Canning Berries
Canning berries is a simple way to preserve them right on the pantry shelf, and they're perfect for homemade muffins, cobblers, or eaten with a spoon right out of the jar.
Ingredients
- 8 lbs blueberries blackberries, currants, dewberries, huckleberries, loganberries, raspberries, or mulberries
- syrup juice (apple or grape), or water
Instructions
- Gather a boiling water canner, canning jars, lids, rings, jar lifter, canning funnel, and nonmetallic spatula. Use a pressure canner as an alternative.
- Wash the berries and drain, then cap, stem, and remove heads/tails (for gooseberries) as needed just before canning.
- If you're using syrup, water, or juice, heat the liquid to a boil and let it simmer while you're preparing the berries.
- For the hot pack method, heat the berries briefly, drain, pack into jars, cover with hot liquid leaving ½" headspace. For raw pack, fill the jars with raw berries, then cover with hot liquid maintaining ½" headspace.
- Use a spatula to eliminate air bubbles, wipe the jar rims clean, and then seal with lids and rings until they're fingertip tight. Load the canner with your prepared jars.
- If you're water bath canning, process quarts for 20 mins (raw pack) or 15 mins (hot pack). If you're pressure canning, process quarts for 10 mins at 6 lbs pressure (dial-gauge) or 5 lbs pressure (weighted-gauge).
- After processing, cool the jars in the canner for five mins, or if you're using a pressure canner, wait for complete depressurization.
- Remove the jars, place them on a cloth, and let them cool for 24 hours. Listen for the pop of sealed lids.
- Label the jars with date and berry type, then store in a cool, dark place for up to one year.
Notes
You'll need about 8 pounds for a canner load of 9 pints, or 12 pounds for a canner load of 7 quarts. I recommend canning berries in pint jars, as the times are shorter, and the berries hold together better in smaller jars with shorter processing times.
Syrup for Canning Berries
The syrup used per batch varies based on your sweetness preferences. I usually can berries in extra light syrup, as it best approximates the natural sweetness in the fruit. The fruit don't taste washed out, as they do if you can in plain water, but it doesn't really increase their sweetness either.For a 9-Pint Canner Batch, you’ll need the following amounts:
- Extra-light syrup: 3/4 cups sugar to 6 1/2 cups water
- Light syrup: 1 1/2 cups sugar to 5 3/4 cups water
- Medium syrup: 2 1/4 cups sugar to 5 1/4 cups water
- Heavy syrup: 3 1/4 cups sugar to 5 cups water
- Extra-Heavy Syrup: 4 1/4 cups sugar to 4 1/4 cups water
For a 7-Quart Canner Batch, you’ll need the following amounts:
- Extra-light syrup: 1 1/4 cups sugar to 10 1/2 cups water
- Light syrup: 2 1/4 cups sugar to 9 cups water
- Medium syrup: 3 3/4 cups sugar to 8 1/4 cups water
- Heavy syrup: 5 1/4 cups sugar to 7 3/4 cups water
- Extra-Heavy Syrup: 6 3/4 cups sugar to 6 1/2 cups water