This summer is the perfect time to resurrect the time-honored practice of making jams and jellies. Many of us are able to spend more time at home and family schedules are more flexible.

Maybe you planted a garden or have access to a farmers market. If you are a novice to food preservation, jam is the best first project. All you need is fruit, sugar, pectin, and a few basic kitchen tools and you are on your way to delicious jam! Right now, strawberries are in season, to be followed by cherries, blackberries, and grapes. You can make jam all summer long!

So, set aside a couple of hours, gather the correct equipment, a tested recipe, and the fruit. Prepare your space, use clean equipment and wash your hands. You might want to start with strawberry jam. Always use a tested recipe from a reliable source, such as the USDA Home Food Preservation, Extension, Ball, Kehr, or Mrs. Wages, and follow the recipe exactly. Do not reduce sugar. Sugar binds with the water in the fruit and is an important part of the preservation process. Using less sugar will interfere with gel formation and result in a product in which yeasts and molds can grow.

If you want to make jam with less sugar, there are recipes and commercial pectin designed for using less sugar or using alternative sweeteners.

For more information on preserving food register for a Fill Your Pantry: Home Webinar Series webinar offered by Illinois Extension Nutrition and Wellness Educators. Not a good time for you? Or the one you are most interested in has already been given? No worries, webinars are recorded. You can also go to Illinois Extension’s website or call your local Extension office for more information.

Be safe and enjoy the “fruits” of your labor all winter long!