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Canning Fruits: Picking, Preparing, Packing in Syrup, and Processing

© Pier Jones

Once you decide to can fruit, you will be in for a frenzy of activity. You should use only fresh, firm produce, and the canning should be done on the day the fruit is picked, if possible. Have everything ready before you start, including soft water to use in making the syrup, if it is available. (As I mentioned in Pickle Basics, the minerals in hard water can cloud or discolor your end results. And while these are still safe to eat, they are less attractive, and not really what you want put in a gift basket!)

Most fruits will be packed with about a half-inch of headspace - the area between your fruit and the top of the jar. And, as when canning anything else, always sterilize your jars, and prepare your lids according to directions on the label. Since fruits are high-acid foods, they will be processed in a boiling water bath. Fruits canned whole, halved, or sliced will require that additional liquid be added to the jar prior to processing. You can use water, juice, or syrup as your liquid. I generally prefer a syrup, since the sugar acts as preservative, flavor-enhancer, and color-enhancer. If you choose to can fruits without added sugar, then you must use the hot pack method. Below I have listed my favorite sugar-to-water amounts for making syrups. You will find a slight variation on these in any book about canning. The type of syrup used is purely a matter of personal preference but keep in mind the sweetness of the particular fruit you are canning when you make your selection. Bring the following ingredients to a boil, and continue to boil, while stirring, for 5 minutes.

Light Syrup: 2 cups sugar/4 cups water
Medium Syrup: 3 cups sugar/4 cups water
Heavy Syrup: 4 3/4 cups sugar/4 cups water

Note: You can also use corn syrup or honey in your syrups by substituting half the sugar with the same amount of either corn syrup or honey. Many fruits, in my opinion, benefit greatly by adding the flavor of honey. Do not substitute artificial sweeteners for these natural ones. If you prefer not to use sugars, then can in water, or juice. The juice can be freshly extracted from the fruit you are using, or store-bought.

You can either hot-pack or cold(raw)-pack your jars. Cold-packing is easier and quicker, but the fruit tends to shrink more during processing. Hot-packing means one more step, but the fruit has done quite a bit of shrinking already during the heating process. Some of the nutritional value of your food may be lost during that heating. Again, it's a matter of personal preference, and as you continue to educate yourself on canning through experience, you will decide for yourself what works best for you. Be sure, if you choose the cold-pack method, that you put your filled jars into hot, but not boiling, water when placing them in the water bath. They are not as hot as the hot-packed jars, and could break if placed immediately into boiling water.