Canning Vault field guide
Fruit Canning & Pie Fillings
Preserve fruit with the right pack, liquid, texture, and thickener. Fruit canning is flexible in flavor but exact in process. Pack style, jar size, headspace, covering liquid, preparation method, and processing schedule still need to match a tested recipe.
Chapter 01
Begin with sound fruit at the right ripeness
Choose sound fruit free of mold and spoilage. Ripeness affects flavor, texture, natural pectin, and how well pieces hold their shape during heating.
Prepare fruit exactly as directed, including peeling, pitting, coring, slicing, and anti-darkening treatment. Piece size affects both packing and heat movement.
Chapter 02
Understand hot pack and raw pack
Hot-packed fruit is heated before filling. It generally releases trapped air, floats less, fits more evenly in the jar, and often retains quality better during storage.
Raw pack fills jars with unheated fruit and then adds hot liquid. Use it only when the tested recipe offers that option, and select the processing row that matches the pack style.
Chapter 03
Choose only a listed covering liquid
Sugar syrup helps fruit retain flavor, color, and shape, but sugar is not what makes canned fruit safe. Many tested fruit recipes also allow water or specific fruit juices.
Use a liquid and syrup strength listed for that fruit. Keep fruit covered, remove bubbles, and restore the specified headspace before applying lids.
Chapter 04
Pie fillings require a tested thickener
Tested canned pie fillings use regular Clear Jel, a modified starch that remains stable through canning and baking. Ordinary cornstarch, flour, and other thickeners do not behave the same way and can interfere with heat movement.
Keep the specified lemon juice and Clear Jel amounts. Sugar and dry spices may be adjustable only within the guidance supplied with the tested filling recipe.