Blackberry Lemonade Concentrate

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Blackberry Lemonade Concentrate

This canned blackberry lemonade concentrate is richly flavored, sweet-tart, and ready to turn into instant homemade lemonade. Make a quick blackberry juice, combine it with lemon juice and sugar, then water bath can it in pints for easy pantry storage.

Prep Time1

Cook Time10

Canning Time10

Total Time1 20

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Lemonade Concentrate Canning Recipes

Servings: servings, about 4 pints

Equipment

Ingredients

2 cups blackberry juice see note
4 cups lemon juice see note
4 cups sugar

Instructions

Prepare a water bath canner, jars, and lids.
Make the blackberry juice by simmering the blackberries with the water until the berries are soft and releasing plenty of liquid, mashing as they cook. Strain to remove seeds and pulp, then measure out 2 cups of finished blackberry juice.
In a clean pot, combine the lemon juice, 2 cups blackberry juice, and sugar. Heat until the mixture is steaming hot and the sugar is fully dissolved.
Ladle hot concentrate into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove bubbles, wipe rims, and apply lids to fingertip tight.
Process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes (pints and half pints), adjusting for altitude. When done, turn off the heat, let jars rest 5 minutes in the canner, then remove and cool for 12 to 24 hours. Check seals and store.

Notes

The exact proportions on this recipe are not crucial, as every ingredient is safe for waterbath canning as is. You can use more blackberry juice or more lemon juice, or less sugar, depending on your tastes.

The blackberry juice is made from 8 cups blackberries and 1 cup water, simmered together for about 5 to 10 minutes until the fruit is soft and then strained through a jelly bag. Generally, you get about 1 cup of juice per quart of fruit. A pound of blackberries is roughly 3 cups, so you'll need about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds fruit.

The lemon juice can be fresh or bottled, as it's not required for canning safety.

If you're short on filling your jars, add a small amount of water to bring them up to the proper headspace.

I've written this recipe as a strained juice, but the canning times are sufficient for fruit purees, so if you feel like using pureed blackberries instead of blackberry juice, that's fine too. I'm using the NCHFP "fruit puree's" processing instructions.

Altitude Adjustments

The altitude adjustments for water bath canning blackberry lemonade concentrate are as follows:

For Under 1,000 Feet in Elevation - 15 minutes for half pints, pints and quarts.
For 1,001 to 6,000 Feet in Elevation - 20 minutes for half pints, pints and quarts.
Above 6,001 Feet in Elevation - 25 minutes for half pints, pints and quarts.

Nutrition