How to Can Grapefruit, Yes, You Can!

Approximately 18 pounds of beautiful whole fruit

My friend Adriana in Gridley, California picked these beautiful yellow grapefruits for my family. 

What you need to can fresh grapefruit ...

Fruit: This recipe calls for 18 pounds of whole fruit. Don't be fooled by the weight of a grapefruit, this recipe only yields 3 quarts of canned fruit.

3 Cups of Grapefruit Juice or Water: I caught the juice as I cut the segments of grapefruit. The fruit will be more flavorful with the juice but water works as well.

2 Cups of Sugar 

Tools for Canning: Large Pot for sealing jars, Canning Jars, Tongs

Slice your fruit well, the white membrane will make it difficult to cut whole pieces.

Prepare your canning jars and lids. For this canning session I used two sealing quart canning jars and one flip top jar that went immediately into the refrigerator. Make sure that your jars are sanitized well with a water bath in boiling water.

Wash the grapefruit well so you don't contaminate the juice when you segment the grapefruit.  

Segment your fruit. The most work will be segmenting the fruit from the skin and white membrane cover. Segmenting fruit takes a little practice but it is worth the work. Others have canned citrus without cutting the fruit from the membrane but I personally like the cleaner taste and texture of a cut piece of citrus.

** Quick segmenting tutorial: Slice a little skin off the top and bottom of the grapefruit. Trim the skin removing all of the membrane.  Try not to remove too much of the fruit. Trim any membrane spots (see picture above).  Use a paring knife and slice between the membrane and fruit. Remember to use a bowl beneath to catch the juice.  If your segment doesn't immediately pop out, use a scooping motion to release it from the core.  Continue around the entire fruit.

Segmenting the fruit takes practice. Make sure you use a bowl to catch the juice!

 

 

Fruit is gone and all that is left is the core and membrane.

Well worth the work.

 

Start boiling a large pot of water for sealing the canning jars.  You will need at least 2 inches above the top of the canning jar when you are sealing them. 

Prepare the syrup.  Why cover in syrup?  The syrup is not a preservative, it is a covering for the fruit that will help to retain the flavor of the fruit and shape.  Please note that you must follow sealing guidelines otherwise the fruit will mold fairly quickly. 

Bring 3 cups of juice (or water) and 2 cups of sugar to a boil. Stir well until the sugar has completely dissolved.  While the syrup is boiling, pack your fruit into the canning jars leaving about 1/2 inch from the top.  Do not over stuff them.  It helps to slide a knife along the inner side of the jar to make sure there isn't any trapped air that can create air pockets when sealing.  Pour the hot syrup over the fruit leaving 1/4 inch from the top.  Make sure that you wipe any juice off of the jar before you close with the lid and band. 

Process the canning jars in a sealing water bath.  Using tongs, place your canning jars in your boiling pot of water.  You will need at least 2 inches of water above the lid for a good seal.  Make sure that the water continues to boil for 10 minutes.  Note: this process is for sealing at sea level.  Lift the jars from the water and gently place them on the counter to cool.  Try your best not to move them until they have cooled over night.  Important: if the lid makes a popping sound they are not sealed.  Store for a maximum of 9 months. Enjoy!  

Voila! The final product.