Tag: preserving

There is something very reassuring about the process of canning. Am I the only one that loves to look at rows of cooling jars whilst waiting expectantly for the ping that tells you they have sealed correctly?

Our ‘big room’ upstairs, the one that has aspirations of becoming two bedrooms but is currently a repository for everything that we can’t find a home for anywhere else, now looks like a bomb has hit it. I’ve been going through boxes and boxes of jars and organising them into sizes suitable for jam, chutney, canned fruit etc. Those more organised than I would have designated boxes that once empty the jars can be returned to. Given the time this method would save I may make a concerted effort to implement it this year.

Right now I’m making a list and checking it twice because once the garden kicks into producing fruit and veg at a rate of knots, that is not the time to realise you are short of jars, lids and any other bits and pieces that you require to put up the harvest. Similarly, it helps if you have some idea of just how many jars you will need to contain a bumper crop of tomatoes or apples.

Here is a little chart I’d like to share with you that outlines the approximate yields for various fruits and, of course, tomatoes. Hope this helps. Happy canning!

APPROXIMATE YIELDS FOR CANNED FRUITS

 Fruit                               Weight        No. of quart/liter jars       Per quart/liter jar

Apples                              48 lbs / 22 kg                    16-19                     2.75 lbs /1 kg
Applesauce                     48 lbs / 22 kg                    14-19                          3 lbs / 1.25 kg
Apricots                          50 lbs / 23 kg                    20-25                       2.25 lbs / 1 kg
Berries                            36 lbs / 16 kg                    18-24                      1.75 lbs / 0.8 kg
Cherries                          25 lbs /11 kg                       8-12                        2.5 lbs / 1 kg
Grape Juice                    26 lbs / 12 kg                       7-9                         3.5 lbs / 1.5 kg
Grapes, Whole              26 lbs / 12 kg                     12-14                         2 lbs / 0.9 kg
Peaches & Nectarines  48 lbs / 22 kg                    16-24                        2.5 lbs / 1 kg
Pears                               50 lbs / 23 kg                    16-25                        2.5 lbs / 1 kg
Plums                              56 lbs / 25 kg                     22-36                         2 lbs / 0.9 kg

Tomatoes

Crushed                           53 lbs / 24 kg                     17-20                     2.75 lbs / 1 kg
Whole or Halved           53 lbs /24 kg                      15-21                          3 lbs/ 1.25 kg
Juice                                  53 lbs / 24 kg                    15-18                    3.25 lbs / 1.25 kg
Sauce (thin)                     53 lbs /24 kg                      10-12                        5 lbs / 2.25 kg
Sauce  (thick)                  53 lbs / 24 kg                        7-9                       6.5 lbs / 3 kg