Safety classification
Tested
Testing authority: National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia / USDA-derived guidance)
Safety reviewed: 09/09/2026
Processing details
Altitude adjustment: Use the exact altitude band for the selected boiling-water or pressure-canning schedule.
Source & provenance
Safety classification: Tested recipe from NCHFP.
Safety summary
Use only listed berries. Hot pack is limited to blueberries, currants, gooseberries, or huckleberries. Do not substitute unlisted berries.
Processing details
- Method
- Boiling Water
- Pack style
- Hot_raw
- Jar sizes
- Pint or Quart Jars
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
- Processing time
- Boiling-water: hot-pack pints or quarts and raw-pack pints 15/20/20/25 min; raw-pack quarts 20/25/30/35 min at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Optional pressure process: hot pints or quarts and raw pints 8 min; raw quarts 10 min.
Tested source
Safety status: Tested authoritative recipe. Follow the National Center for Home Food Preservation source exactly.
Canning timeline
- Prepare the canner, jars, and ingredients.
- Sort, wash, and drain an approved berry, then use only the pack style authorized for that berry.
- Fill pints or quarts, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Hot pints or quarts and raw pints: 15/20/20/25 minutes; raw quarts: 20/25/30/35 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft.
- Cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours and check seals.
Equipment
Boiling-water canner, colander, saucepan, jar lifter, and pint or quart jars.
Visual method guide
- Prepare: Select sound fruit or vegetables and measure exactly.
- Pack: Hot or raw pack, depending on berry; remove air bubbles and maintain 1/2 inch headspace.
- Process: Boiling-water canning; use the schedule for your altitude.
- Cool: Keep jars upright and undisturbed before testing seals.
Safety essentials
Use only blackberries, blueberries, currants, dewberries, gooseberries, huckleberries, loganberries, mulberries, or raspberries. Hot pack applies only to blueberries, currants, gooseberries, and huckleberries.
About this recipe
Berries, Whole is a tested NCHFP home-canning recipe using hot or raw pack, depending on berry and boiling-water canning.
Before you begin
- Method
- Boiling-water canning
- Pack
- Hot or raw pack, depending on berry
- Jar size
- Pints or quarts
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
Read the authoritative source completely before processing.
Altitude and processing schedule
Hot pints or quarts and raw pints: 15/20/20/25 minutes; raw quarts: 20/25/30/35 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft.
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Berries, Whole — NCHFP
Ingredients
- 12 lb ripe berries average for a 7-quart canner load; use only NCHFP-listed berries
- syrup, juice, or water for packing
Equipment
- 1 Boiling-water canner For the primary documented process.
- 7–9 Pint or quart canning jars Use standard home-canning jars.
- 7–9 Two-piece canning lids Prepare according to manufacturer directions.
Directions
- Use only blackberries, blueberries, currants, dewberries, gooseberries, huckleberries, loganberries, mulberries, or raspberries. Wash 1–2 quarts at a time; drain, cap, and stem as needed.
- For hot pack, use only blueberries, currants, gooseberries, or huckleberries. Heat berries in boiling water for 30 seconds and drain. Fill jars and cover with hot juice, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- For raw pack, fill jars with any listed raw berries, shaking down gently. Cover with hot syrup, juice, or water, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Boiling-water process: hot-pack pints or quarts 15/20/20/25 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Raw-pack pints use the same schedule; raw-pack quarts process 20/25/30/35 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Private Notes
Questions or results?
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Tried this recipe?
Share your results how it turned out.Serving suggestions
Use over breakfast foods and desserts, or drain for baking while reserving the juice for beverages and sauces.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the ingredients or process?
Only make changes expressly permitted by the authoritative source. Use only listed berries. Hot pack is limited to blueberries, currants, gooseberries, or huckleberries. Do not substitute unlisted berries.
What if a jar does not seal?
Refrigerate promptly, or reprocess within 24 hours using a new lid and the complete tested process if current food-safety guidance permits.
How this recipe compares
Raw-pack quarts require a longer process than raw-pack pints or approved hot packs.
Troubleshooting
Handle berries gently to limit crushing and floating; never hot pack a berry not approved for that method.
Discard any jar that leaks, bulges, spurts, is moldy, or otherwise shows spoilage. Never taste food to determine safety.
Source & provenance
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Berries, Whole. National Center for Home Food Preservation tested fruit-canning guidance.
Typical canning season
Season: Summer
Months: June, July, August
How much of the main ingredient should I grow?
10–22 lb of Berries or grapes per person per year
This is an annual planning range that includes preserving and typical fresh use. Plant, row-foot, and square-foot estimates are shown only when compatible cited yield or spacing data is available.
Garden yields vary by cultivar, climate, soil, pests, and care. Always measure the exact prepared ingredient amount required by the tested canning recipe.