Free Canning and Preserving For Dummies by Amelia Jeanroy

fruit out of the jar, use a sugar syrup or fruit juice.
    After adding the hot liquid to your filled jars, you release any trapped air bubbles in the jar. If the headspace drops after releasing the air bubbles, add more liquid to maintain the proper headspace (refer to Chapter 3 for information about headspace). If the fruit level drops, you need to add fruit.
    Sugar syrups
    Sugar syrup is simply a mixture of sugar and water. It adds flavor to your canned fruit, preserves its color, and produces a smooth, firm texture. Other sweeteners, such as honey, may be added in addition to or without the sugar.
    Use these guidelines for making your sugar-syrup choice:
    Super-light syrup: This syrup adds the least amount of calories. The sweetness level is the closest to the natural sugar level in most fruits.
    Extra-light syrup: Use this syrup for a sweet fruit, such as figs.
    Light syrup: This is best with sweet apples and berries.
    Medium syrup: This syrup complements tart apples, apricots, nectarines, peaches, and pears.
    Heavy syrup: Use this with sour fruit, such as grapefruit.
    Sugar syrup recipe alternatives
    Although syrup of sugar and water is the most common liquid used when canning fresh fruit, you may use honey in place of or in addition to granulated sugar. Use a mild-flavored honey that won’t detract from the natural flavor of your fruit. Here are some suggestions:
Type of Syrup
Sugar
Honey
Water
Syrup Yield
Light
1 cup
1 cup
4 cups
5 1/2 cups
Light
None
1 cup
3 cups
4 cups
Medium
2 cups
1 cup
4 cups
6 cups
Medium
None
2 cups
2 cups
4 cups
    Combine the syrup ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring the syrup to dissolve the sugar and/or the honey. After the liquid boils, keep it hot or refrigerate it up to two days. If you refrigerate your syrup, reheat it to a boil before adding it to your filled jars.
    Remember: Honey and canned goods made with honey should never be fed to children under 1 year of age due to the danger of infant botulism.
    Table 5-1 offers you five concentrations of sugar syrup. Allow 1/2 to 3/4 cup of liquid for each filled pint jar and 1 1/2 cups of liquid for each filled quart jar of fruit. Bring your syrup ingredients to a boil in a saucepan over high heat; stir to dissolve the sugar.
Table 5-1 Sugar Syrup Concentrations
Syrup Strength
Granulated Sugar
Water
Approximate Yield
Super-light
1/4 cup
5 3/4 cups
6 cups
Extra-light
1 1/4 cups
5 1/2 cups
6 cups
Light
2 1/4 cups
5 1/4 cups
6 1/2 cups
Medium
3 1/4 cups
5 cups
7 cups
Heavy
4 1/4 cups
4 1/4 cups
7 cups
    Always prepare your hot liquid before you prepare your fruit. The liquid should be waiting for you; you shouldn’t be waiting for your liquid to boil.
    Water or fruit juice
    Packing fresh fruit in boiling water or fruit juice produces fruit with a soft texture. Two good choices for fruit juices are unsweetened pineapple juice or white grape juice. Use water you like to drink, without minerals and not the sparkling variety.
    Always use the hot-pack method (see the section “Raw pack and hot pack” earlier in this chapter) when using water or unsweetened fruit juice for your canning liquid.
    Fresh Fruit Canning Guidelines
    The following sections list foods that are commonly grown in home gardens. The quantity guide for each fruit fills a 1-quart jar. If you’re using pint jars, cut the quantity in half.
    The recipes in the following sections use the water-bath canning method. For detailed instructions on water-bath canning, filling and processing your jars, and releasing air bubbles, refer to the step-by-step guidelines in Chapter 4. And for a more extensive list of fruits, refer to the Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving, Second Revised Edition, by the United States Department of Agriculture.
    Apples
    Choose apples suitable for eating or making pies. Prep is easy: Just peel and core the apples and then cut them into slices or quarters. To prevent discoloration, treat the fruit with an antioxidant (refer to “Deterring