JAM-PACKED GOODIES

■ My family enjoys preserving our own food to savor throughout the year. Jams and jellies are among the easiest foods to put up in your home kitchen, because you don’t need any expensive equipment (such as a pressure canner) to save the harvest. Glass canning jars and lids, plus a large pot that can be used as a water-bath canner, are just about all you really need.

Here are a few of my favorite jam and jelly recipes, paired with some of the baked goods that show them off to great advantage. Feel free to come up with your own combinations, based on your personal preferences.

Note that foam can form on top of jams and jellies in the cooking pot, and is traditionally removed for aesthetic reasons. If you don’t skim it, the foam will re-form again inside the canning jars and lessen the colorful impact of your finished product.

BLUE-BARB JAM

As rhubarb and blueberries generally aren’t in season at the same time, you’ll have to plan ahead