With Sharon Peterson
Canning fruits…the easiest and possibly most rewarding way to begin learning how to home can. Since fruit is an acid food, you will be water bath canning. Water bath canning is the best way to get started in home canning your own foods.
This page is a listing of different methods for canning fruit. For making jams, jellies, and other sweet spreads, go to my Jam or Jelly Page.
Need a water bath canner?
Canned Fruit Recipes
Apricots
Canning apricots is easier than peaches…no peeling if you raw pack (sometimes called cold pack)!
Apples
Jona-Gold apples are what we use for canning, but many varieties are also good!
Apple Butter
Home-canned apple butter slathered on lightly toasted and buttered fresh bread with a cup of tea or decaf coffee. This canning fruits recipe makes a favorite bedtime snack for me!
Apple Pie Filling
Do you love apple pie, but never take the time to prepare it? I’ll bet if you have the filling all ready and waiting on your pantry shelf, you’ll have apple pie more than just at Thanksgiving!
Applesauce
What kind of apples makes the best applesauce? Maybe you like extra sweet or extra tart? We love Jona-Gold apples, especially when canning applesauce. No sugar needed.
Berries
Blackberries, blueberries, currants, dewberries, elderberries, gooseberries, huckleberries, loganberries, mulberries, and raspberries.
Cherries
Canning cherries in a light syrup makes it easy to create desserts of your choice later. I like simplicity when canning fruits!
Cherry Pie Filling
Sweet or Sour Cherry Pie Filling is a taste of summer year ’round!
Guava Fruit
Guava is really very healthy for you. For those of you who have easy access to it, here are directions for canning guava.
Peaches
I don’t know if anything beats picking a peach fresh off the tree and eating it right there. Canning enables you to have that fresh taste year around!
Peach Pie Filling
Peach pie recipes can be adapted by adding a hint of cinnamon or a dash of almond extract. Or leave the seasonings out for an easy, traditional dessert.
Pears
Canned pears is another fruit that we love, love, love. Home canning provides fruit that is so much healthier and less expensive than store-bought fruit.
Asian Pears
I was asked about canning Asian pears. Since I am not familiar with this type of fruit, I did a little research. Asian pears need to be acidified before canning.
Clear Jel vs. Flour or Cornstarch
Clear Jel is the go-to for thickeners. Ditch the flour and cornstarch!
The use of Clear Jel is something I highly recommend for jams and jellies! Click here to read more.
Canning with Splenda is something I get a lot of questions about. Click here to learn more!
Need to use a sugar substitute? Check out Canning with Splenda.
Apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, pears. Mmmmm, what do these all have in common?
Tasty? Yes.
Fruity? Yes.
Grow on trees? Yes.
Seasonal? Unfortunately, yes.
That fresh-picked taste lasts as long as the season. Unless you are lucky enough to have a strawberry patch or a peach or apple tree in your yard to harvest from, you will most likely need to get fresh fruit at a locally owned orchard, fruit stand, or farmers market.
I do not recommend getting fruit for canning from a mega market. Who knows when it was picked or who has handled it? Often, much of it has been waxed to get that shiny appearance. The quality of fresh produce is superior in EVERY way.
If the mega market is all you have, then by all means, go there. But most places will have farmers markets and fruit stands, even in the city. Ask around, and I’ll bet you’ll find some.
Canning Fruits Tips
I purchased apricots from a farm stand, and usually when you purchase from a farm stand or orchard, your fruit comes in large boxes. The box will be full. And if you leave it full, the layers will smash the fruit that’s on the bottom. So once you get home, immediately take off the top layer of fruit and put it on the lid of the box. Keep it a layer or two deep. Any deeper, and you risk smashing the fruit.
Second, when you’re done canning fruit, don’t throw away the boxes! They’re perfect for storing full canning jars. If you’re like me and can so much that it won’t all fit in your pantry, these boxes work well! I think 8 jars fit inside my boxes. They even come with lids. You can stack the boxes. It’s convenient. Those fruit boxes are valuable; I’d even pay for them!
Canning Fruits: Questions from My Inbox:
Question: “My local store has #10 cans of fruit. My question is: can I waterbath fruit already canned. How long do I waterbath for a seal.”
Answer:
Michael, for safety reasons, yes, you can re-can the fruit again. In order to ensure the food in your jar is sterilized, you need to process for the same time as if it was fresh. For this reason, I think you’ll be disappointed in the end product. Depending on the fruit, it will probably be mushy and over cooked.
For something like applesauce, it might be fine though. It just depends on the fruit. Freezing in smaller portions might be a better option.
Page last updated: 9/27/2019.