[Weston grower]

I'm new to bottling and have tried a few things late on in the season just to see how they go ready for a mass bottling next season. The one that already looks a bit questionable is the jar of raspberries.

First of all I've got half a jar of whole fruit and half a jar of sugar syrup.

Second the fruit are losing their colour.

So - next year should i cook them first and store purée or squash them in so that I end up with more fruit in the jar.

Regards WG

PS I used the pressure bottling technique. 

[mumofstig]

Can you tell us what you did ie how you sterilised jars, filled them and how long and at what temperature you heat treated the jars, syrup recipe.....

Sorry but there are lots of ways it can go wrong 

[Trillium]

Most fruits do not need pressure bottling, only water bath sealing.

And yes, most soft fruits will do exactly what happened to you, so don't feel bad.

If you have a freezer, it's a much easier way to save raspberries. Pack them into proper freezer bags, push out excess air, and seal. You don't need to add sugar.

If bottling is your only option, then lightly precook the berries to get the natural volume reduction and then bottle with some hot syrup water and water bath for about 10-15 min.