How to can incredible raspberries in 4 easy steps

You know that one food that you absolutely LOVE, but it is almost impossible to get your hands on? Maybe because it’s incredibly rare or way too expensive.

Well for me that food is canned raspberries.

The reason it is so hard to get my hands on is because you have to have so many raspberries to do it. And by the time my family and I have eaten a truck load of fresh ones, and made enough jam for the winter, we sometimes aren’t left with buckets of raspberries.

I love canned raspberries SO MUCH that when I was younger, I used to ask for them for my birthday! Skip the gifts, I wanted grandma’s canned raspberries! Those scrumptious, juicy, sweet, little buggers just melt in your mouth!

The worst part is, if you don’t make them yourself or know someone you can get them from, the local fruit stand and farmer’s markets sell them for $20-$35 dollars each. It’s a fair price given the amount of raspberries you need and the time spent working, but I can’t exactly buy a year’s supply at $25 a pop. Poof, there goes my entire food budget for the month!

So I would love to teach you how to can them yourself so you don’t end up broke after you discover your own canned raspberry addiction. Yay for DIY and saving money!

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What you need:

raspberries (A LOT! seriously though, as many as you can get)
sugar
water
vinegar
pint canning jars
lids and flats (just the two part lid for the top of the canning jars)
canning pot with rack
stove
something to get the jars out with (I use a jar grabber, but you could make do with hot pads)

Step 1: Make your syrup

Fill your clean jars with about 1 inch of hot water and stir in 1/8 cup sugar until it’s dissolved. My canner holds 7 jars, so I set out all 7 jars on my counter and made my “syrup”.

Step 2: Fill your jars

Wash your raspberries and put them in your jars with syrup. Your going to want to leave about 1/2 inch of space at the top, otherwise get as many raspberries in there as you can without squishing them. Then top them off with hot water so the water is about 1/2 inch from the top also. Wipe the rims clean, then screw on your flats and lids finger tight. No need to tighten them as hard as you can, they need a little give to release any air bubbles they have while cooking.

Step 3: Process them!

Fill your canning pot 2/3 full of water and turn your stove on high. Add a splash (like two tablespoons) of vinegar to the water to keep your jars clear and clean looking. Place your jars, full of raspberries, with lids on, in the rack. Lower them into the water carefully just so they don’t crash together and break each other. Make sure the water covers all the jars by at least 1/2 inch. Add water if you need to. Put the lid on and go quench your pinterest obsession for a few minutes while you wait for it to boil. Ya I know you have one!

….tick tock tick tock ….

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K now that your water is boiling, turn the heat down to medium high (just so it will keep boiling) and set your timer for 15 minutes. I guess that means you get 15 more minutes on pinterest! Yay!

…. tick tock tick tock ….

Step 4: Remove ’em and forget ’em

When your timer goes off, shut your stove off, remove the lid, and carefully lift the rack up out of the water. Use a jar grabber or hot pads to take the jars out and set them on a towel so they don’t destroy your counter. Put them in a place out of the way because they need to sit there for 24 hours before you start moving them around. That’s it! Forget them for the next 24 hours, then wash them if they are sticky and put them on your shelf. Do be sure to make sure they sealed though before dropping them on your shelf. If the middle of the lid pops up and down freely, put that jar in the fridge and eat it first.

It’s not like they are going to last long there though. If you are like me, then they will be dessert tonight with fresh whipped topping. And tomorrow night. And the next night. And every night until they are gone. And probably for breakfast too …. Ahhh yep, they are all gone again.