The Ball Blue Book of Preserving (the Bible of canning) includes recipes for apricot, blueberry, cherry, elderberry, fig, grape, kiwi, mango-raspberry, red tomato, rhubarb-orange, and strawberry jam, and that is a partial list.

Most jelly and jam makers live by the following philosophy: "You can make anything taste good if you add enough sugar." Last evening I made a batch of mint jelly from two cups of chopped mint leaves, four and a half cups of water, three drops of food coloring, a box of Sure-Jell, and five cups of sugar. Does it taste good? Of course—it has five cups of sugar.

The best thing about making jams and jellies is that, except for the sugar and the store-bought pectin, the ingredients are local. The mint grows outside our front door, the wild strawberries are from the bank behind our house, the elderberries, blackberries, and black raspberries are from a swamp across the road, my Aunt Viola has blueberry and red raspberry patches, we grow the tomatoes and chile peppers, and Graver's Orchards supplies the peaches, plums, cherries, and apples.

Using local ingredients does not make me a "locavore" because of the processed sugar and pectin. (Locavores are people who try to eat only foods grown within a prescribed distance of their homes—100 miles is often the limit.) On the other hand, I am carrying on a family tradition. I follow the same recipes my mother used for jams and jellies sixty years ago, and I still use her "lifter" to remove the jars from the processing water.

Traditional jelly makers cover their jelly with paraffin wax. Personally I find the wax method inefficient, since you not only have to deal with the jelly, but also with the melted wax. In addition, when you eat the jelly, you'll often find small pieces of wax on your toast along with the jelly.

Traditional jelly makers also use natural pectin. Pectin is the substance that makes the jams and jellies "jell." Green apples have it, but I like an artificial pectin with the brand name Sure-Jell. Other artificial pectins are available, but my mother always used Sure-Jell.

If you are wondering about the difference between jellies and jams, jams include the mashed up whole fruit, while jellies are juice only. Thus, you can make raspberry jam with seeds or run the raspberries through layers of cheesecloth and use the juice for the jelly.

Jelly making is really canning. Like all canning, there are certain precautions. You'll need clean jars (I sterilize mine in a boiling water bath) and new lids. You must also process the jams and jellies for the requisite amount of time. Most jellies need a five-minute boiling water bath; most jams ten minutes—but follow your recipe.

Here are a few suggestions for the novice jelly maker.

When you go out to pick your raspberries and blackberries, wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Some years ago I wore shorts for raspberry picking and came back with my legs all scratched. My father looked at me, shook his head, and said, "Just like a city boy."

Buy a jelly bag to strain the juice. You can use cheesecloth, but it tends to separate and let seeds through. Jelly bags won't do that, and you can wash them for multiple use.

Be careful. Boiling jelly is a close relative of molten lava, and the pectin and sugar will make it stick to your skin.

Eat your failures. If, for some reason, your blackberry jam doesn't jell, use it for an ice cream topping.

Remember that not all jelly has to be spread on bread. Mixing chile peppers with pears will give you a great spread for meats and cheeses.

Experiment. The August 7 issue of Lancaster Farming had a recipe for zucchini jelly. I have not made zucchini jelly yet, but with enough sugar, how bad can it be?