I've used 500g (17.5 ounces) of total fruit, which is just over 1 pound of fruit for this recipe. You may use different quantities of each fruit depending on what you have on hand, just be sure to use the same total weight/amount of fruit to equal 17.5 ounces (500g).

FYI, I measure my ingredients in grams using a scale because it's more consistent and precise. But I've included the approximate amount of fruit in cups that you'll need if you don't have a scale. This is a very forgiving recipe, so don't worry too much if your measurements are slightly off. I used 2 small nectarines, 3 small apricots, and about 1 1/3 cups diced strawberries.

If you want a completely smooth jam, after the jam has reached the gel point, use an immersion blender to macerate any bits of fruit that didn't disintegrate as the jam cooked. Just be careful because the jam will be hot!

A few things to remember: Before adding sugar, first understand how naturally sweet or tart your fruit is. You may need to add just a bit more (or less sugar) to balance sweetness and tartness. Just be sure to use at least one tablespoon of lemon juice which is necessary to help the jam gel (because the acidity lowers the pH in the mixture and lemon juice has lots of natural pectin).

For an even lower-sugar strawberry and stone fruit jam, use 1/2 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons (130g). It's still plenty sweet and lets the fruit shine. You may also add freshly juiced (sweet) apple juice, which can add natural sweetness without compromising the flavor of the fruit (although you may need to cook the mixture slightly longer to give it time to gel).

I don't skim the strawberry jam as it cooks because I don't mind the foam (and it settles and all but disappears after setting up anyway). To me, that's just more jam we could be adding to a piece of toast. But feel free to skim the foam off the jam as it cooks.

If you want to double this recipe, use a pot that is twice as wide as the pot I've used.  This will help you cook the fruit mixture quickly because the surface area will be large enough to accommodate the larger amount of ingredients. If you doubled the batch and used the same medium-sized pot, the fruit would have to cook for so much longer in order to reduce (or cook off the water) and thicken properly. This would result in an inferior-tasting homemade jam. A stainless steel sauté pan is perfect to use when doubling this recipe.

If you want to peel the nectarines and apricots, remember that most of the natural pectin is found in the skins and peels, which means you'll be losing some of the pectin. Therefore, you may have to cook the jam just a few minutes longer.