One of the joys of summer for me is fresh berries. I grew up picking every kind of berry imaginable–blackberries, huckleberries, marionberries, and, of course, raspberries. My family picked tons of berries every year to make jam. To this day, there is no store-bought variety I can consume with as much pleasure as homemade jam, which is easier to make than you might think. Here’s my simple, tried-and-true recipe, good for any kind of fruit or berry.

Start with clean, dry berries (if you do u-pick and need to rinse off dirt, lay the berries out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and let them dry before making your jam or it will be watery). Farmer’s market berries are always the best and freshest next to ones you buy at the farm.

Only process 4 cups of berries at a time. You’ll need 1 cup or a little less of sugar per cup of berries to make a nice consistency jam.

1. Put 4 cups berries-whole, or quartered if they are strawberries–into a heavy-bottomed pot along with half your sugar (2 cups if you use a 1:1 ratio). I usually measure the strawberries whole and then slice them up willy-nilly once they are in the pot.

2. Stir the sugar and berries together over medium heat until they start to soften and juice up. Then use a potato masher and mash them up to your desired chunkiness.

3. Bring to a rolling boil (see photo above) and allow to boil hard for 2 minutes, without stirring. Then stir in the rest of your sugar.

4. Bring to a rolling boil again and boil for 2 more minutes, stirring the whole time.

5. Turn off the stove and let the jam sit (no lid) to thicken overnight. Pack into jars and freeze.

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