Putney -- It all started with a question posed by my 10-year-old niece from Manhattan. She wondered what my crabapples were. When I told her they were actually a fruit and people made them into jelly ...

For those of you looking to expand your own DIY skills beyond the usual electronic- or computer-oriented projects, I highly recommend home canning and pickling. It's not as scary or as complicated as ...

You need five ½-pint canning jars. Sterilize them by rinsing with boiling water. Sterilize the lids and rings, ladle, and any other equipment that will touch the jam. You will also need a large stock ...

I spent last weekend making jam. I mastered the principles a couple of decades ago, mostly out of curiosity and also out of a need to use some of the apples, plums, raspberries, strawberries and ...