Normally, people use a lot of sugar when canning fruit and they do this is for two reasons.
First, sugar has the ability to help the fruit retain its color and texture. A jar of peaches or apricots in a heavy syrup will look beautiful and fresh picked 6 months down the line. But the second reason is that people just like the taste. Sweetened fruit tastes good!
But in this instance, sugar is NOT necessary for safety.
In fact, you really do not need to use sugar at all when you are putting up whole or sliced fruit. You can safely process fruits like apricots and peaches in just water if you wanted to because the fruit itself is in the safe pH range. However before you run off to do that, you should know that just using water does not give you very good results. The fruit turns dark quickly and loses texture. So although some people do put up fruit with just water, having a little sugar in there helps a lot.
Sometimes I can my fruit using a medium to heavy sugar syrup. But other times, I may have an apricot or peach that is so delicious on its own, I do not want to cover it up with all that sugar.
So here is the alternative.
Can Your Fruit in Unsweetened White Grape Juice
The natural sugars in the grape juice help retain the color and texture of the fruit but you can still taste the natural flavors of whatever you can. Yes, your resulting fruit will darker faster than fruit canned in a sugar syrup, but not as quickly as if you canned it just water. It is a pretty good compromise.
The benefits of Using Fruit Juice:
- The canned fruit is considered “low sugar”. Only the natural sugar in the fruit and juice are there.
- You can add whatever sweetener you want when you open the jar later.
The Cons of Using Fruit Juice:
- It is safe to eat up to 1 year, but the fruit will darken and should be used within 6 months for best color.
- The fruit will not taste as sweet. (Which is not necessarily a bad thing.)
Remember, the loss of color is only aesthetics. The fruit taste is still delicious and safe. It may not look as pretty but it still has great flavor. My solution to this darkening problem is to just use up those jars faster than I would the fruit canned in heavy sugar syrup. But when I do have a jar that has darkened a bit, I use it in something that gets cooked such as a pie or sauce.
I also like to include some spices such as cinnamon sticks or allspice to give the fruit a little “oomph”. Once you open the jar, you can sweeten it more if necessary any way you like.
Watch the video above to see how easy it is to can sliced apricots. (Yes, they were large apricots. All organic!) You can print out the recipe below to make them yourself.
What about using ascorbic acid or other product for color retention?
Yes, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), lemon juice and products like Fruit Fresh (which is an ascorbic acid mix) will help prevent darkening. Ascorbic acid works a little bit better than lemon juice and does not alter the flavor of the fruit. I will cover this topic in depth in another post, but if you buy an ascorbic acid product in the store, just follow the directions on the package.
Apricots Canned in Grape Juice – Recipe
I do not peel the apricots in this recipe to save time. You can peel your fruit if you wish.
Makes 4 pint-sized jars
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. apricots (washed, not peeled)
- 5 cups white grape juice (unsweetened)
- 2 whole cinnamon sticks (optional)
Into each jar:
- 10 whole allspice
- 10 whole cloves
- 1 star anise
1) Fill your water bath canner with water and heat it up. Add clean jars to the bath to warm them. (You do not need to sterilize the jars because they will be processed for 20 minutes.) Heat your lids in a small saucepan.
2) Meanwhile, heat grape juice and cinnamon sticks to a simmer and prepare fruit by cutting it in half and removing pits. You do not need to peel. If your wish, you can cut the apricots into quarters.
3) Remove warm jars from the water bath and the spices to each jar.
4) Add your apricots (face down) and gently pack them in up to 1/2 inch headspace.
5) Add your hot grape juice to each jar leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
6) Use a skewer or plastic knife to dislodge any air bubbles in the jars. Add more juice if necessary to maintain the proper headspace.
7) Wipe the rims with a clean cloth and add your lids and rings. Process in a water bath for 20 minutes.
8) Turn off heat and let the jars sit in the canner for an additional 5 minutes. Then remove the jars to cool. Refrigerate any unsealed jars and use within 1 week. Label sealed jars and use within 1 year, but the color retention is best within the first 6 months.
For more canning information, check out my other Canning Videos or my Canning Blog.
About Theresa Loe
Theresa Loe is an award-winning garden writer for television, print media and video. She is also one of the founding producers of Growing A Greener World, bringing her voice and expertise both on-camera and behind-camera from day one. She is passionate about taking the garden full circle (from seed, to pantry, to table) and shares how to capture seasonal, fresh-picked flavor.
What about using corn syrup?
In general, up to one half of the sugar in a standard sugar syrup canning recipe can be replaced by corn syrup or a mild-flavored honey. A larger proportion of corn syrup may be used if a very bland, light colored type is selected. But although you can use a light corn syrup and it is safe, you really don’t get as good of a flavor from the fruit.
I find sugar syrup gives the best results (flavor wise). Grape juice is second. Corn syrup gives the least desirable flavor.
Hi Theresa,
Thank you so much for responding to my last question about adding vinegar to my dill pickles! It made me feel much better 🙂
Since then, I have made a second batch of pickles, and read a lot about canning in between making the two batches. I am concerned because with the first batch, the water was boiling over, so I took a bit out as it was becoming a little dangerous. The water still covered the jars by an inch, but I can’t say that it was at a complete boil for the FULL 20 minute processing time. This was before I knew how important it is to maintain a boil for the full processing time. So, I have two questions now:
1) Does it sound like these pickles are unsafe? I am particularly concerned about botulism.
2) Is botulism really a concern for pickled foods containing vinegar and/or made in a vinegar brine? It seems like botulism cannot grow in vinegar, but I can’t tell for sure!
thanks so much,
Katie
Hi Katie,
I am going to answer your questions out of order and tackle the botulism question first.
You are correct – botulism is not a concern for properly pickled products. If your vinegar brine is strong enough (meaning: it is in the proper pH level) then, the spore for botulism cannot grow and it is not an issue. If you did not make any adjustments with your brine (did not dilute it with water), then you are perfectly safe.
So that brings us to your other question about the safety of your pickles. In your case, the importance of the water bath is to give your jars a proper seal and to kill any bacteria/mold that can cause spoilage. Those bacteria and molds are killed by the temperatures of the bath. We have already eliminated the botulism worry. So, the worst thing that can happen with improperly processing your particular pickle is that you will either 1) not get a good vacuum seal or 2) you will not kill all the bacteria that can cause spoilage. Bottom line is that the pickles could potentially not last as long on the shelf due to early spoilage.
But, I do not think that will the case with yours – here’s why:
You always want to boil those jars for the full time in a recipe with a complete boil. It is difficult for me to know how long of a process you really had. Was it 18 min? or was it really 10 min? You have to judge that for yourself because you were there watching the boil. But let me say this: If you were very close to the 20 min mark (and it sounds like you were), you are fine. The USDA standards do have some fudge room. But if after thinking about this, you decide that you were not anywhere near 20 minutes, then your vacuum seal may not be very strong and your jars may not last as long. They are perfectly safe to eat now, but if you feel you under processed them, I would either eat them right away or refrigerate them for long term.
If this ever happens again, the proper procedure is to reprocess them immediately and do the full 20 minutes again. But in the case of pickles, your final product would be “cooked” and not crisp. So, I prefer to refrigerate them after they are cooled rather than reprocess.
My gut feel, based on your description above and our previous conversations, is that your pickles are fine and will last long term. It really sounds like you were very close to the full boil for the full time. I think you are fine.
I hope this all made sense. If not, write again and I will be more clear.
Listen – I am very excited that you diving into the whole canning thing. You are gaining confidence with each batch! You are researching properly and you are asking all the right questions. Good for you!
I would recommend reading a couple of my posts on my other blog:
The 5 Secrets to Canning Success
Why Remove Rings from Canning Jars
Other than that, keep on going! You are doing GREAT.
~Theresa
Can I use homemade, organic, unsweetened apple juice instead of the grape juice? It tastes very sweet even though no sugar is added. We get a ton of apples from elderly neighbours who have a hard time cleaning them up and I’m always looking for uses. I’ve made apple molasses that I can use in place of sugar for cooking, apple sauce, apple butter, and of course the apple juice, but would love any other ideas. I’ve heard apples have a lot of pectin and would love to know if I could use them somehow in place of pectin for berry jams etc. Thank you.
Hi Carol-Anne,
Yes, you can use your homemade apple juice instead of grape juice. It should work just fine. And yes, apples are extremely high in pectin. Here is a link to give you all the instructions on how to make your own pectin for canning:
http://www.pickyourown.org/makeyourownpectin.htm
I love your show and how you cover the big and beautiful to the small and practical advice for home gardeners who might want to someday grow for others. Thanks for your wonderful and informative show. Lisa
my name is john h iam a unknow artist I like the program growing a greener world but my question to you I would like to have some one to take a look at my art work if so I would like to do a piece of art work pertaining to the show its a very beautiful and helpful show and the good looking people that hosts wondering job all you.
Hi John. Send us a link to where we can see your art and we’d love to take a look. Thanks for your very kind words!