Now that I’ve come up with a name, and designed the website, logo, and blog, my next task is to come up with some standardized recipes. My jam-making thus far has been freewheeling. Whatever I happen to see at the market, or whatever sounds tasty that day. I’ve made jams like apple-pear-ginger marmalade and cranberry-pear-lemon jam. I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to the recipes I’ve used. They usually turn out pretty tasty, but, like the good folks at Cooks Illustrated, I’m on a scientific quest to find the best combinations of sugar, pectin, and acid.

First up…pectin. If you Google “pectin” you’ll find a wide variety of (sometimes quite passionate) opinions on using pectin in jams. Some jam-makers insist that the only authentic jams use no added pectin. Others say that jams with pectin keep more of the nutrients and flavor because of the shorter cooking time needed. And, then, there are those who make their own pectin from apples. I don’t know who’s right, but my plan is to make four types of the same jam — no pectin, store-bought powdered pectin, store-bought liquid pectin, and homemade apple pectin.