Jam-Making Gear

The first thing I learned about all this is that you need a lot of crap to make jam. The nice thing is, you just have to invest in it the one time - and really, it's not all that expensive. Most of this stuff will probably last forever.

Here is a basic list of the equipment:

Dutch oven (at least 3.5 qt size)
Big metal pot for boiling (mine is 16 qt)
Some large bowls for preparing & mixing fruit
Wooden spoon
Potato masher
Tongs for taking jars out of hot water
Funnel
Large ladle
Plastic (or other non-metal) knife type thing
A bunch of measuring cups
Canning jars with lids and bands
A whole mess of kitchen towels

I didn't have hardly any of this stuff around my kitchen (except for a few of the utensils), so I had to go shopping. And in case you don't know what a Dutch oven is (I didn't either), it is basically just a big cast-iron pot with an iron lid. I got one with an enamel coating for easier cleanup. I wish I'd bought a bigger size, though. The one I got is only 3.5 quarts and I worried a couple of times that my jam might boil over (luckily, it didn't). And the big metal pot is for boiling your jars in. You don't want to use one of your nice non-stick coated pots for this. All the repeated water boiling is just going to mess up your good pots. I got a cheapo one with an enamel coating and it works just fine. You want to get one that has a broad, flat bottom. Mine also came with a wire rack inside, which is very handy.

I also got this handy little canning toolkit for about $6 at the Wal-Mart. I debated whether I really needed it or not, and I am so glad I got it. All of the tools were really helpful and I would strongly recommend getting this set.