Adjust up, adjust down, it really doesn’t matter, as long as you’re happy with the level of sweetness. As far as batch size goes, I tend to stick to a range of ½ to 1 cup each of the sugar ...

Give them a good smash to break up the fruit. (For stubborn fruit, use an immersion blender for one or two pulses.) Microwave for another 30 seconds to completely defrost the fruit.

Simmer 2 cups chopped fresh fruit with 1/4 cup water or juice and 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar until fruit is tender and thickened. If desired, add spices, herbs, spirits or other flavorings before simmering.

It takes just a few minutes to jazz up your plain Greek yogurt and create something that tastes more like dessert but without all the added sugar.

Proportions: Figure 2 to 3 pounds of fruit and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of liquid for each quart jar. Syrups termed as "heavy," "medium" and "light" do the best job of retaining color, shape and, to a ...