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How to Can Cherries
Using Whole Sweet or Sour Cherries
Cherries have such a brief season of availability fresh that it's a shame to
miss it and have to rely on store bought for the rest of the year!
Instead, you can easily can (or "put up") from cherries that you pick or buy
fresh. And if you want to make your own cherry pie filling in advance, see
this page for those directions! We'll use the "hot pack" method here, in which
the cherries are heated briefly (for 5 minutes) with the hot syrup) as this
preserves the color and flavor better than the "raw pack" method!
Ingredients and Equipment: What will you need?
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The average quart requires 2½ pounds of cherries and a canner
usually holds 7 quart jars, so you'll need about:
- 18 pounds of cherries to make one canner load of 7 quart jars.
- 12 pounds to make a canner load of 9 pint jars.
Also, if you buy the cherries at a farmer's market, a "lug"
weighs 25 pounds and usually yields 8 to 12 quarts.
- Water, fruit juice (such as apple juice or white-grape juice), or
sugar or sweetener syrup solution.
- Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling
water where you sanitize them. ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)
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- Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)Jar funnel ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)
- At least 1 large pot
- Large spoons and ladles
- Ball jars (Publix, Kroger, other grocery stores and some "big box" stores carry them - about $8 per dozen quart
jars including the lids and rings)
- 1 Water Bath Canner (a huge pot with a lifting rack to sanitize the jars of applesauce after
filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates) You CAN use a
large pot instead, but the canners are deeper, and have a rack top
make lifting the jars out easier. If you plan on canning every year,
they're worth the investment.
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Cherry pitter: without one of these, it's pretty hard to
remove the pits from a fresh cherry.
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Recipe and Directions
Step 1 - Selecting the
cherries
 Look for bright, uniformly-colored cherries that are
ripe, but not mushy. If the taste good to you, then , they're
right!
Step 2 - Wash, the Cherries
 Pull the stems off and wash the cherries in cold water (no soap!). Remove the pits, if desired
(it helps a LOT to have a pitter).
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; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle, the water bath processing will
sanitize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then
sanitize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot
water until they are used. 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 syrup solution.
Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.
Step 4 - Poke Your Cherries (if unpitted)
Pit the cherries, if you like them pitted! If you pit the cherries, place the cherries in water with some Fruit Fresh
(or other
ascorbic acid )to prevent stem-end discoloration. If you can't get hold of
Fruit Fresh, 2 or 3 tablespoons of lemon juice will do an ok job!
If you are canning the cherries unpitted, prick
the skins on opposite sides with a clean needle (or fork) to prevent them from splitting.
If you have a cherry pitter, now's the time to pit them!
Here's how to pit cherries:
 With
cherries you must remove the pits. There are inexpensive cherry pitters that
work fine for occasional use, or larger more sophisticated pitters if you're
going to be doing a lot. As with other fruit, also pick out any stems and leaves.
Pit the fresh cherries, and keep them in cold water with 1/4 lemon juice add (to
prevent browning)
 .
A cherry pitter is inexpensive and easy to use, once you learn the trick.
The goal is to push down so the metal stem holds the pit down against the
opening in the bottom of the cup. The pits will not go through the hole;
it is just to help trap them. then releasing your grip, the cherry rides
up on the metal stem, while the pit remains trapped in the cup, stuck in the
hole. Then just push the cherry off and use your thumb on the underside of the
cup, to push the pit back out.
I'm trying this one out right now. Reviewers say it can handle
larger volumes of cherries reliably!
Step 5 - Prepare the syrup, bring it to boiling
 Cherries may
be canned in water, fruit juice (such as apple juice or white-grape juice), or syrup.
It normally takes about 1/2 cup of liquid per jar.
For directions on how to prepare these
syrups, see this page!
 Step 6 - Add the cherries to the syrup
Add the cherries to the syrup in the pot and bring back to a boil (about 5
minutes)
Step 7 - Ladle the cherries and syrup into the jars
 That's all there is to it: fill each jar to within 1/2 inch from the top.
you may want to ladle the cherries with a slotted spoon into the jars first,
then pour the hot syrup over them. Tap the jars gently free any trapped air
bubbles. You may also slide a clean table knife inside the jar and stir gently
to release trapped air bubbles.
 Step 8 - Put the lids and rings on the jars
Put an unused lid on the jar and gently tighten (not too tight) the ring down
around it.
Step 9 - Process the jars in the canning water bath
 How long to process the jars in the boiling water? It depends upon the
type of canner you have and your altitude. Most people use a simple boiling
water canner - see table 1. This works fine for cherries. In this type of canner, most people will be
boiling the jars for 15 or 20 minutes. For pressure canners, see tables 2
and 3 below!
| Table 1.
Recommended Process Time for Sweet or Sour Cherries, Whole
in boiling-water canner. |
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Process at Altitudes of: |
| Style of Pack |
Jar Size |
0 - 1,000 ft |
1,001 - 3,000 ft |
3,001 - 6,000 ft |
Above 6,000 ft |
| Hot |
Pints |
15 min |
20 |
20 |
25 |
| Quarts |
20 |
25 |
30 |
35 |
Pressure canners
You may want to try raw pack method if you have a pressure canner, since
the cherries will be exposed to higher heat for a longer time.
| Table 2.
Process Times for Sweet or Sour Cherries, Whole in
a Dial-Gauge Pressure Canner. |
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Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of |
| Style of Pack |
Jar Size |
Process Time (Min) |
0 - 2,000 ft |
2,001 - 4,000 ft |
4,001 - 6,000 ft |
6,001 - 8,000 ft |
| Hot |
Pints |
8 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
| Quarts |
10 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
| Raw |
Pints or Quarts |
10 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
| Table 3.
Process Times for Sweet or Sour Cherries, Whole in
a Weighted-Gauge Pressure Canner. |
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Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of |
| Style of Pack |
Jar Size |
Process Time (Min) |
0 - 1,000 ft |
Above 1,000 ft |
| Hot |
Pints |
8 |
5 |
10 |
| Quarts |
10 |
5 |
10 |
| Raw |
Pints or Quarts |
10 |
5 |
10 |
Step 10 - Remove and cool the jars - Done
 Once
the processing time is complete, just ift the jars out of the water 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 the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.
Of course, if you are using a pressure canner, wait until it cools down
and the pressure is released before opening it!
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Home Canning Kits
This is the same type of standard canner that my grandmother
used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and
spaghetti sauce. This complete kit includes everything you need and
lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs,
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!
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