One of my local grocery stores {Safeway} has cherries on sale this week for $1.29 a pound. So I got up bright and early and headed down to pick up 10 pounds so I could can some cherries to use later this winter. Have you ever tried home canned cherries before? Holy cats, they are da’ bomb! The Handsome Husband and I especially like them over homemade vanilla bean ice cream in the winter time.
Not only are cherries just about the easiest thing on the planet to can, but they are so freakin’ delicious.
Here is my low sugar/ syrup recipe.
Once you get your cherries home, wash them thoroughly. Plan on roughly 1 pound of cherries per pint jar.
Pit cherries. I use the MIU Stainless Steel Cherry Stoner
Wash several canning jars in hot soapy water. Rise and drain.
Fill your hot jars with pitted cherries. Pour hot sugar syrup mixture over cherries, remove bubbles and leave about 1/2 head space at the top.
Add lids and bands, screw on tight.
Place in a hot water canner and process for 25 minutes. Remove jars form canner and let them cool on a kitchen towel over night. Check seals and store in pantry. If seals did not take, place in refrigerator for up to 1 week and enjoy.
How to Can Cherries
Directions
- Wash cherries
- Pit cherries
- Fill canning jars with cherries
- Add syrup to cherries leaving 1/2 head space
- Add lids and bands, screw on tight
- Process in a hot water canner for 25 minutes
- Remove jars form canner and let them cool on a kitchen towel over night
- Check seals and store in pantry. If seals did not take, place in refrigerator for up to 1 week and enjoy
Light Sugar Syrup Recipe
Combine 1 1/4 cups sugar and 5 1/2 cups of water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. This should yield enough syrup for 6 jars of cherries.
See More of my Canning Recipes HERE
Looking for a few more awesome canning recipes? Check out Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Need a canner? I used the Granite Ware 11-1/2 Quart Covered Preserving Canner with Rack
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Mavis, have you ever dehydrated cherries before? If you did, did you pit them first?
I have dried cherries for the past three years, and have always pitted them. Otherwise it’s hard to get the dried fruit away from the pit. It is so wonderful to use home-dried fruit in recipes all year long
I’ve dried cherries, too. They are delicious. Always take pits out of any fruit before drying.
Gee Mavis, hate to be a Debbie Downer, but the picture of your cherries in the canner showed the top of the jars sticking out of the water. I am pretty sure that there needs to be 1 to 2 inches of water over the tops of the jars in order to ensure safe canning. You might need a deeper canner.
I’m thinking maybe she took the picture before submerging the rack into the water.
Dear Debbie Downer, the picture was taken as I was removing the cherries from the canner.
No worries. 
My husband and I have made Rum Soaked Cherries and some Cherry Pie Filling (I posted about the rum cherries here: http://bkdarr.blogspot.com/2012/07/rum-soaked-canned-cherries-molasses.html ) I’m looking forward to having all of these cherries come January when I want some lovely fruit!
Okay, I am going to see if my neighbors have some rum and try this. Thanks Kendra.
A tad jealous of the price you got on cherries. My local Safeway has them for $2.99/lb. The cheapest I’ve found here is $1.50/lb. And our reliable u-pick farm was not so reliable for cherries this year.
Was able to get 18 pounds this year during our very short cherry season in June. They were dried and frozen. Next year will try canning some. Yours look beautiful!
Thanks for the tutorial
18 pounds? Wowza! I need to plant a cherry tree.
We made Brandied Cherries this weekend with Safeway cherries! I can’t wait for them to soak up the yummy goodness.
Those sound really good! My dad would like something like that. Thanks for the idea.
Is it ok to can the cherries without removing the pit?
Yes.
When I had my Portland/Vancouver houses with cherry trees, I would pit them with a new pencil that I had removed the rubber eraser from. Poke the metal pencil eraser end and push, and voila…pitted cherry.
That’s because you are a rock star Helen.
Just canned 21 1/2 Quarts on Monday. left the pits in for a time saver. Just dried about 8 trays a couple weeks ago, and are GREAT, am planning to do a lot of watermelon, that was yummy!
Since I made my first batch using only half of the receipe, and it came out delicious, I bought more cheeries today to make a full batch. I wanted to say that I bought this cherry pitter for $14.99 that pits 4 cheeries at once, I was able to pit 3 pounds of cheeries in about 15 minutes, with no mess or splatter. It worked great. It was really one of those cheap brands by Progressive called “Cherry-It Pitter”. I bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond. Mavis, I hope it is OK that I mentioned a brand name here. I am in love with your blog, am making a lot of your receipes I’ve found.
Lee
Bought the cherry stoner you linked and canned 8 pints today! Yay. I can’t wait to eat them with homemade vanilla ice-cream this winter. Thanks for the tutorial Mavis
Have you ever canned cherries using honey instead of sugar for your simple syrup? We don’t keep sugar in the house, so looking for an alternative. Thanks!