the idiot's guide to making and canning jam

[snoopy5386]

Strawberry season is about to start here. We have a great pick your own place 5 mins away. I would love to make some jam and can it both for us and for gifts. Please help me, I have never done anything like this before and I have NO IDEA what to do or where to start. What do I need to get and how do I make sure that I am not going to give my relatives food poisoning.
Thanks!

[nerdymom]

this looks like a beginner-friendly website with simple directions. canning is really quite easy. and you can try scouring yard sales for jars.

[mamadelbosque]

strawberry jam is super easy - its just strawberries cooked with sugar till you reach the gel stage and then water bathed. So, all you need is a big pot, some jelly jar & lids, strawberries and sugar. I'm sure theres about a million sites onlie with the proportions of sugar to strawberries and explaining the gel stage test(s).