MSU Extension Michigan Fresh

Food Safety and Storage

• Avoid choosing bruised and damaged fruit.
• Wash hands before and after handling fresh produce.
• Wash fruit thoroughly under cool running Do not use soap.
• Store fruit in the refrigerator at or below 41 °F.
• Keep raspberries in a box with holes and cover with plastic wrap, or put in a plastic bag with holes.
• Keep fruit away from raw meats and meat juices to prevent cross-contamination.
• Use fresh berries within 1 to 2 days.
• Store canned berries in a cool dry area for up to one year.
• For best quality and nutritive value, preserve only what your family can consume in 12 months.

Yield 

How to Preserve

Freezing

Select fully ripe, juicy berries. Sort, wash in cold water and drain thoroughly. You may freeze raspberries following any of these procedures:

• Sugar pack method: Place berries in containers and cover with cold, heavy syrup (4 cups water to 2¾ cup sugar), leaving ½- to 1½-inch headspace depending on container type Seal, label, date and freeze.
• Syrup pack: Put berries into containers and cover with cold syrup, mixed according to preference in the “Syrups for Use in Freezing Fruits” table that follows. Leave ½- to 1½-inch headspace depending on container type. Seal, label, date and freeze.
• Unsweetened pack method: Put berries into containers, leaving ½-inch headspace. Seal, label, date and freeze. 
• Pectin pack method: (This alternative uses pectin and less sugar than the sugar pack method and retains fresh berry flavor, color and texture.) In a saucepan, combine one 1¾-ounce box of powdered pectin with 1 cup water. Stir and boil 1 minute. Stir in ½ cup of sugar and dissolve. Remove the pan from the heat; add cold water to make 2 cups of syrup. Chill. Put prepared fruit in a 4- to 6-quart bowl; add enough pectin syrup to glaze the fruit with a thin film. Gently fold fruit to coat each piece with syrup. Pack into freezer containers ½- to 1½-inch headspace depending on container type. Seal, label, date and freeze.

Canning

Choose ripe but firm berries with uniform color. After canning, raspberries will have a soft texture. Wash 1 to 2 quarts of berries at a time; drain. You may can berries in water, apple or white grape juice, or syrup. Prepare syrup if desired (see the “Preparing and Using Syrups” table that follows). Measure and mix the necessary amounts of sugar and water to make the desired syrup.

All fruits can be safely canned or frozen without sugar. But be aware that some home-canned foods lose color, flavor and texture when canned without the usual sugar and you may then end up with a less plump and flavorful product. Sucralose will allow you to use the same measurement as sugar, which in turn will produce the same amount of syrup to cover the fruit in the jars. Saccharin and aspartame-based sweeteners turn bitter when processed and USDA(2015) does not recommend them for heat-treated products. If you are making jams or jellies without sugar, always use a commercial sugarless gelatin mixture or a special pectin designated for sugar-free or lower sugar jams and jellies. (Andress, 2014: USDA, 2015).

Raw pack method: Add ½ cup of hot liquid to hot jar. Fill jars with raw berries, shaking down gently while filling. Cover with hot liquid, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles; adjust headspace if needed. Wipe jar rims with clean paper towel, adjust lids and process (see table that follows for recommended processing times).

Recipes

Raspberry syrup

Yield: 9 half-pints

Ingredients:

6 1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries
6 3/4 cups sugar

You may also use this procedure with fresh juices from fresh or frozen strawberries, and with fresh or frozen blueberries, cherries or grapes.

Select fresh or frozen fruit. Wash, cap and stem fresh fruit and crush in a saucepan. Heat to boiling and simmer until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Strain hot berries through a colander, and drain until cool enough to handle. Strain the collected juice through a double layer of cheesecloth or a jelly bag. Discard the dry pulp. The yield of the pressed juice should be about 4½ to 5 cups. In a large saucepan, combine the juice with sugar. Bring to a boil, and simmer 1 minute. To make syrup with whole fruit pieces, save 1 or 2 cups of the fresh or frozen fruit, combine these with the sugar, and simmer as in making regular syrup. Remove from heat, skim off foam, and fill clean, hot, half-pint or pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims, adjust lids and process (see table that follows for recommended processing times).

Uncooked Raspberry Jam From Fresh Fruit

Yield: About 7 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

• 3 cups prepared fruit
• 3 cups crushed raspberries (about 1½ quarts)
• 5¼ cups sugar
• 1 box regular powdered pectin
• ¾ cup water

Wash berries. Measure 3 cups of prepared berries. Place in an extra large mixing bowl. Add sugar, mix well and let stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dissolve the powdered pectin in the water, bring to a boil and boil for one minute. Add pectin to berries and sugar and stir for 3 minutes. Pour the jam into clean, dry freezer containers or half-pint canning jars leaving ½-inch headspace. Cover container. Let stand at room temperature until set (up to 24 hours). Freeze or refrigerate.

“Uncooked Raspberry Jam From Fresh Fruit” is based on “Uncooked Blackberry or Raspberry Jam From Fresh Fruit” in Preserving Food: Un- cooked Jams and Jellies, from the University of Georgia Extension, edited by E. L. Andress and J. A Harrison, Revised, May 2015. https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/uga_uncooked_j_j.pdf.

Raspberry Jam without added pectin

Yield: About 7 or 8 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

• 9 cups crushed raspberries
• 6 cups sugar

Procedure: Sterilize canning jars. Wash berries before crushing. Combine berries and sugar. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring occa- sionally until sugar dissolves. Once sugar is dissolved, cook rap- idly to, or almost to, the jellying point, depending upon whether a firm or soft jam is desired. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from heat and fill hot jam into hot, sterile jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a boiling-water canner (see table that follows for recommended processing times).

Note: If seedless jam is preferred, crushed berries may be heated until soft and pressed through a sieve or food mill; then add sugar and proceed as previously instructed.

References

• Andress, E., & Harrison, J. A. (2014). So easy to preserve (Bulletin 989). (6th ed.). University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.
• Andress, E., & Harrison, J. A. (Eds.). (2015). Preserving food: Uncooked jams and jellies (Rev. ed.). University of Georgia Coop- erative Extension. https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/uga_ uncooked_j_j.pdf
• Michigan State University Extension. (2022). How much should I buy? A guide to fresh fruits and vegetables for home cooking. https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/how_much_should_i_buy
• National Center for Home Food Preservation. (n.d.). Making jams and jellies. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/berry_jams.html
• U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2015). Complete guide to home canning. National Center for Home Food Preservation. http://nchfp. uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html

More information

• Michigan Fresh
• Michigan Fresh - Fruits