In the past we have spent hours stirring jam, trying to get it to gel without burning. Sometimes we were not too successful! This machine takes out all of the guess work. The recipes are clear & consistent, so that could be applied to almost any fruit (we only do jam). From putting the ingredients into the jam maker to taking the jars out of the canner takes 40 minutes, giving us plenty of time to get ready for the next batch. The batches are small but every canning book warns about making too much jam at one time. Also, it will allow us to use a bit of fruit for the first batch to see if we like that particular jam. This thing in two days as already saved us energy use for the cooking and plenty of our time. It's a winner!!