Old Fashioned Raspberry Jam

Directions

1. 1
   ["Wash 4 half-pint canning jars and rest them on a cake rack at the bottom of a tall stock pot. Cover the jars with at least 1 inch of water and bring to a soft boil. (A rack can be improvised by tying several canning rings together with string.) Keep a kettle of water on the boil to sterilize lids later.", "Place sugar in a shallow baking dish in a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes. (Warming the sugar makes it dissolve more readily.)", "Place the berries into a medium-sized heavy bottomed pot and place on high heat. Use a potato masher to crush the fruit. Bring to a full rolling boil for 1 min, stirring constantly.", "Add the warm sugar to the hot berries and return to a full boil until the mixture gels, stirring to avoid scorching.", "Gelling can be tested a few ways:", "1.) When a candy thermometer reads 220 degrees", "2.) When a cold teaspoon dipped into the syrup collects on the edge of the spoon and sheets rather than dripping off", "3.) Using a chilled plate, place a dollop of hot jam and return it to the freezer for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, push the cooled jam with your finger and if the surface wrinkles it's ready to be packed. You can also tilt the plate to see if the jam moves, if it moves very slowly it's ready.", "The time it takes for the raspberries to reach gel stage varies anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes depending on the moisture content in your fruit. Remove jam from heat.", "Place canning lids (not rings) in a bowl and cover with boiling water. The lids need to stand for a couple of minutes to soften the sealant material. Use a canning jar lifter, or tongs to lift your hot jar, pouring all of the water out.", "Pour jam into a glass measuring cup to ease filling the jam jars leaving a 1/2\" of headspace. Clean up any dribbles on lip of the jar using a clean dishtowel dipped in boiling water.""