How to Can Cooked Fruit: Basic Food Preservation

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Whoa.  It’s the dreaded “C” word.

It’s the word I used to avoid at all costs.  The word that would grant accolades and praise to the one who was able to pull of the feat.  The word that was too high on the ladder of kitchen skills for me to even fathom a glance at.

Until…

I realized how stinkin’ easy it was!

Canning, my friends, is a preservation technique that I WISHED I had attempted years ago.  Diligently applied throughout the years, we could have eaten better AND cut grocery bills even more.  Just 50%?  Pssh – why not go for 80?!  And the crazy part is that it’s entirely possible!

The equipment you need is minimal:  cans, lids and rings mostly.  You can get this totally awesome canning kit like I did, but it’s not an absolute must.  (I originally bought mine because I was scared.  However, it’s proven it’s worth because it’s used diligently during each batch of canning!  Actually, the funnel itself is used ALL THE TIME when pouring leftover soup into re-purposed tomato sauce jars.)

The one thing I do wish I had was a big, huge stock pot (hint hint family members).  The big 5 or 6 quart pots that come in cookware sets (similar to this one) work fine for pint jars (16oz).  But you need a super big pot if you’re working with quart jars.

I’m too frugal to buy my own big pot right now, so I borrow my dad’s when I’m ready to can and use a huge round cutting board as a lid.  I’m sure I’d can more often though if I always at the pot on hand (wink wink to family members who want fruit butters for Christmas).

Since we’re talking about equipment anyway, I’m using these jars and lids that I got from Walmart for about $10 a dozen.  Long term though I’d like to get some re-usable lids.  Maybe if I come across another 60 pounds of peaches I’ll splurge the $12. 😉

How to Can Cooked Fruit

Notice that we’re talking about cooked fruit here.  I have not canned fresh fruit nor fresh tomatoes so I’m probably not the one to ask how to do that.  I don’t want to tell you how to do it wrong!

I haven’t completely wrapped my head around pouring hot water over fresh fruit… does the water affect the taste of the fruit?  If the water is boiling, does it cook the fruit?  What do you do with the water later?

There’s also the acidity factor with tomatoes that I’m not touching with a ten-foot pole.  For now I’m content with buying organic diced tomatoes from Costco and canning my homemade fruit butter.  Maybe if I ever have a garden that doesn’t rely on my breakfast bowls I’ll grow tomatoes and can them then.

Onward to canning!

UPDATE:  Thanks to the help of some more experienced readers, I want to clarify that this water bath method is approved for most fruit butters and various other types of cooked fruit, but it NOT approved for canning meat and should not be used as a blanket method for all canning.  Different foods carry different risks of contamination, hence the different methods, temperatures, recipes and suggested times for sterilization. Canners should consult the National Center for Home Food Preservation to make sure their method is safe for the recipe they’re canning.  My apologies for the original post to be mis-leading!

Let’s assume for a moment you have all of your supplies ready to go:

• big pot
• small saucepan
• jars
• lids
• rings
• canning kit (optional, but helpful)
• cooked fruit (depending on your recipe), still warm or hot

Oh wait, don’t have cooked fruit?  Do you need some recipes?  Here’s a homemade fruit butter tutorial with SEVEN recipes to get you started!

With your materials at hand, here’s a basic water bath canning tutorial:

1. Run your jars, lids and rings through the dishwasher.  Lay a kitchen towel next to the hot, cooked fruit (by the stove or by the crockpot, etc.).
2. Fill your big pot halfway with water.  Put your jars in the pot and continue to fill with water until they are covered by 2″ of water.   Bring to a rolling boil.
3. Fill the small saucepan halfway with water.  Put your lids in the pan and bring to a simmer, but do not boil.
4. When the water in the big pot is boiling, carefully remove one jar and empty the hot water into the sink, NOT the big pot.  This ensures your pot doesn’t overflow with hot water when you add your FILLED jar back in, PLUS the water the jar used to hold…
5. Set your jar down on the towel and using a funnel (if available), fill your jar with the hot, cooked fruit.  Leave approximately 1/2″ of headroom at the top of the jar.
6. Carefully remove one lid from the saucepan and place on top of the jar. (This is where the magnetic rod thingy in the kit is handy too.)
7. Gently twist one ring around the lid.  Do not tighten.  Twist as long as you can until it requires effort, then no more.
8. Carefully place filled jar back into the big pot of water.
9. Repeat with the remaining jars.
10. Cover the big pot with a lid and boil for at least 15 minutes.  Relocate your kitchen towel so it’s now enxt to the big pot.
11. Remove the lid from the big pot and carefully remove the filled jars. (Again, hot jar remover thingy.)  Place the jars on top of the kitchen towel and tighten the rings.
12. Jars are sealed when you hear a “pop” sound from the lids.  This can take anywhere from 5 minutes to a few hours (although it’s usually sooner than later).
13. Allow jars to cool to room temperature on the counter before moving to long term storage.

Here’s a picture to help you visualize (including it above threw off the numbers… and I get lost after 4 or 5 steps, so this seemed like the better option. 🙂 )

Although the title says fruit, this method works for anything cooked, like my amazing spaghetti sauce.  We’ll that can stuff all year ’cause the kids drink it like water.

UPDATE:  Thanks to the help of some more experienced readers, I want to clarify that this water bath method is approved for most fruit butters and various other types of cooked fruit, but it NOT approved for canning meat and should not be used as a blanket method for all canning.  Different foods carry different risks of contamination, hence the different methods, temperatures, recipes and suggested times for sterilization. Canners should consult the National Center for Home Food Preservation to make sure their method is safe for the recipe they’re canning.  My apologies for the original post to be mis-leading!

Other Helpful Tips:

• Notice how many times the word “carefully” used.  Four!  This is because you’re working with hot water, hot food and hot glass.  Use caution and avoid distractions during the process if possible (including small children who like to run circles around your feet).  It takes me about 10-15 minutes from the start of filling jars to covering the big pot to boil.  I could probably widdle that down if I moved the crockpot closer to the stove…
• If you don’t fill up entire jar, eat it!  Stick it in the fridge and it’ll be good for at least 2-3 months as you slowly slather your homemade bread with homemade fruit butter… Mmmm…

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What’s your experience with canning?  Am I the only one who’s intimidated?

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