Franklin County

                                   May 2009


 

If you happen to have access to a lot of blueberries, you can enjoy them well past the season.

The berries can be frozen, canned, made into jam, freezer jam, jelly, syrup, and pie filling.  Always start with ripe good quality fruit.

The easiest way to preserve the blueberries is to freeze them. If the berries are going to be frozen whole, they should not be washed before they are frozen. They can be washed later before they are eaten.  Sort the berries to get rid of poor quality berries
and any debris. The berries can be frozen individually so a small portion
may be removed at a time.

Freezing. To freeze, place the berries on a tray and freeze 4-6 hours. Immediately pack into a container, seal, label and store in the freezer, or pack in a container before freezing leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

If berries are crushed before freezing, wash them before crushing. Stir in 1 to 1-1/8 cups of sugar to a quart (or 2 pounds) of crushed blueberries, until the sugar is dissolved. Pack in containers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace, seal, label, and freeze.

Canning. Blueberries can be canned in water, juice or syrup using a hot pack or raw pack method. Use 12 pounds of berries to fill 7 quart jars, or 8 pounds to fill 9 pint jars.

To pack berries in syrup, prepare the syrup ahead of time.  Most berries use a medium syrup.  For 7 quarts, mix 3-¾ cups of sugar with 8-¼ cups of water and bring to a boil. For 9 pints, use 2-¼ cups of sugar with 5-¼ cups water and bring to a boil. Keep warm to pour over berries.

Hot pack. Place berries in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain. Put drained blueberries in the quart jars and cover with hot juice, syrup, or water, leaving ½-inch head space.  Process quarts in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, or at 6 pounds of  pressure for 8 minutes.

Raw pack. Gently pack berries into a clean, warm jar, fill with hot water, syrup, or juice leaving a ½-inch head space. Adjust lids, and process quarts for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath, or 6 pounds of pressure for 10 minutes.

Pints are processed for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath, or 8 minutes at 6 pounds of pressure, whether they are hot or raw packed.

Blueberry syrup. Syrup can be made with or without whole fruit in it. Use 6-½ cups of washed and stemmed blueberries (reserve 2 cups of whole berries if fruit is desired in the syrup).

In a saucepan, heat the crushed blueberries to boiling and simmer until the fruit is soft. Strain the hot fruit through a colander, and let it cool.  Once cooled, strain and press the  juice again through a jelly bag, or double layer of cheese cloth. Discard any dried pulp.

For syrup containing whole berries, combine reserved fruit with   6-¾ cups of sugar. Add strained fruit juice. For plain syrup, mix the remaining filtered juice with 6-¾ cups of sugar. Place in a large saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil; simmer one minute. Remove from heat and skim off the foam. Pour into clean pint or half pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Wipe the jar tops and adjust the two piece lids. Process the jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

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		University of Missouri Extension Franklin County Site maintained by: Billie Jo Brenner, brennerbj@missouri.edu Last revised: 07/02/08