Raspberry Jam

1. Crush 1 cup of the berries in an 8-quart Dutch oven or pot. Continue adding berries and crushing until you have 5 cups crushed berries. Stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar all at once. Return to a full rolling boil; boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Quickly skim off foam with a metal spoon. Ladle jam at once into hot sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids. Process jars in a boiling-water canner for 5 minutes (start timing when the water returns to boil). Remove jars; cool on wire rack. Makes about 8 half-pints (one-hundred-twelve, 1-tablespoon servings).

2. To cut sweetness of the jam, you can also add 2 tablespoons lemon juice to the fruit mixture before processing.

Test Kitchen Tip:

You can jazz up a basic fruit jam such as this one by adding one of the following to the fruit mixture along with the sugar: 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg; or 1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger.