How to Home Can Cranberry Juice

Learning how to home can cranberry juice is a simple way to preserve cranberries. It is done in the fall or winter when fresh cranberries are in the stores and therefore does not add to a busy summer canning schedule. Can I get an amen?

When Should I Can Cranberry Juice?

Cranberry juice is best canned when the cranberries are fresh. They are harvested in the fall and show up in the stores before Thanksgiving.

This is a great time to buy them. They are the freshest and also best priced as they are usually on sale around the holidays.

I try to find local, but since cranberries do not grow everywhere, you might not be able to find them local. Did you know Wisconsin is the largest cranberry grower in the United States? Other states that grow a lot of cranberries are Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington.

Cranberries are a highly sprayed crop so finding organic is a good idea.

If you want a great deal on a large amount of cranberries and cannot find them locally, try Azure Standard. They are an online grocery that delivers to drops where you go and pick up your groceries. They have a large selection of healthy brands and organic in season fruit. Here is a link if you would like to try out Azure. They also have boxes of frozen organic cranberries that work well for making juice.

Fresh cranberries to make cranberry juice

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What You Need to Can Cranberry Juice

Clean quart jars, lids, and rings
Washed cranberries
Maple syrup or coconut sugar (can also use regular cane sugar, but the first two are healthier)
Cinnamon sticks (optional)
Filtered water
Water bath or steam canner

Step by Step Instructions

Have your quart jars washed and ready. If you want to make 7 quarts (the amount that fits in most water bath or steam canners), you will need 10-14 cups of cranberries.

Each jar needs about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of cranberries, so adjust for the amount of jars or cranberries you have and want to use.

Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of washed cranberries to each quart jar.

Top with sweetener of choice: 1/2 cup maple syrup or coconut sugar (can use cane sugar)

Next, you can throw in a cinnamon stick for flavoring and health benefits. We usually do this for part of the jars.

After all the jars are filled with cranberries, sweetener, and cinnamon sticks, pour in hot filtered water, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Then you will use best practices in canning – wipe rims, place lids and rings on, and water bath for 25 minutes. We love to use our steam canner. You can see ours in the picture below. We have pretty much replaced our water bath canner with our steam canner when processing high acid foods and drinks.

Remove the jars from the water bath or steam canner and place on a towel for 12-24 hours. You should start hearing the ping of the lids sealing as the jars come out of the water and cool down.

When to Drink the Cranberry Juice

After the jars cool down, you will want to move them to the cellar shelves for 4-6 weeks.

Do not drink them right away – need to infuse on the shelf for 4-6 weeks. The maple syrup or sugar pulls out the flavoring and color from the cranberries in that time. Your cranberry juice will be worth the wait.

You can pop open a jar after the 4-6 weeks. Strain the berries out. Drink plain or add sparkling water, Sprite, or ginger ale if you would like.

What to do with the Leftover Berries?

After straining the juice, the jar will still have the shriveled up cranberries from the juice.

What should you do with them? Taste them. They won’t have much flavor left at this point.

As I do not like to waste anything, I have tried to use these cranberries. They can be left in the jar for a few days and then tossed into a recipe. I experimented with using them in scones, but it was a little tricky because they were so moist and it changed the consistency of the scones. They can be dried out and used.

I did try to dehydrate them so I could use them in scones or other baked goods that way. But the flavor was lacking and it seemed a waste of time. Definitely give it a try and see if it works for you, though.

But so as to not be wasteful, you can compost them or toss to the chickens. At least they will feed the animals or garden soil.

Another Good Drink Recipe we Make in Bulk

Another drink we love to make in bulk in the winter when lemons are fresh is lemonade. This was really easy when we lived in Arizona. Everyone has access to fresh lemons where we lived.

Use this recipe for our homemade lemonade concentrate what we freeze for the year. My friend in Arizona taught me the secret of the zest for extra flavor.