[RiverRock]

I need to google mayhaw. I've had hawthorne bushes in my yard, but I only had tiny berries. It sounds like yours might be the size of crabapples. Interesting.

I tried to make herbed oils once, but the herbs started to rot. Vinegar sounds like a better way to go!

---------- Post added at 07:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 AM ----------

Originally Posted by The Tickle Momster

Can you tell me more about the long boil method? I've never heard of it.

It might be the method you already use. It's the method I grew up with my mom and grandma using. You cook the fruit with sugar and sometimes a bit of lemon juice, making sure to include some unripened fruit for pectin. After about 40 minutes of a low rolling boil you do a gel test before putting the jam into hot jars and sealing. To do the gel test I keep a plate in the freezer and put a small teaspoon on the "frozen" plate to see if the jam gels when cooled. This method uses less sugar than regular Certo/pectin added recipes, and is a slower paced process (there is good and bad in that ).