Cover fruit with boiling liquid before closing jars and processing in boiling-water bath.
Sweetening Fruit
Sugar helps canned fruit hold its shape, color, and flavor. Directions for canning most fruits call for sweetening to be added in the form of sugar sirup. For very juicy fruit packed hot, use sugar without added liquid.
To make sugar sirup.—Mix sugar with water or with juice extracted from some of the fruit. Use a thin, medium, or heavy sirup to suit the sweetness of the fruit and your taste. To make sirup, combine—
| 4 cups of water or juice | 2 cups sugar | For 5 cups THIN sirup. |
| 3 cups sugar | For 5½ cups MEDIUM sirup. | |
| 4¾ cups sugar | For 6½ cups HEAVY sirup. |
Boil sugar and water or juice together 5 minutes. Skim if necessary.
To extract juice.—Crush thoroughly ripe, sound juicy fruit. Heat to simmering (185° to 210° F.) over low heat. Strain through jelly bag or other cloth.
To add sugar direct to fruit.—For juicy fruit to be packed hot, add about ½ cup sugar to each quart of raw, prepared fruit. Heat to simmering (185° to 210° F.) over low heat. Pack fruit in the juice that cooks out.
To add sweetening other than sugar.—You can use light corn sirup or mild-flavored honey to replace as much as half the sugar called for in canning fruit. Do not use brown sugar, or molasses, sorghum, or other strong-flavored sirups; their flavor overpowers the fruit flavor and they may darken the fruit.