About 3 pounds soft fruit, stone fruit, or berries
Juice of 2 lemons
Sugar - how much depends on how much fruit pulp you get, see below.
Glass canning jars - 3 pint sized or 7 half-pint
Canning rings and lids
1. Thoroughly wash and rinse jars, rings, and lids. Place in a pot, cover with water, and boil for 10 minutes. I just leave these in the hot water until I fill them.
2. Pit and roughly chop fruit - add to a large pot. This will bubble up while cooking, so you want lots of room. Really soft berries don't need to be chopped and with cherries I quarter about 2/3 of them and halve the rest.
3. Add lemon juice and cook until juices are released - about 7 - 10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and measure. For every cup of fruit mixture, add 3/4 cup of sugar.
5. Cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 220 - 222 degrees F on a candy thermometer. For every 1000 feet above sea level you are, subtract 2 degrees from this.
6. Remove jars from the hot water and fill, leaving 1/4 inch head room. Put on lids and rings and tighten. If don't have enough to fill the last jar, just keep the jar in the refrigerator.
7. Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.
About the hot water bath - some people don't use it and their jams are fine, some swear they'll be unsafe without it. I never used to put my jams through a hot water bath, but these days I do better avoiding needing medical attention so I err on the side of caution. For more information on how to do a hot water bath, see this pamphlet from Virginia Tech.
