If this is your first time canning or it has been awhile, it is recommended that you read Using Boiling Water Canners and General Canning Information before beginning.  

2. Ingredients

• 17 1/2 pounds of cherries (makes 7 quarts)
• 11 pounds of cherries (makes 9 pints)
• For anti-darkening solution, use one of the following:
  • Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)- 1 teaspoon crystalline or 3,000 mg Vitamin C tablets- dissolve in 1 gallon of water
  • Commercial anti-darkening product- a mixture of citric and ascorbic acid- follow manufacturer's directions
  • 3/4 cup bottled lemon juice- mix in 1 gallon water
• Packing liquid, any of the following:
  • Commercial, unsweetened apple or white grape juice  
  • Water 
  • Water + sugar (for syrup)- see table below for ingredients needed for preparing syrup 

Measure of Water and Sugar for Syrup
Syrup Type	For 9 Pints            (or 4 Quarts)		For 7 Quarts
	Cups Water	Cups Sugar	Cups Water	Cups Sugar
Very Light	6-1/2	3/4	10-1/2	1-1/4
Light	5-3/4	1-1/2	9	2-1/4
Medium	5-1/4	2-1/4	8-1/4	3-3/4
Heavy	5	3-1/4	7-3/4	5-1/4

 

3. Equipment

• Boiling water canner: Large covered pot (with a tight-fitting cover and a rack) that is deep enough to cover the rack and canning jars by 1 to 2 inches of boiling water. (At least 10 inches deep for pint jars, and 12 inches deep for quart jars.)

• Canning jars: Use standard canning jars without cracks or chips (see recipe for sizes)
• Lids and bands: Bands can be reused if they are in good shape, but lids must be new to ensure a proper seal
• Long-handled spoon
• Bowl (for anti-darkening solution)
• Colander (for draining fruit)
• Wide-mouth funnel
• Jar lifter (for moving jars into/out of canner)
• Lid wand (magnetic tool used to transfer lids to jars)
• Bubble freer, or a plastic or rubber knife-like utensil (for removing air from food)
• Ruler for measuring headspace (some bubble freers include this feature)
• Large covered pot (for hot pack syrup)
• Medium pot for extra boiling water
• Towels or wire rack for cooling jars
• Paper towels
• Hot pads
• Cutting board
• Knives
• Food thermometer for measuring temperature of processing water
• Timer or clock

4. Prepare Canning Equipment

Boiling Water Canner-

• Assemble and wash equipment and containers.
  • Wash canning jars in soapy water, rinse, and keep hot. (This can be done in a dishwasher or by placing jars in the water that is heating in your canner.)
• Follow manufacturer’s instructions for preparing lids.
• Place rack in the bottom of a boiling water canner. Fill the canner approximately half full with clean warm water for a canner load of pint jars. For other sizes and numbers of jars, you will need to adjust the amount of water so it will be 1 to 2 inches over the top of the filled jars.
• Center the canner over the burner and preheat the water to 140 degrees F for raw-packed foods and to 180 degrees F for hot-packed foods.
• In medium pot, boil some extra water to use later, as needed, to cover the jars or fruit.
• Begin preparing food for your jars while this water is preheating.

5. Prepare Ingredients

• Wash cherries. Drain. 
• Remove pits, if desired.
  • If pitted, place cherries in anti-darkening solution (see Ingredients section above) to prevent stem-end discoloration.
  • If pit is left inside, prick each cherry to prevent bursting and shrinking. 
• Cherries may be canned in water, juice or syrup. If syrup is desired, select and prepare preferred type as directed in table above in Ingredients section.

For raw pack-

• Bring to a boil syrup, juice or water. Refer to table above in Ingredients section.

For hot pack-

• Place cherries in a large cooking pot and add ½ cup water, juice, or syrup for each quart of fruit. Bring to boil.

6. Pack Jars

Hot pack-

• Fill jars with prepared cherries and boiling syrup, water or juice, leaving ½-inch headspace.
• Remove air bubbles.
• Add more liquid, if needed, for ½-inch headspace.
• Wipe rim with clean, wet paper towel.
• Place lid on jar and add screw band. Screw the band down fingertip tight- not too loose nor too tight. Follow lid manufacturer's directions for tightening the jar lids properly.

For raw pack-

• Add ½ cup hot water, juice, or syrup to each jar.
• Fill jars with cherries, shaking down gently as you fill.
• Remove air bubbles.
• Add more liquid, if needed, for ½-inch headspace.
• Wipe rim with clean, wet paper towel.
• Place lid on jar and add screw band. Screw the band down fingertip tight- not too loose nor too tight. Follow lid manufacturer's directions for tightening the jar lids properly.

7. Process Jars

Boiling Water Canner-

• With jar lifter, place jars on canning rack in large pot, which is filled with hot water. Jars should not touch each other.
• Add or remove boiling water as needed until jars are covered by 1" - 2".
• Turn heat to high and bring to a vigorous boil.
• Set timer for correct processing time. Refer to the tables below for processing time for your elevation and jar size.
• Cover canner with lid and lower heat setting to maintain a gentle boil throughout processing time.
• When processing time is up, turn off heat and remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes before removing jars to allow contents to settle.
• Using a jar lifter, remove jars one at a time. Do not tilt jars. Place jars on a cooling rack or towel, leaving at least 1" space between jars. Avoid placing jars on a cold surface or near a cold draft.
• Allow the jars to cool untouched, away from drafts, for 12 to 24 hours before testing lid seals.
• Once cool, remove the screw bands and check the seal.
• If any jars did not seal, treat as if 'fresh' and do any of the following:
  • Eat the food immediately.
  • Refrigerate food and use within a week.
  • Freeze.
  • Reprocess. If reprocessing, must repeat the entire canning process.

8. Store

• With clean cloth or paper towel, wipe jars and lids to remove all residues.
• Label with date and processing method.
• Store in a cool, dark place, where there is no danger of freezing.
• Stored properly, canned fruits should retain their quality for about 1 year.

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Boiling water bath (raw pack)-PINTS or QUARTS

0-1,000 ft	1,001-3,000 ft	3,001-6,000 ft	6,001-9,000 ft
25 minutes	30 minutes	35 minutes	40 minutes

Boiling water bath (hot pack)-PINTS

0-1,000 ft	1,001-3,000 ft	3,001-6,000 ft	6,001-9,000 ft
15 minutes	20 minutes	20 minutes	25 minutes

Boiling water bath (hot pack)-QUARTS

0-1,000 ft	1,001-3,000 ft	3,001-6,000 ft	6,001-9,000 ft
20 minutes	25 minutes	30 minutes	35 minutes