And the first test was of my temper, as the rack had completely disappeared. I have my suspicions as to who and why (hubby was eyeing up the rack and asking me if I really needed it, so I think it is now part of some "man" project). I had to improvise a rack from the bottom of a spring-pan that had lost its sides. We punched a bunch of more-or-less evenly spaced holes through it, hammered back the edges of the holes, and it seems to be working just fine. Strictly speaking, hubby did the hole punching. He feels that any job that involves smashing things with a hammer is his job. He's also ready to volunteer to blow things up too :)
This old canner (the manual was dated 1951) holds about 5 1-pint (500 mL) jars, unlike my new canner which will hold quart (litre) jars. I was able to put about 3 to 3-1/2 chicken breasts in each jar. I have to say that I was amazed at how much the chicken breasts squished down. It was also kind of disgusting, and I kept washing my hands because of the sheer gross factor. Eww!
So I'm enjoying the jiggle of the weight on the canner, and waiting for the timer to signal 75 minutes have passed. It's such a friendly sound, and takes me back to my childhood...
