Canning Altitude Guide
High-altitude canning adjustments: minutes to add in a water bath or steam canner, or pounds for a dial or weighted pressure canner, up to 10,000 ft. How it works
Use the Canning Altitude Guide
About the Canning Altitude Guide
Above 1,000 ft, a boiling water bath recipe of 20 minutes or longer gets 5 more minutes at 1,001-3,000 ft, 10 at 3,001-6,000 ft, 15 at 6,001-8,000 ft and 20 at 8,001-10,000 ft, and a shorter recipe gets 5 minutes up to 6,000 ft and then the same 15 and 20. A pressure canner keeps the recipe time and raises the pressure instead: an 11 lb dial-gauge recipe goes to 12, 13, 14 and 15 lb in 2,000 ft steps from 2,001 ft, and a 10 lb weighted-gauge recipe goes to 15 lb above 1,000 ft. These are lookups of published extension tables, so follow a tested recipe and use its own altitude table when it has one.
Boiling water and steam canner times by altitude
| Recipe time at 0-1,000 ft | 1,001-3,000 ft | 3,001-6,000 ft | 6,001-8,000 ft | 8,001-10,000 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 10 min | 10 min | 20 min | 25 min |
| 10 min | 15 min | 15 min | 25 min | 30 min |
| 15 min | 20 min | 20 min | 30 min | 35 min |
| 20 min | 25 min | 30 min | 35 min | 40 min |
| 25 min | 30 min | 35 min | 40 min | 45 min |
| 30 min | 35 min | 40 min | 45 min | 50 min |
| 35 min | 40 min | 45 min | 50 min | 55 min |
| 40 min | 45 min | 50 min | 55 min | 60 min |
| 45 min | 50 min | 55 min | 60 min | 65 min |
| 50 min | 55 min | 60 min | 65 min | 70 min |
| 60 min | 65 min | 70 min | 75 min | 80 min |
| 85 min | 90 min | 95 min | 100 min | 105 min |
Recipes of 20 minutes or more: UC Master Food Preservers of El Dorado County (2025), which the University of Kentucky matches up to 6,000 ft. Recipes under 20 minutes: University of Kentucky FCS3-591 up to 6,000 ft, the UC table above that. A steam canner takes only totals under 45 minutes.
Steam canner: longest recipe the 45-minute limit allows
| Altitude | Added to a recipe of 20 min or more | Recipe time must be |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1,000 ft | +0 min | Under 45 min |
| 1,001-3,000 ft | +5 min | Under 40 min |
| 3,001-6,000 ft | +10 min | Under 35 min |
| 6,001-8,000 ft | +15 min | Under 30 min |
| 8,001-10,000 ft | +20 min | Under 25 min |
Montana State University Extension (MT202006HR, 2020) allows 45 minutes or less in one place and excludes 45 minutes or more in another; Clemson HGIC (2020) says less than 45. The tool refuses exactly 45. High-acid foods only.
Pressure canner settings by altitude
| Altitude | Dial gauge, 11 lb recipe | Weighted gauge, 10 lb recipe | Dial gauge, 6 lb recipe | Weighted gauge, 5 lb recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-1,000 ft | 11 lb | 10 lb | 6 lb | 5 lb |
| 1,001-2,000 ft | 11 lb | 15 lb | 6 lb | 10 lb |
| 2,001-4,000 ft | 12 lb | 15 lb | 7 lb | 10 lb |
| 4,001-6,000 ft | 13 lb | 15 lb | 8 lb | 10 lb |
| 6,001-8,000 ft | 14 lb | 15 lb | 9 lb | 10 lb |
| 8,001-10,000 ft | 15 lb | 15 lb | No published figure | 10 lb |
The processing time does not change. 11 and 10 lb recipes: University of Kentucky to 6,000 ft and UC to 10,000 ft, which match USDA Guides 4 and 5 to 8,000 ft. 6 and 5 lb recipes: USDA Guides 1 to 3, whose dial-gauge table stops at 8,000 ft.
The tool against printed USDA tables
| USDA recipe | Altitude | USDA | This tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peaches, hot pack, pints, 20 min (Guide 1 example) | 2,500 ft | 25 min | 25 min |
| Peaches, hot pack, pints, 20 min (Guide 1 example) | 4,500 ft | 30 min | 30 min |
| Peaches, hot pack, pints, 20 min (Guide 1 example) | 7,000 ft | 35 min | 35 min |
| Peaches, raw pack, quarts, 30 min (Guide 1 example) | 7,000 ft | 45 min | 45 min |
| Tomato juice, quarts, 40 min (Guide 3, page 3-5) | 4,500 ft | 50 min | 50 min |
| Jams and jellies, half-pints, 5 min (Guide 7) | 4,500 ft | 10 min | 10 min |
| Jams and jellies, half-pints, 5 min (Guide 7) | 7,000 ft | 15 min | 20 min |
| Peach-Pineapple Spread, half-pints, 15 min (Guide 7, page 7-11) | 7,000 ft | 25 min | 30 min |
| Peaches, 10 min, dial gauge, 6 lb at sea level (Guide 1 example) | 2,500 ft | 7 lb | 7 lb |
| Asparagus, dial gauge, 11 lb at sea level (Guide 4) | 5,000 ft | 13 lb | 13 lb |
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2015 revision. Above 6,000 ft USDA prints one column for short processes; the tool uses the UC table there, which adds more time.
Frequently asked questions
- How much time do I add for water bath canning at high altitude?
- For a recipe of 20 minutes or more, add 5 minutes at 1,001-3,000 ft, 10 at 3,001-6,000, 15 at 6,001-8,000 and 20 at 8,001-10,000. A 20-minute recipe is 25 minutes at 2,500 ft, 30 at 3,500 ft and 35 at 7,000 ft, the same as the USDA peach example. Nothing changes at or below 1,000 ft.
- What pressure do I use for pressure canning at 5,000 feet?
- 13 lb on a dial gauge and 15 lb on a weighted gauge for the usual 11 lb dial or 10 lb weighted recipe (vegetables, meats). A recipe that calls for 6 lb dial or 5 lb weighted at sea level, as some tomato and fruit products do, needs 8 lb dial or 10 lb weighted. The processing time stays as the recipe gives it.
- Can I use a steam canner at high altitude?
- Only for high-acid foods (pH 4.6 or lower) and only while the recipe time plus the altitude addition comes to under 45 minutes. A 30-minute recipe at 3,500 ft comes to 40 minutes and is accepted; a 35-minute recipe there comes to 45 and the tool tells you to use a boiling water bath. Montana State and Clemson differ at exactly 45 minutes, so the tool takes the stricter reading.
- Do jams and jellies need a different altitude adjustment?
- USDA Guide 7 processes most jams and jellies for 5 minutes, with 10 minutes at 1,001-6,000 ft and 15 above 6,000 ft, but its 15-minute Peach-Pineapple Spread half-pints go to 20, 20 and 25. The University of Kentucky gives a shorter rule of 1 minute per 1,000 ft. The tool uses the larger of the USDA jam addition and its general addition, so a 5-minute jam is 10 minutes at 1,001-6,000 ft and 20 at 6,001-8,000 ft, 5 more than USDA prints.
- Why does a recipe under 20 minutes get a different addition?
- The University of Kentucky table adds 5 minutes for the whole 1,001-6,000 ft band to recipes under 20 minutes, and USDA does the same for its 10 and 15 minute tomato processes. The UC Master Food Preservers table adds 10 minutes from 3,001 ft with no split by recipe length. The tool uses Kentucky and USDA up to 6,000 ft, so a 15-minute recipe is 20 minutes at 4,500 ft, and the UC figures of +15 and +20 above that.
- Does processing time change for pressure canning at altitude?
- No. In pressure canning the time stays as the recipe gives it and only the pressure rises, as the University of Kentucky states. Some tested recipes have no high-altitude row at all: USDA Guide 3 marks the 10-minute tomato juice process at 15 lb weighted gauge Not recommended above 1,000 ft, so follow your recipe's own altitude table.
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