When I was growing up in the country, people seemed to share more. Mum's friends would visit and bring half a dozen eggs, or a container of fresh cream (and yes, nothing tastes as good as unpasteurised milk or cream!) and some fruit from their tree, or a few vegetables.

Consequently, my mother was always boiling up jam or making pickles, and one cupboard was full of carefully sealed and labelled jars.

However, my time doesn't stretch to long afternoons of jam-making, so this easy, fast way, using the microwave, is ideal for me. It has been adapted from the Sunset Microwave Cook Book published in 1981, so that shows how long I have been using this method. The sticky pages are another proof! It is perfect if you have only a small amount of fruit and want just one jar of jam.

3.5 cups (2x 250g punnets) thinly sliced fresh strawberries (pressed down to make about 2 cups)
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon butter or margarine

Measure all ingredients into a large glass bowl, stir well, and place in the microwave. Place a sheet of kitchen paper on top and cook on HIGH for four minutes (six if your microwave has a low wattage).

After this time, stir well, remove paper and cook on HIGH for a further six minutes. Stir and test for doneness. When ready, the jam should coat a metal spoon and fall in thick drops from the side of the spoon. If not done, continue to cook in one or two minute bursts until setting.

You can also put a little jam on a cold saucer and place in the freezer. See if it wrinkles after a couple of minutes when pushed gently with your finger. When done, cool for 30 minutes or so, then pour into a sterilised glass jar and seal tightly.

Other jams can be made with this method. Keep the quantity of fruit and sugar the same, but higher pectin fruits such as apples, peaches, plums, marmalades, or raspberries may need only one tablespoon of lemon juice. Sweeter fruits such as apricots need 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and cherries, blueberries and figs require 1/4 cup to set. The length of the second cooking time varies, from four to 12 or more minutes, and depends on the fruit and the wattage of the individual microwave.

Cautionary tale: Those original Sunset recipes were tested in a 650 watt oven, and I forgot that my 21st-century one is much stronger. I overlooked this, so my first batch of jam (cooked for the recommended time in the book) became a most unattractive slab of burnt strawberry toffee!