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Did anyone else grow up enjoying a good ole can of fruit cocktail only to fight their sibling to the very end over the singular cherry in the can.  A maraschino cherry at that which are so gross.  I didn’t even like maraschino cherries as a kid (and still don’t) and I fought my brother to eat the cherry just so he didn’t get it.  Kids, man.  :D

I looked up that store brand we enjoyed as kids and decided to make my own fruit cocktail salad in a jar instead of a can.  It’s gotta be better!  I prefer to avoid the food dyes and corn syrup if I can, and by making it homemade, I have a shelf stable healthy snack whenever I need something quick with ingredients I put in there myself.  Pint jars are the perfect size to feed both of my kiddos.

You may be weird (LOL I jest) and be wondering what a fruit cocktail is.  It’s basically a mixture of fruit with a sugar syrup of some sort slapped in a jar and canned.  It’s super good and a fun way to can up some shelf stable treats.  Who needs those plastic snack cups when you got a jar?!  Commonly used fruits are peaches, pears, pineapple, grapes, and maraschino cherries.  I, of course, like to change it up a little and make this an easy cold pack process with minimal dishes using my lazy girl syrup method!  The best part of this homemade fruit cocktail recipe is it’s completely customizable to what you want and like.  Pick whatever fruit you have on hand that needs used or whatever you find on sale at the store or your favorite fruits.  My canning recipe is simply a guide to what tastes good to my family!  

Fruit that works well in fruit cocktail for canning:

• pineapple
• mandarin oranges
• honeycrisp or evercrisp apples
• green grapes
• red grapes
• sweet cherries
• sour cherries
• pineapple
• pears
• peaches
• nectarines
• mango

​Lazy Girl Syrup?!

I’ve dubbed this my lazy girl syrup method because instead of measuring out water and sugar and making an extra light, light, medium, heavy, etc syrup as said in my canning book, I rebelliously have figured out how much to add to each jar instead.  I add the sugar and water at room temperature and then allow the canning process to make the syrup for me within the jar.  Why dirty an extra stock put and ladle to fill up the jars with a sticky syrup and possibly have some left over when I can just measure it straight into the jars?!  For the recipe today, I use honey and water.  You can use sugar, maple syrup, whatever tickles ya honestly.  Just make sure it works well for canning!  And before someone has to say it, this is considered rebel canning (eyeroll) because there’s no tested method containing the lazy girl syrup… but like…. common sense says it’s fine.  Since the syrup isn’t boiling hot like it would be had you made it in a stock pot on the stovetop, we will start with a water bath canner with hot water from the tap and heat it more slowly than usual just to allow the jars to heat up slowly and prevent siphoning.

Let’s get to canning!

Equipment You’ll Probably Want:

• steam canner or water bath canner
• pint canning jars or smaller
• lids and screw bands
• large mixing bowl

Ingredients

• lemon juice or lime juice
• pears
• green grapes
• pineapple
• sweet cherries
• honey
• water

Step 1: Prep the Fruit

Wash all the fresh fruit and drain.

Peel and core 3 lbs pears.  Cut into cubes.  As you work, add the fruit to a large mixing bowl and toss with a 1/4 cup lemon juice to prevent browning.

Slice 2 pound of green grapes in half (if desired, you can leave them whole but the ones I had were really big).  Add to the bowl.

Pit 1 pound of fresh cherries & slice in half.  You can use frozen cherries if you want, just thaw and drain them beforehand.

Core & peel 1 fresh pineapple.  Cut into good sized pineapple chunks.

I err on the side of cutting the fruit into somewhat large pieces so they don’t get crazy mushy after canning.  I like firm fruit, okayyyyyy.  You can do small pieces, medium pieces, wumbo pieces, I don’t care!

Add everything to a large bowl and toss to combine.

Step 2: Fill Jars

Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water, rinse well, and set aside on a clean towel.

To prepared pint or smaller jars, fill with fruit mixture using a slotted spoon keeping below 1/2″ headspace.  Tap the bottom of the jar to settle the fruit and add more if needed. Try to avoid smushing the fruit in with your hand and just tap the jar to settle it instead so you don’t crush the fruit and also overpack your jars too tightly.  Continue until all jars are filled.  Filling room temperature jars instead of hot jars is perfectly acceptable here.  

To each jar, add 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup or sugar.  Add more if you want… you can fill the entire jar with sugar if you want.. I’m happy for ya.  You can also leave the sugar out entirely.  See my notes on this.

Bring water to a gentle boil in a tea kettle.  Fill each jar to 1/2″ headspace with the warm water, remove air bubbles and adding more water if needed to maintain headspace.

Wipe jar rim well, add lids, and secure with bands.

Step 3:  Canning

Fill the canner with jars and place lid on.  Since this is a recipe containing fruit, it is high acid so you can use a water bath canner or a steam canner, whatever you have.  It is not necessary, and really not desirable, to use a pressure canner for fruits as they will get real soft.  

Water bath at a full rolling boil or steam can pint or smaller jars for 20 minutes, adjusting processing time for elevation if need be.  (The times for both water bath and steam canning are identical).

After processing time, turn off heat and remove lid.  Allow jars to sit in the water for 10 minutes before removing to prevent siphoning.

Step 4: Storage

Remove jars from the canner using a jar lifter onto a heat proof surface lined with a clean kitchen towel and allow to cool upright for 18-24 hours before removing bands, testing seals, washing jars, labeling, and storing.

Store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures.  Meaning, don’t let them get hotter than satan and don’t let them freeze.  

Shelf life is til you eat it.  If the seal is good, they’re good.  Aim to rotate and use canned goods within 2 years of canning date for best nutritional value but they’ll be fine far past that.

Notes:

• You can use fresh or frozen cherries for this; just be sure and thaw and drain the cherries before canning for best results
• If you don’t want to use a syrup or water, some good substitutes are pineapple juice, white grape juice, or apple juice.  You can just use plain water as well. 
• If you want to use an artificial sweetener, just make sure they can well.  Some substitutes will crystallize after canning and aren’t an appetizing texture.  I don’t use them, so I can’t give advice in this area.  Sorry!

I hope you enjoy this easy and great recipe and start home canning your very own blend of canned fruit cocktail!  You’ll find out just how good homemade is!  Leave the garbage at the grocery stores and make it yourself.

Canning Fruit Cocktail with More Than One Cherry

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Canning Time: 19 minutes minutes

Servings: 7 pints

Author: Ruby – Red Feather Farm

Equipment

• steam canner or water bath canner
• pint canning jars or smaller
• lids and screw bands
• large mixing bowl
• Ingredients

Ingredients

• 3 pounds pears peeled, cored, & diced
• 2 pounds green graps washed, sliced in half
• 1 pound sweet cherries pitted, sliced in half
• 1 pineapple peeled, cored, & diced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 7 tbsp honey divided
• 4 quarts water divided

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Add the lemon juice to a large mixing bowl, tossing the fruit with it as you work on dicing to prevent browning. Mix everything well to combine.
• Wash pint jars and lids with hot, soapy water. Place on a clean kitchen towel.
• Fill jars to 1/2" headspace with the fruit mixture. Tap the bottom of the jar to settle the fruit in and add more, if needed, but keep below 1/2" headspace. Do not smash the fruit in with your hand.
• To each pint jar packed with fruit, add 1 tablespoon of honey. Top off with hot water. I heat my water in my tea kettle while I work and use that to fill them. Add water to 1/2" headspace, debubble, and add more water if needed to maintain headspace.
• Wipe rims of jars well. Add lids and bands. Water bath or steam can pint jars or smaller for 20 minutes, adjusting time for elevation if needed.
• After canning time is complete, shut off heat and remove canner lid and allow jars to cool 10 minutes before removing from the water completely to prevent siphoning.
• Remove jars from canner to a heat proof surface and allow to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours.
• After cooling, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label and store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures.
• Any jars that did not seal should be placed in the refrigerator and eaten soon. I would not recommend reprocessing.

Notes

• You can use fresh or frozen cherries for this; just be sure and thaw and drain the cherries before canning for best results
• If you don’t want to use a syrup or water, some good substitutes are pineapple juice, white grape juice, or apple juice.  You can just use plain water as well. 
• If you want to use an artificial sweetener, just make sure they can well.  Some substitutes will crystallize after canning and aren’t an appetizing texture.  I don’t use them, so I can’t give advice in this area.  Sorry!