Selecting, Preparing, and Canning: Cherries -- Whole ¹

United States Department of Agriculture, Extension Service²

Sweet or Sour

Quantity: An average of 17-1/2 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 11 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A lug weighs 25 pounds and yields 8 to 12 quarts -- an average of 2-1/2 pounds per quart.

Quality: Select bright, uniformly colored cherries that are mature (of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking).

Procedure: Stem and wash cherries. Remove pits if desired. If pitted, place cherries in water containing ascorbic acid to prevent stem-end discoloration. If canned unpitted, prick skins on opposite sides with a clean needle to prevent splitting. Cherries may be canned in water, apple juice, white-grape juice, or syrup. If syrup is desired, select and prepare preferred type as directed.

Hot pack -- In a large saucepan add 1/2 cup water, juice, or syrup for each quart of drained fruit and bring to boil. Fill jars with cherries and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Raw pack -- Add 1/2 cup hot water, juice, or syrup to each jar. Fill jars with drained cherries, shaking down gently as you fill. Add more hot liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in Table 1.

Processing directions for canning cherries in a dial- or weighted-gauge canner given in Table 2 and Table 3.

Tables

Table 1.

Table 1. Recommended Process Time for Cherries, Whole in boiling-water canner.
Style of Pack	Jar Size	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
Hot	Quarts	20	25	30	35
Raw	Pints or Quarts	25	30	35	40
*After the process is complete, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid. Wait five minutes before removing jars.

Table 2.

Table 2. Process Times for Some Acid Foods in a Dial-Gauge Pressure Canner.
				Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Type of Fruit	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
Applesauce	Hot	Pints	8	6 lb	7 lb	8 lb	9 lb
Applesauce	Hot	Quarts	10	6	7	8	9
Apples, sliced	Hot	Pints or Quarts	8	6	7	8	9
Berries, whole	Hot	Pints or Quarts	8	6	7	8	9
	Raw	Pints	8	6	7	8	9
	Raw	Quarts	10	6	7	8	9
Cherries, sour or sweet	Hot	Pints	8	6	7	8	9
	Hot	Quarts	10	6	7	8	9
	Raw	Pints or Quarts	10	6	7	8	9
Fruit Purees	Hot	Pints or Quarts	8	6	7	8	9
Grapefruit and Orange Sections	Hot	Pints or Quarts	8	6	7	8	9
	Raw	Pints	8	6	7	8	9
	Raw	Quarts	10	6	7	8	9
Peaches, Apricots, and Nectarines	Hot and Raw	Pints or Quarts	10	6	7	8	9
Pears	Hot	Pints or Quarts	10	6	7	8	9
Plums	Hot and Raw	Pints or Quarts	10	6	7	8	9
Rhubarb	Hot	Pints or Quarts	8	6	7	8	9
*After the canner is completely depressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. Wait 10 minutes; then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Lift the lid with the underside away from you so that the steam coming out of the canner does not burn your face.

Table 3.

Table 3. Process Times for Some Acid Foods in a Weighted-Gauge Pressure Canner.
				Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Type of Fruit	Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time (Min)	0- 1,000 ft	Above 1,000 ft
Applesauce	Hot	Pints	8	5 lb	10 lb
Applesauce	Hot	Quarts	10	5	10
Apples, sliced	Hot	Pints or Quarts	8	5	10
Berries, whole	Hot	Pints or Quarts	8	5	10
	Raw	Pints	8	5	10
	Raw	Quarts	10	5	10
Cherries, sour or sweet	Hot	Pints	8	5	10
	Hot	Quarts	10	5	10
	Raw	Pints or Quarts	10	5	10
Fruit Purees	Hot	Pints or Quarts	8	5	10
Grapefruit and Orange Sections	Hot	Pints or Quarts	8	5	10
	Raw	Pints	8	5	10
	Raw	Quarts	10	5	10
Peaches, Apricots, and Nectarines	Hot and Raw	Pints or Quarts	10	5	10
Pears	Hot	Pints or Quarts	10	5	10
Plums	Hot and Raw	Pints or Quarts	10	5	10
Rhubarb	Hot	Pints or Quarts	8	5	10
*After the canner is completely depressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock. Wait 10 minutes; then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Lift the lid with the underside away from you so that the steam coming out of the canner does not burn your face.

Footnotes

This document is FCS 8279, a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: May 2003. Reviewed: June 2008 and March 2011. This document was extracted from the Complete Guide to Home Canning, Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA. It was originally published on CD-ROM as part of HE 8148, Guide 2: Selecting, Preparing, and Canning Fruit and Fruit Products. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

Reviewed for use in Florida by Amy Simonne, assistant professor, Food Safety and Quality, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.

Selecting, Preparing, and Canning: Cherries -- Whole 1

Tables

Footnotes

Selecting, Preparing, and Canning: Cherries -- Whole ¹