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
Match processing to pack style and jar size. If cherries remain unpitted, prick each on opposite sides. Do not use larger jars.
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 15/20/20/25 min, quarts 20/25/30/35 min; raw-pack pints or quarts 25/30/35/40 min at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Optional pressure process: hot pints 8 min, hot quarts 10 min, raw pints or 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.
- Wash and stem sound cherries; pit if desired, or prick unpitted cherries on opposite sides, then follow one complete pack method.
- Fill pints or quarts, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Hot pints 15/20/20/25; hot quarts 20/25/30/35; raw pints or quarts 25/30/35/40 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, cherry pitter or clean needle, 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; 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 mature sweet or sour cherries. Preserve the source's exact jar-size, pack-style, altitude, and processing schedules.
About this recipe
Cherries, Whole is a tested NCHFP home-canning recipe using hot or raw pack and boiling-water canning.
Before you begin
- Method
- Boiling-water canning
- Pack
- Hot or raw pack
- Jar size
- Pints or quarts
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
Read the authoritative source completely before processing.
Altitude and processing schedule
Hot pints 15/20/20/25; hot quarts 20/25/30/35; raw pints or quarts 25/30/35/40 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft.
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Cherries, Whole — NCHFP
Ingredients
- 17 1/2 lb sweet or sour cherries average for a 7-quart canner load
- water, apple juice, white grape juice, or canning syrup for packing fruit
- ascorbic acid solution optional; use for pitted cherries to reduce discoloration
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
- Stem and wash cherries. Remove pits if desired. If left unpitted, prick the skins on opposite sides with a clean needle to reduce splitting.
- For hot pack, add 1/2 cup water, juice, or syrup for each quart of drained fruit and bring to a boil. Fill jars with hot cherries and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- For raw pack, add 1/2 cup hot water, juice, or syrup to each jar. Fill with drained cherries, gently shaking down, and add more hot liquid as needed, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Boiling-water process: hot-pack pints 15/20/20/25 minutes and hot-pack quarts 20/25/30/35 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Raw-pack pints or quarts process 25/30/35/40 minutes at those elevations.
Recipe Notes
Private Notes
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Tried this recipe?
Share your results how it turned out.Serving suggestions
Serve over yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal, pancakes, or use in baked desserts and sauces.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the ingredients or process?
Only make changes expressly permitted by the authoritative source. Match processing to pack style and jar size. If cherries remain unpitted, prick each on opposite sides. Do not use larger jars.
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-packed cherries require longer processing than hot-packed cherries; the schedules are not interchangeable.
Troubleshooting
Prick unpitted fruit as directed to reduce splitting and help the hot liquid penetrate.
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: Cherries, Whole. National Center for Home Food Preservation tested fruit-canning guidance.
Garden planning for this recipe
Plant, space, variety, zone, and timing estimates live on dedicated ingredient pages:
Typical canning season
Season: Summer
Months: June, July
How much of the main ingredient should I grow?
12–25 lb of Mixed produce 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.