It isn't a question of "can you" but "should you"? No. Not IMO.

There is nothing wrong with older canners that have been well maintained and cared for over the years IF they meet the current safety guidelines. This one in the photo does not as it lacks the over-pressure safety plug in the lid and the auto lid lock. So it pre-dates the 1940s. Plus there is no way to evaluate the handle locks from photos. If yours is the same then please don't use it.

It is also important that the user be experienced with pressure canning. It has a steep learning curve even with modern equipment with the extra safety factors built in. This one has not been well cared for and you don't have the experience to recognize problems if they arise.

You can take it in and have it tested at your local county ag extension office - call first - or they can direct you to the nearest testing facility. If it should pass then it would need a new lid gasket, a new gauge (no way a gauge that old could be accurate), a new 3 piece weight set for (5-10-15 lbs,), and most importantly drilled and tapped to have an over-pressure plug installed in the lid. The handle locks may also require work.

"There is something very sweet about the idea of giving her a can of tomatoes or something, canned in her mother's canner and using the canner that made food my husband ate as a child."

It is a nice thought but not with such a high safety risk. Content yourself with giving them something you did with your own hands instead. ;-)

As for learning to can, why not first start with boiling water bath canning as most do? Once you learn all the basics and gain experience with those methods and recipes then you can move up to pressure canning. For example, tomatoes do not require pressure canning.

Here is the place to start learning: NCHFP

Dave

I have a canner just like that; in much better shape though. I like it because it has a flat bottom and I can use it on my glass top stove. I am not new to canning though and I have mine checked periodically at the local extension office.

It actually does have an over - pressure plug. It's right in the very middle of the lid, which is why it doesn't show in the photo.

Again, not the actual cooker, but you can see it in this photo. Mine is in the back of my car and I'll try to get a couple photos of the actual canner soon..

That's a step in the right direction then. Now take it to your local extension office for examination. If I knew your location I could link you directly to them. One in every county run by USDA and your state's land grant university but not all do the testing.

Dave

I'm sure I can find it - I live in the county seat! The canner may actually look better than the one I first pictured. I haven't really inspected it much and it's dusty from sitting on a shelf for 20 years.

I appreciate the input. I have no one in my nearby family to actually teach me this stuff, as even mother-in-law lives almost and hour and a half away, so it's internet and youtube for my instruction. I wish I'd had my own mom teach me, but she passed away when I was 23 and back then I wasn't interested in such things. Now that I'm all middle-aged, so many things I want to know are becoming lost arts.

I suppose worst case scenario, I can use it for the water bath canning without fastening the lid down. First time I've had a pot big enough to try.

"so it's internet and youtube for my instruction"

That approach requires lots of caution on your part. There are approved and trusted sources and we have lists of them posted here. But there are 100x as many unsafe practices and recipes advocated out there on the internet, especially U-Tube.

The NCHFP link I posted for you above covers all the basic how-to and recipes and is one of the few internet legit places to study. Many local county extension offices also offer canning classes so check with yours. And be sure to buy a copy of the Ball Blue Book as it is the basic "bible" of beginning canning.

Ball Blue Book

Dave

Will do! That's why I ask questions! :) Thanks for your help!

So I did take some photos and it does look pretty bad. Will see if the county office even thinks it's worth buying parts for. May be cheaper to just get a new one.

I'd clean it up and use it for boiling water bath canning, but not for pressure canning. That way you can hand over a jar of jam to your mom safely.

The cost of getting it safe and ready for use will be more than the cost of a new one.