Cherries, Whole — NCHFP
Tested NCHFP home-canning directions for whole sweet or sour cherries.
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.
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Recipe Notes
Safety status: tested. Follow the NCHFP pack style, headspace, jar size, and altitude-adjusted processing schedule. Adapted from USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, revised 2015.
Exact source: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/canning-fruits-and-fruit-products/cherries-whole/