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