MEMPHIS ? With a splash of red and burst of sweetness, produce aisles are teeming and fields overflowing with strawberries, harbingers of the canning season.

Soon, they will give way to raspberries, blueberries, black berries, elderberries and peaches. Shortcakes and cobblers are calling, and family members still moan: They deserve preserves, a way to stretch the bounty beyond the growing season.

Homemade jellies, jams and preserves can be stored for winter or given as summertime gifts.

This puts busy cooks in a jam. Who has hours to nurse jars, rings and lids through hot-water baths to capture the taste of early summer?

Fear not, some jams are fast, easy and cheap to make. Lots require no water bath or fancy canning equipment boiling water canner, jar or magnetic lid-lifters. Many use three ingredients or less.

Some can be stored in freezer containers instead of jars. Some are made even quicker using gelatin.

Traditional jam recipes call for cooking, which thickens the fruit mixture. Many quick recipes use additional pectin as the thickening agent, giving the mixture the gelled consistency you expect in preserves.

Getting started

The first step is deciding what fruit to use. Strawberries are plentiful, and if you’ve never made jams or preserves, they are good to practice with since they stay in season for several weeks, said Julie Ray, who teaches a class on canning through continuing education at the University of Memphis.

Before you buy berries, decide what container you’ll use to store the spread. Freezer containers are quick and easy. Just make sure they seal tightly. If you’re using glass jars, pint-size jars will save space in the refrigerator or freezer.

If you want to give preserves as gifts, buy a box of 8-ounce canning jars or smaller.

Canning jars can be purchased in most grocery stores or discount retailers.

Donna Downen, home economist with the Shelby County (Tenn.) Agricultural Extension Service, says it’s important that the jars have lids and rings instead of solid lids for a good seal. Also, the jars will hold up in a freezer, while recycled mayonnaise jars or others might crack.

It’s OK if the rings rust in the freezer, she says. Just remove them and replace them.

You can find basic jam and preserve recipes on boxes of pectin. Some fruits contain enough natural pectin, but many, including strawberries and blueberries, don’t have enough to gel.

Some fruits also need extra acidity, so you will need to add lemon juice. Also buy lots of sugar. Artificial sweetener can be used, but some brands turn bitter when heated. Check the labels.

Defining the toppings

Decide if you want to make jam, preserves, jelly or a conserve. Here’s the difference, according to the Ball Blue Book:

l Jams are made by cooking crushed or chopped fruits with sugar.

l Preserves are fruits preserved with sugar so that the fruit retains its shape and is shiny, tender and plump. The syrup is clear and varies from the consistency of honey to soft jelly.

l Jelly is strained juice from fruit, gelatinized enough to make it firm and able to hold its shape outside of the jar.

l Conserves are jam-like products made by cooking fruit and sugar. The difference is that nuts or raisins are added.

l Jam or preserves are the easiest to make with fresh fruit, said Ray. Rinse the fruit thoroughly and cut off the tops.

l Put jars, lids and rings in a big pot filled with water. Heat on the stove to a low simmer. As an alternative, you can put the jars in the dishwasher and use them when the jars are in the hot, drying cycle.

l Basic jam recipes usually suggest crushing the berries with a potato masher, adding pectin and bringing the mixture to a boil before adding sugar and boiling for a minute.

l Scoop the mixture into the jars, leaving headspace. Wipe off the rim of the jar, put on the lid and screw it down with the ring.

l Once the jars cool, place them in the refrigerator or freezer. Make sure you tell the people you give them to that they must be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, even if they’ve never been opened.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests jams or spreads stored at room temperature be processed in a boiling water bath.