Canning Fruits – Whether to sweeten or not and how long to process!

Canning fruit is perfect for the pantry when your supply of jam/jelly is plentiful. Many of the basic principles of water bath canning apply to canning your whole/halved fruits. The most common questions is whether you need to add those syrups to the fruits for them to last in the pantry. The answer is NO. You can pack most fruits in water with no sugar at all or use unsweetened fruit juice to keep the flavor bright. Below is a list of how to process your fruits, how you can sweeten them or not, and the water bath or steam canning processing times depending on the size of your canning jars. Many of the tables come from the Colorado State University Extension website and wanted to recognize them in this post.

• Do not can overripe fruit. If you find your fruit is mushy it’s better to use it for a jam!
• Increase water-bath processing times for altitudes above 1,000 feet.  See chart at the bottom of this page.
• For canning fruit you only need a Water bath or steam canner.
• Fruit can be canned in pints or quart size jars. Half Gallon jars are not safe for fruit canning!

Preparing your Fruit for canning

Choose fresh, firm fruits for canning. The sooner you get them from the garden to the jar, the better.  Wash all fruits thoroughly, whether or not they will be pared.  Don’t soak fruits; they may lose flavor and nutrients.

Some peeled or cut fruits darken when exposed to air. Any of these simple treatments help prevent darkening:

• Use a commercial ascorbic acid mixture, available in grocery and drug stores. You can use Fruit Fresh made by Ball.  Follow instructions.
• Drop fruit in a solution of 1 teaspoon ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and 1 gallon water. Drain before canning.
• Drop fruit into a citric acid or lemon juice solution (1 teaspoon citric acid U.S.P. grade or 3/4 cup lemon juice to 1 gallon water). Drain fruit before canning.

To Sweeten or not to sweeten!

• Sugar syrup. Mix sugar with water or with juice extracted from some of the fruit. Heat sugar and water or juice together until the sugar dissolves; skim if necessary. Use the proportions in Table 1 as desired for the sweetness of the fruit and your taste.
• Extracted juice. Thoroughly crush ripe, sound, juicy fruit. Heat to simmering (185 to 210 degrees F) over low heat. Strain through a jelly bag or other cloth.
• Sugar mixed directly with fruit. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar to each quart of prepared fruit. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Pack fruit hot in the hot juice that cooks out. (this method help to keep fruit from floating)
• Sweeteners other than sugar. Light corn syrup, brown sugar or mild-flavored honey can replace as much as half the sugar used in canning fruit. It is best not to use molasses, sorghum or other strong-flavored syrups. Their flavors overpower the fruit flavor and they may darken the fruit.
• Artificial sweeteners. Add these to fruit canned in plain water just before serving. Saccharin-based sweeteners can turn bitter during processing. Aspartame-based sweeteners lose their sweetening power during processing.

Pack Jars

Fruits can be packed into jars raw or preheated and packed hot.

• To raw pack. Put cold, raw fruits into clean, hot glass canning jars and cover with boiling-hot syrup, juice or water. Pack most raw fruits tightly into the jars because they shrink during processing and causes them to have more space in the jars and will float.
• To hot pack. Heat fruits in syrup, water, extracted juice or steam before packing. Juicy fruits can be preheated without added liquid and packed in the juice that cooks out. Pack hot food loosely in clean, hot glass canning jars. Food should be at or near boiling temperature when it is packed. Hot packing is the preferred style of pack for foods processed in a boiling water bath.
• Either pack. Use enough syrup, water or juice to fill around the solid food in the jar and to cover the food. See Table 2 for the correct amount of space to leave between the top of the fruit and the top of the jar. This headspace is important to obtain a good seal.
• Remove any trapped air bubbles by sliding a nonmetallic spatula between the food and the sides of the jar. If necessary, add more liquid to obtain the proper headspace. Wipe jar rim with a clean, dampened paper towel to remove any food particles. Place pretreated lid on the jar, gasket side down. Screw the metal band down fingertip tight.

Process in Boiling Water Bath or Steam Canner

Place filled and capped jars on rack in boiling water bath canner that has been half-filled with hot water for raw-packed foods.

When canner is filled, add boiling water as needed to bring water an inch or two over the tops of jars. Do not pour boiling water directly on glass jars.

Turn heat on high until water boils vigorously. Set timer for recommended altitude-adjusted time. Cover canner with lid and lower heat setting to maintain gentle boil throughout processing time.  When processing time is up, turn off heat and remove canner lid. Using a jar lifter, remove jars and place them on a rack, dry towel or newspaper. Allow the jars to cool untouched, away from drafts, for 12 to 24 hours before testing seals.

Label sealed jars with contents, canning method used and date. Store in a cool, dry, dark place. Stored properly, canned fruits should retain their high quality for about one year.

If you would like to share your canning of whole/halved fruits please send an email to [email protected].