When canning blackberries, blanch for 30 seconds in boiling sugar syrup before ladling them into hot jars. Process pints or quarts for 15 minutes in a water bath canner or for 8 minutes in a pressure canner, adjusting the time and pressure per elevation.
Should Blackberries Be Water Bath Canned or Pressure Canned?
Blackberries have a pH range of 3.2 to 3.6, making them safe for water bath canning. According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, you may can whole blackberries in sugar syrup, plain water, or fruit juice like blackberry juice.
Other berries ideal for canning whole in a water bath canner include blueberries, loganberries, mulberries, gooseberries, raspberries, currants, huckleberries, and dewberries.
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Home Canning Blackberries Recipe
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 9 pints or 4 quarts 1x
Description
Canning blackberries at home is easy. Use this easy recipe for canning berries successfully, even as a beginner!
Ingredients
- 8–9 pounds of fresh blackberries
- 5¾ cups water
- 1½ cups of sugar
Instructions
- Gather ripe, firm, uniformly-colored, and sweet blackberries. Avoid overripe berries. You’ll need 8-9 pounds of fruit for a canner load of 9 pints or 12-13 pounds for a canner load of 7 quarts.
- Prepare 9 pint jars or 4 quart jars with their ring bands and brand-new canning lids. Wash the utensils with warm soapy water before rinsing them in plain warm water.
- Submerge the canning jars in fresh water in a large pot and apply heat until the water simmers. Let the jars remain hot until filling time.
- Prepare the hot water bath canner. Load it with a clean canning rack and add warm water to the halfway position. Heat the canner on medium-high heat to bring the water to a stable 180°F simmer.
- Wash the fresh berries in cool water, 1-2 quarts at a time. Rinse the berries under cool running water. Remove stems, if any. Pat the berries with paper towels to remove excess water droplets. If you use frozen blackberries, allow enough time for thawing.
- For raw packs: fill hot jars with raw berries. Pour hot syrup over the berries, leaving ½-inch headspace.
- For hot-packs, prepare a light or medium syrup with the specified amount of sugar and water. Mix the two and bring them to a boil in a wide pot. Stir frequently to dissolve the sugar completely. Use the following measurements for the simple syrup:
- 5¾ cups water and 1½ cups sugar for light syrup
- 5¼ cups water and 2¼ cups sugar for medium syrup
Cooking the Raspberries
- Add the washed berries to the hot syrup and cook them for 30 seconds.
- If preferred, make canned blackberries sweeter or reduce discoloration by adding a little homemade blackberry juice to cook with the syrup. Use a potato masher to crush the berries or a mesh strainer to sieve the juice into the syrup when adding the whole berries.
- Use a ladle and canning funnel to fill drained hot jars with hot blackberries and cooking syrup, allowing ½-inch headspace.
- Run a wooden utensil along the inner walls of the jars to remove air bubbles. Refill the jars with more berries or syrup if needed. Maintain ½-inch headspace.
- Wipe the rims of the filled jars with paper towels dipped in warm water.
- Place the lids on the jars and fasten the ring bands over them to a slight resistance level and fingertip tightness.
- With the canner still simmering, lift the jars upright onto the canning rack. The water should cover the jars by 1-2 inches.
- Put the canner over high heat to bring it to a rolling boil before closing its lid and processing the blackberries per elevation:
Boiling Water Bath Canner Hot Pack Processing Times
- 0 – 1,000ft: 15 minutes
- 1,001 – 3,000ft: 20 minutes
- 3,001 – 6,000ft: 20 minutes
- Above 6,001ft: 25 minutes
Boiling Water Bath Canner Raw Pack Processing Times
- 0 – 1,000ft: 15 minutes for pints; 20 minutes for quarts
- 1,001 – 3,000ft: 20 minutes for pints; 25 minutes for quarts
- 3,001 – 6,000ft: 20 minutes for pints; 30 minutes for quarts
- Above 6,000ft: 25 minutes for pints; 35 minutes for quarts
Post Processing
- Turn off the heat to the canner. Open the lid, taking care to avoid the steam. Use a jar lifter or canning tongs to remove each jar independently after 5 minutes of letting off steam.
- Rest the jars upright on a working surface covered with warm cloth towels. Let the jars cool for 12-24 hours without disturbing or interfering with the lids.
- Once the jars have cooled to room temperature, undo the ring bands to check the seals. Successfully sealed lids shouldn’t move when pressed. Use unused canning lids to reprocess unsealed jars. You can also save them for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
- Wash the successfully sealed jars with cool water. Dry the jars and label them by the canning date and berry type. Store the jars in the pantry.
Notes
As this recipe depends on the sugar syrup or canning liquid chosen, the nutritional content will vary.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Canning Time: 10 minutes
What is the Best Way to Preserve Blackberries?
Freeze-drying is the best way to preserve blackberries to ensure a shelf life of at least five years in the pantry. Freeze-dried blackberries are easier to rehydrate than their dehydrated counterparts.
You can preserve blackberries in many other ways:
- Dehydrate blackberry fruit leather or whole berries to make blackberry powder.
- Ferment whole berries for a one-month shelf life in the fridge.
- Freeze unwashed whole blackberries for up to 9 months.
- Make blackberry vinegar with 5% acidity vinegar and whole blackberries.
- Make blackberry wine or blackberry mead.
- Try other tested canning recipes for blackberry jam, jelly, blackberry syrup, juice, or pie filling.
Is it Possible to Freeze Canned Blackberries?
Canned blackberries are shelf stable in the pantry and require no freezing. Blackberries are delicate when frozen and thawed, which doesn’t work well for some recipes.
The alternative is to freeze unwashed blackberries in mason jars, preferably wide-mouth or regular half-pint or pint jars.
How Many Blackberries Are Needed for a Jar of Jam?
According to the NCHFP, you need one cup of crushed berries to make one pint or ½ cup of crushed berries for one half-pint of homemade blackberry jam with powdered pectin.
Can You Can Blackberries in a Pressure Canner?
Blackberries are acidic enough for pressure canning. Both pint and quarts jars are processed faster than in water bath canning. Whole blackberries require 8-10 minutes of total processing time at the following pressures per canner type:
Dial-gauge pressure canners:
| Altitude (ft) | 0 – 2,000 | 2,001 – 4,000 | 4,001 – 6,000 | 6,001 – 8,000 |
| PSI | 6 lbs | 7 lbs | 8 lbs | 9 lbs |
Weighted-gauge pressure canners:
| Altitude (ft) | 0 – 1,000 | 1,001 + |
| PSI | 5 lbs | 10 lbs |
What Are the Benefits of Canning Blackberries?
- Blackberries are rich in vitamin C, manganese, fiber, and antioxidants like anthocyanins.
- Blackberries support healthy pregnancy by supplying folic acid, iron, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium.
- Canning blackberries increases their shelf life.
- Canning blackberries saves precious freezer space.
- The vitamin K in blackberries helps with helpful blood coagulation and bone strength.
How to Store Canned Blackberries
Canned blackberries are best kept at room temperature in a cool, dry, dark place. Avoid storing blackberries near sources of natural light and heat. Always store jars at least six inches off of the ground to prevent metal lids from corroding due to temperature and humidity fluctuations.
What is the Shelf Life of Canned Blackberries?
The shelf life of canned blackberries is 12 months at room temperature. Use the berries within six months for the best nutrition and flavor. If you canned them in plain water, use them within three months.