Bottled fruit

In short

• Fruit for bottling is acidic, so a boiling-water bath is enough; a pressure canner is not needed.
• The bath lasts 10–30 minutes depending on the fruit and jar size; figs 45–50 minutes with added acid.
• Syrup can be anything from plain water to 40 %. Sugar is for taste, colour and firmness, not for safety.
• Hot pack (fruit briefly boiled in the syrup) gives fuller jars and less floating.
• Keep pale fruit (apples, pears, peaches) in water with vitamin C or lemon until filling, so it doesn't brown.

What's inside

Chapters

1. Bottled fruit at a glance
2. Fruit for bottling
3. Syrup: from water to heavy
4. Stopping fruit from browning
5. Hot pack and raw pack
6. Water bath: times by fruit
7. Recipes for bottled fruit
8. Cooling, storage and use
9. Common mistakes
10. Printable checklist

Worksheets

• Bottled fruit calendar
• Fruit and syrup calculator
• Water-bath chart
• Batch diary
• Bottled fruit inventory
• Jar labels