What you'll need:

Hardware:
—Jars (the big brand-names are Ball and Mason)
—Large cooking pots
—A sieve (or, better yet, a food mill)
—Big spoons
—Paper towels or clean rags
—Blender/food processor (optional)

Software (apple butter):
—Apples: any amount, though 6-10 lbs is fairly manageable and will make 10-15 jars of apple butter (tart apples such as granny smiths work really well)
—Spices (whatever you like--cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, cardamon,
nutmeg, etc.)
—Sweetner (optional; we used maple syrup, but you can use sugar if you prefer.)
—Cider/juice (optional; a cup or two if it's handy.)

Software (loose berry jam):
—6 cups mixed berries (frozen or fresh)
—1 apple (peeled and cored)
—8 oz (approx) maple syrup (you can use sugar or another sweetner if you prefer; maple may raise the PH of the mixture and cause the jam to spoil)
—1/2 cup apple juice
—3 tsp. cornstarch

Pouring the apple butter into the jars

Scraping down the apple butter with a spoon

Wiping away to leave a clean space at the top of the jar

A few good sites

Home Canning
Botulism
Canning 101 USDA guides to home canning
Food Safety
Home & Hearth

Home Canning: Make yer own damn jam

By: Kirsten

More apples than you know what to do with? Drowning in berries? Why not try home canning? It's fun, great to do with a posse, and perfect for both hoarding and gift giving. These recipes are not only delicious, they're sweetly sugar free. And once you learn how to avoid botulism, you can can just about anything (chutney! cranberry sauce! gooseberry syrup!).

safety

Sterilization: Sterilization procedures for non-fruit canning vary. See some of the listed links if you are thinking about canning vegetables or meat products.

Glass: Jars can break during the boiling process. Make sure that
children keep their distance.

Part I: Preparing the mixture

A. (For Apple Butter)

1. Wash apples
2. Quarter apples (no need to core or peel)
3. Place apples in pot with a couple of inches of mixed cider and water (just water is okay as well)
4. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all apples are soft. This will take about 30 minutes. If the apples are sticking at the bottom turn down the heat.
5. Strain apples (here's where a food mill comes in handy)
6. Put apples back on the stove
7. Season to your liking (I used cinnamon, cloves, ginger, lemon zest and vanilla)
8. Cook down. If your apple butter is getting dense but the texture is not as smooth as you like, remove from the stove, blend and then return to the stove.

B. (For Loose Berry Jam)

1. Boil the berries, apple, juice and maple syrup until thick.
2. Take some of the liquid and mix with cornstarch. Return to berry
mixure. Repeat until thick enough for your taste.

Part II: Canning

1. Wash jars and lids
2. Sterilize jars (not lids) by boiling for 10 minutes. If you have a double-boiler or some kind of rack, use it; if not try and make sure that the jars don't touch while they are boiling. Remove from boiling water with tongs and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Fill jars (leave 1/4-1/2 inch at the top).

4. Wipe tops of jars (so that there is no jam where the lid will be
screwed on).

5. Screw on lids (tightly).
6. Boil filled jars for 10 minutes.
7. Set aside to cool upright for at least 12 hours. During this time the lids of the jars will seal. If the lid still pops then the seal hasn't set properly and you should probably just eat that jar sooner rather than later.
8. Decorate jars.

Special thanks to the Church of Craft for help with this article.

See Also

Review: Kids in the Garden
Dyed Fungus: a Tutorial
Seeds of Inspiration