Our grandkids came over recently to help us prune the raspberry bushes in our garden. But even with this cut back, I expect we will still have far more berries than we can eat fresh. But there are lots of ways of preserving all those extra berries. Here are a couple of suggestions.

For best flavor, use fully ripe fruit. Wash and rinse all fruit thoroughly before cooking. Don't soak. Remove stems and blossoms and crush berries. Put seedy berries (such as raspberries and blackberries) through a sieve or food mill. Do not puree fruit — this will change the acid level and cause a weak gel.

For 3-4 half pints, measure 4 cups crushed fruit and 4 cups of sugar into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring rapidly and constantly. Continue to boil until the jam thickens. When testing for thickness, remember that jam continues to thicken as it cools. Test for thickness using one of the following methods:

Temperature test — Use a jelly or candy thermometer and boil until jam reaches the right temperature for your altitude (sea level to 1000 feet: 220 degrees Fahrenheit; 1001-2000 feet: 218 degrees Fahrenheit).

Freezer test — Remove all the jam from the heat and pour a small amount of boiling jam on a cold plate. Put the plate in the freezing compartment of a refrigerator for a few minutes. If the jam gels, it is thick enough.

When jam is done, remove it from the heat and quickly skim off foam. Use a wide-mouth funnel to pour the jam into sterilized jars. Leave ¼-inch headspace. Adjust lids. Hot pack in a boiling water canner and process half-pints or pints for 5 minutes if at elevations of 0-1000 feet or for 10 minutes if at 1001-6000 feet.

Juices from fresh or frozen blueberries, cherries, grapes, raspberries (black or red) and strawberries are easily made into toppings for use on ice cream and pastries.

Procedure: Select 6½ cups of fresh or frozen fruit of your choice. Wash, cap and stem fresh fruit and crush in a saucepan. Heat to boiling and simmer until soft (five to ten minutes). Strain hot berries through a colander and let drain until cool enough to handle. Strain the collected juice through a double layer of cheesecloth or jelly bag. Discard the dry pulp. The yield of the pressed juice should be about 4½ to 5 cups.

Combine the juice with 6¾ cups of sugar in a large saucepan, bring to boil and simmer 1 minute. To make a syrup with whole fruit pieces, save 1 or 2 cups of the whole fresh or frozen fruit, combine with the sugar and crushed fruit and simmer as in making regular syrup. Remove from heat, skim off foam and pour into clean, half-pint or pint jars. Leave ½-inch headspace. Adjust lids and hot pack in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes if at 0-1000 feet elevation and 15 minutes if at 1001-6000 feet. Yields about 9 half-pints.