Any Berry Lemonade Concentrate

Nuts and Bolts:

Any Berry Lemonade Concentrate is one of my favorite Ball recipes. I discovered it on a canning group website. The original Ball recipe is for strawberries, but you can use any berry you desire. Also, I know others have used peaches successfully too.

My thoughts on Any Berry Lemonade:

1. I used strawberries for this blog post, but I have used blackberries. For raspberry or blackberry, I would strain out the pits.

2. I love having these concentrates in my pantry to make punches and cocktails for gatherings that both adults and children can enjoy.

3. Canning Risk factor Low. Both Ball and National Center for Home Food Preservation have this recipe on their site.

4. This recipe yields about seven pint jars

Method:

Before you begin the recipe, prepare your canning equipment and your kitchen; see Canning 101 and Canning 102 for more tips for your mess.

You will need 4 cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice (About 4-6 pounds of lemons), 6 cups of cleaned and prepared berries, and six cups of sugar. Special equipment, other than canning equipment, you will need is a citrus juicer and a candy thermometer.

Important tip: The number of lemons that are needed can be difficult to gauge.  It depends on the type of lemons you can find in your grocery store. Some lemons are super juicy, so you will not need many of those lemons, while other lemons are more pith than flesh and release very little juice. I have used as little as 3 pounds, and I have also used as much as 5 pounds. So if lemons are rather expensive where you live, bottled lemon juice is a great substitute. 

Juicing lemons for the lemonade concentrate.

Start by juicing the lemons with a juicer. It can take a lot of time to get the amount of juice you will need. Then once you have the four cups, start washing and prepare the berries (Strawberries need to be hulled.)  For the berries, I use an 8 cup measuring pitcher. I place them in the pitcher and stuff them in so they have very little space between berries.

Important tip: Using different berries mean you do not want to press them too tightly, just enough to get a measurement. It is hard to get the exact measurement but try to be as close as possible without crushing the berries too much.

Preparing the puree: on the Left is the measured berries, and in the middle are some of the strawberries in the food processor, and on the right is the finished puree.

Then work in batches to puree the berries in a food processor using a metal blade. It is crucial to have it be almost a liquid so it will be a smooth concentrate. After that, move the puree to a large stainless steel saucepan. 

Important tip: Pits can be a problem with this concentrate, especially true for raspberries and blackberries. You can strain them out before making the concentrate, but I prefer to go ahead with concentrate and strain them out before I make the drink.

Next, measure the sugar into a bowl and then add that sugar to the pot. Followed by adding the lemon juice and stir the mixture off the heat, making sure all the sugar is dissolved. Afterward, place a candy thermometer on the pot. Then, start to heat the pot over medium heat, occasionally stirring. The mixture needs to reach a temperature of 190°F but do not let the mixture come to a boil. When it comes to the temperature, turn off the heat and remove the foam. Then fill the pint jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Next, load and cover your canner. Bring your canner to a boil and then process them for 15 minutes. After the processing time is done, turn the heat off the canner and remove the cover.  Let the jars rest in the canner for five minutes. Then remove the jars to a towel or cooling rack and leave them untouched for 12 hours.

Here is the lemonade concentrate at 190°F.

To reconstitute the lemonade:  Mix 1 part concentrate to three parts water, seltzer, or ginger ale. This is a Ball suggestion, but you can play with the ratio and decide how strong you want it. This concentrate makes a great frozen lemonade by adding concentrate with some store-bought lemonade with ice and blend. I have reconstituted this lemonade and added a finger (an ounce) of rum for a cocktail. So, experiment with it, your mess!

Final thoughts on Any Berry Concentrate:

This is a great recipe even if you do not can. It freezes well, and it is great to have to make punch for a party. This concentrate makes a delicious cocktail as well as a sophisticated non-alcoholic cocktail.  At the same time, it makes great punch for kids of all ages. This is one of my all-time favorite canning recipes, and I hope you enjoy it in your mess.

A finished batch strawberry lemonade concentrate.

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Any Berry Lemonade Concentrate

Yield: About 7 pint jars

Author: Dorothy's Mess

Ingredients

• 6 cups of washed and prepared berries (Strawberries need to hulled)
• 4 cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4-5 pounds of lemons)
• 6 cups of granulated sugar

Special equipment besides canning equipment:

• Citrus juicer
• Candy thermometer

Instructions

1. Before you begin the recipe, prepare your canning equipment and your kitchen; seeCanning 101 andCanning 102 for more tips for your mess.
2. Start by juicing the lemons with a juicer.
3. Once you have the four cups, start washing and prepare the berries. (Strawberries need to be hulled) For the berries, use an 8 cup measuring pitcher and place the berries tightly in the measuring cup but not tight enough to crush them.
4. Then, working in batches, puree the berries in a food processor using a metal blade. It is vital to have it be almost a liquid so that it will be a smooth concentrate. Then move puree to a large stainless steel saucepan.
5. Next, measure the sugar into a bowl and then add that sugar to the pot. Then add the lemon juice and stir the mixture off the heat, making sure all the sugar is dissolved.
6. Next, place a candy thermometer on the pot. Then start to heat the pot over medium heat, occasionally stirring.
7. The mixture needs to reach a temperature of 190°F but not let the mixture come to a boil. When it comes to the temperature, turn off the heat and remove the foam.
8. Then fill the pint jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Next, load and cover your canner. Bring your canner to a boil and then process them for 15 minutes.
9. After the processing time is done, turn the heat off the canner and remove the cover. Let the jars rest in the canner for five minutes.
10. Then remove the jars to a towel or cooling rack and leave them untouched for 12 hours.
11. To reconstitute the lemonade: Mix 1 part concentrate to three parts water, seltzer, or ginger ale. This is a Ball suggestion, but you can play with the ratio and decide how strong you want it. This concentrate makes a great frozen lemonade by adding concentrate with some store-bought lemonade with ice and blend. I have reconstituted this lemonade and added a finger (an ounce) of rum for a cocktail. So, experiment with it, your mess!

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