than water bath canning. They are just 2 different methods that do the same thing. Either works for the proper foods. It is just personal preference.

Is Steam Canning Tested and Approved?

I mentioned this above but with the information about the canners themselves I want to be sure it isn’t mixed up in your mind. The method of steam canning is tested as safe. No problem there.

Steam canning has the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s approval, laid out on their Burning Issue page: “atmospheric steam canners are approved for high-acid or properly acidified foods, with a pH of 4.6 or below, as long as specific critical controls are followed.”  

Critical controls just means that you need to remember two things. And they are pretty easy.

1. Steam canning is hot pack only.
2. Processing time can’t exceed 45 minutes, altitude adjustments included. 

Note: many of the USDA canning guides still have language indicating that steam canning is not currently recommended.  They have not been updated (obviously if you have a physical book it won’t be.) but the method has been tested and approved when it is done according to guidelines.  

Here is a link to the step by step how to use a steam canner post again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Research Sources

As of the update of this page, all these links work.  Extensions and edu sites are known for moving pages around.

1. Willmore, P., Etzel, M., Andress, E., and Ingham, B. “Home Processing of Acid Foods in Atmospheric Steam and Boiling Water Canners.” Food Protection Trends 35, no. 3 (2015): 150–160.
2. Harris, L.J. and Soule, K.E. “Guidelines for Safe Canning of Acid Foods in a Steam Canner.” University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Publication 8573, September 2017. https://ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2017-10/271172.pdf
3. Ingham, B. “Your Questions Answered: Steam Canning.” Extension Winnebago County, August 26, 2019. https://winnebago.extension.wisc.edu/2019/08/26/your-questions-answered-steam-canning/
4. “An Update on Safe Use of Steam Canners.” Extension Winnebago County, August 24, 2020. https://winnebago.extension.wisc.edu/2020/08/24/an-update-on-safe-use-of-steam-canners/
5. Ingham, B., Garden-Robinson, J., Geiger, M., Blakeslee, K., West, R., and Larvick, C. “Steam Can It Right! Guidelines for Safely Using a Steam Canner for Home Food Preservation.” North Central Food Safety Extension Network, FN2065, October 2022. https://www.ncrfsma.org/files/page/files/fn2065_steam_can_it_right_fillable.pdf