How to Make Home-canned Blueberries (and other Berries)- Easily!
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Making and canning your own blueberries is also quite easy. These
directions may also be used with raspberries, blackberries, currants, dewberries, elderberries, gooseberries,
huckleberries, tayberries, loganberries and mulberries.Here's how to make it, in 12 easy steps and completely illustrated. These directions work equally well for regular sugar, low sugar, fruit juice-sweetened and Splenda-sweetened jam.
For more information about blueberries, see Blueberry Picking Tips. Here are some other related pages:
- Blueberry pie, recipe and directions and illustrated!
- Blueberry buckle coffee cake: illustrated directions for this great crumb-topping blueberry coffee cake
- Other easy directions to make blueberry deserts: cobblers, etc.
- How to Freeze Blueberries
- How to Make Homemade Blueberry Jam
- How to make and can blueberry syrup (it works for strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, too)
- For strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, peach, etc., and other types of jam, see this jam-making page!
- For easy applesauce or apple butter directions, click on these links.
Ingredients and Equipment
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Optional stuff:
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Fig Canning Directions
This example shows you how to make canned (or bottled) jam; regular or with added seasoning. The yield from this recipe is about 7 pint jars per 9 pints of raw berries.
Step 1 - Pick the blueberries! (or buy them already picked)
It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better quality ones!
I prefer to grow my own; which is
really easy, don't require pesticides and they make beautiful landscaping
plants with red/gold leaves in the Autumn -
but that does take some space and time.
As mentioned in the Ingredients section; you may use frozen blueberries (those without syrup or added sugar); which is especially useful if you want to make some jam in December to give away at Christmas!
Choose ripe, sweet berries with uniform color. At left are blueberries almost ripe! If you want to pick your own, here is a list and links to the pick your own farms.
Step 2 - How much fruit?
Canned
blueberries can be made in large or small batches - you can can one jar at a
time if that's all you have.
Step
3 - Wash the jars and lids
Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars, the water bath processing will sterilize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sterilize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.
NOTE: If unsterilized jars are used, the product should be processed for 5 more minutes.
Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot jam. Some newer dishwashers even have a "sterilize" setting.
Step 4 - Get the lids sterilizing
Lids: put the lids into a pan of
boiling water (or on the stove in a pot of water on low heat) for at least several minutes; to soften up the gummed surface
and clean and sterilize the lids.
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Step 5 -Wash the berries and sort!
I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the fruit in a
colander of plain
cold water.
Then you need to pick out and and remove any bits of stems, leaves and soft
or mushy berries. It is easiest to do this in a large bowl of water and
gently run your hands through the berries as they float. With your
fingers slightly apart, you will easily feel any soft or mushy berries
get caught in your fingers.
Then just drain off the water!
Step 6 - Make and heat the syrup
Depending upon whi
ch type of sweetener you want to use (sugar, no-sugar, Splenda,
mix of sugar and Splenda or fruit juice) you will need to use a different
syrup from below. Adding syrup to canned fruit helps to retain its flavor,
color, and shape. It does not prevent spoilage of these foods. Heat the
syrup to near boiling in a pot.
Most people prefer the medium syrup (highlighted) or blueberry juice with added sugar!
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Sugar syrup proportions for 7 to 9-pint jars of blueberries (double it for 9 quart jars) |
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| Type of
syrup (Choose ONE) |
Water (cups) |
Fruit juice (cups) |
Sugar (cups) |
Powdered Splenda (tm) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain water | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | no calorie sweetener | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1/4 cup |
| 3 | Fruit juice (white grape or peach juice works well) | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 4 | Reduce calorie / fruit juice | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
| 5 | Fruit juice and Splenda | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1/2 cup |
| 6 | very low calorie | 7 | 0 | 1/4 | 1/4 cup |
| 7 | very light (10% sugar) | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | light (20% sugar) | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | medium (30% sugar) | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
- Nutrasweet (aspartame) will NOT work - it breaks down during heating).
- Splenda (sucralose) substitutes exactly with sugar BUT even the manufacturers of Splenda will tell you that you get best results if you just use a 50-50 mix; half regular sugar and half Splenda.
- Sugar not only affects the sweetness, but also the color and flavor. It does not affect the preserving or spoilage properties - that has to do with acid and the processing method.
- you can use "no sugar" pectin in place of "low sugar" pectin - you can still add sugar or other sweeteners.
Step 7 - Add the natural preservative to the jars
Add 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice per quart jar or 1 tablespoon per pint jar to each of the jars. Alternatively, you may add 1/2 teaspoon citric acid (also goes under the brand name "fruit fresh") per quart or 1/4 teaspoon per pint to the jars. This is to increase the acidity and help prevent discoloration and spoilage.
Step 8 - Fill the jars with blueberries
Fill
jars with blueberries, gently tapping the bottom of the jar on the
countertop to help pack the blueberries down gently (tapping does it without
breaking the blueberries).
Note about "hot packing" vs. "raw packing". You may have noticed that some recipes or canning directions call for the berries to be heated in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds to several minutes before filling the jars. That is the 'hot pack" method. We're using the "raw pack" method (no preheating) because most berries are delicate and would be adversely affected by the preheating, and being small, it isn't needed to ensure uniform heating in the canner!
Step 9 - Fill the airspace in the jars with syrup
Add the hot syrup from step 6, leaving 1/4 to 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe any
spills jam off the rim of the jar.
Step 10 - Put the lid /rings on and put in the canner
Seat
the lid and tighten the ring around them. This is where the jar
tongs and lid lifter come in really handy! Place them into the canner
Step 13 - Process the jars in the
canner (either boiling
water bath or pressure canner)
You can use either a boiling water bath canner or a pressure canner, since there is sufficient acidity in berries. In the water bath canner, keep the jars covered with at least 1 inch of water. Keep the water boiling.
The
processing times are shown for each type of canner in the tables below!
To adjust, process according to the recommendations in the table below:
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Recommended process time for raw pack Blueberries in a
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| Process Time at Altitudes of | ||||
| Jar Size | 0 - 1,000 ft | 1,001 - 3,000 ft | 3,001 - 6,000 ft | Above 6,000 ft |
| Pints | 15 min | 20 | 20 | 25 |
| Quarts | 20 min | 25 | 30 | 35 |
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Recommended process time for raw pack Blueberries in a
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| Canner pressure (pounds of pressure) at altitudes of | |||
| Jar Size | Processing time | 0 - 1,000 ft | 1,001 and above |
| Pints | 8 min | 5 1b | 10 1b |
| Quarts | 10 min | 5 1b | 10 1b |
Step 14 - Remove and cool the jars - Done!
Lift the jars out of the water in the water bath canner (wait till
pressure is zero in a pressure canner) and let them cool without touching or
bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can
then remove the rings if you like.
Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last about 18 months. After that, the get darker in color and start to get runny. They still seem safe to eat, but the flavor is bland. So eat them in the first 12 to 18 months after you prepare them!
Other Equipment:From left to right:
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lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel,
labels, bubble freer, and the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book. It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. You'll never need anything else except jars and lids (and the jars are reusable). To see more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here! Average Customer Review:
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Canning booksCanning & Preserving for Dummies
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The Ball Blue Book of PreservingThis is THE book on canning! My grandmother used this book when I was a child. It tells you in simple instructions how to can almost anything; complete with recipes for jam, jellies, pickles, sauces, canning vegetables, meats, etc. If it can be canned, this book likely tells you how! Click on the link below for more information and / or to buy (no obligation to buy) Price $8.95 |
Summary - Cost of Making Home Canned Blueberries - makes 7 pint jars, 16 oz each** |
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| Item | Quantity | Cost in 2006 | Source | Subtotal |
| Blueberries | 11 lbs (about 2 gallon, or 4 dozen large blueberries) | $8.00/gallon | Pick your own | $8.00 |
| Canning jars (8 oz size), includes lids and rings | 7 jars | $7.50/dozen | WalMart, BigLots, Publix, Kroger |
$7.50 |
| Sugar | 1 cup | $0.50 | WalMart, BigLots, Publix, Kroger |
$0.50 |
| Total | $16.00 total or about $2.30 per pint jar |
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* - This assumes you already have the pots, pans, ladles, and reusable equipment. Note that you can reuse the jars! If you already have jars or reuse them, just buy new lids (the rings are reusable, but the flat lids are not)! |
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Answers to Common Questions
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