With its long vise-like fingers this device reaches down into the boiling water and lifts out the jars with safety.
The July, 1916 issue of Good Housekeeping had several photos of canning equipment. Some of the pictures make me think about how much has changed over the past hundred years in how we can; others make me think that it hasn’t changed all that much.
An excellent improvised canner is a wash boiler with a wire frames which may be purchased separately in sizes to hold gallon, quart, or pint jars. Any other receptacle with a tight-fitting lid may be used or an outfit may be purchased complete.
This water-seal canner has a thermometer, a safety valve, and a pet-cock. It confines steam under pressure, and in it vegetables are canned with one cooking.
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A Hundred Years Ago 
I’d forgotten those wash boilers, and the racks, but we had them both. We had one of those long-handled gizmos to take jars out of the water bath, too. I think I remember Mom using her pressure cooker with a smaller rack, too. It got passed on to me, but I never was brave enough to use the thing, probably because I never was allowed to be in the kitchen when it was used. I think the anxiety level got passed on to me with the pressure cooker.
These tools would all come in handy today too.
I like when they have old kitchen gadgets in museums.
I think I have that tool stashed away somewhere …
Oh my. What unique equipment they had back then!
I think I have the long pincers. I also have a huge canning pot. I bought those things 27 years ago when we moved to the country. Never been used! Great post though…reminds me to wait another 27 years! 😁
Never saw an oval canner before! I have one of the old canning jars with its rubber ring given as a gift from Hubby’s grandma. A very special jar. 😊
These helpers are new to me, but canning is old. We had a huge apricot tree in our backyard and it was full of fruit for many years. We learned how to can the fruit from our friend Lula a good old Southern lady. She taught us more than physical things, she touched our spiritual side on a daily basis. No words, just modeling kind behavior!
I’ve only ever done water bath canning with just a pot and a rack and a rubber-handled can lifter, much more modern-looking than that one though. Not much has changed!
At this time of year all the shops here are full of preserving and canning stuff, very much like this. I guess our predecessors could not afford to waste anything. I think many French people are the same, especially in the rural areas.
We lived in France until recently, and it was great to see even quite ordinary supermarkets and DIY stores stuffed with the requisites for canning and bottling. Very much a going concern there in rural areas!
Wow, good to see the “old” stuff!
I used to can but I never really like doing it. I went to freezing as soon as I could. I do miss canned pickled beets and pickled green beans. I had some rubber tongs to take the cans out of the water. Not near as fancy as those.
I’ve never tried canning, but my sister and brother-in-law do. And their pot doesn’t look too different from the one in that photo, although they don’t have those kinds of tongs. As for me, I only do freezing! Thanks for sharing this…
Love it! I have a few of these canning jars from my mother/grandmother — use them for show.
Very cool! I have never seen equipment quite that old other than jars but I see it is not much different.