Strawberry with Black Pepper and Fresh Mint (Source: Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber) 2 1/2 pounds strawberries (2 1/4 pounds net) 3 3/4 cups granulated sugar juice of 1 small lemon 5 fresh mint leaves, chopped 5 black peppercorns, freshly ground Rinse the strawberries under cold water. Dry them and hull (hull the strawberries after you wash them or they will absorb water). In a ceramic bowl, mix the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar, and cover with a piece of parchment (or just use a plastic bowl with a lid). Let this macerate overnight in the fridge. The next day, bring the mixture to a simmer in a preserving pan. Pour it back into the ceramic bowl, cover again with the parchment, and let it refrigerate overnight once more. (I won't tell Ms. Ferber if you skip this step and move right onto cooking the jam. On the third day, pour the mixture through a sieve and reserve the macerated strawberries. Bring the syrup to a boil over high heat, skimming as necessary. When the syrup has reached 221 degrees on a candy thermometer, add the strawberries, mint, and black pepper. Return to the boil and cook for five minutes, then check the set. Continue to boil until the set point is reached. Pour the jam into clean, warm jars, wipe down the rims, and add lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes Yield: 4 half-pints Strawberry with Raspberry Juice and Balsamic Vinegar (Source: Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber) 1 3/4 pounds strawberries (1 1/2 pounds net) 4 1/4 cups granulated sugar juice of 1 small lemon 1 1/4 pound raspberries 1 2/3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 5 peppercorns, freshly ground Select small strawberries. Rinse them in cold water, dry them in a towel, stem them, and halve them (or quarter if larger). In a bowl, combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper, and let them macerate, refrigerated, overnight (or use a plastic bowl with a lid). Next day, place the raspberries into a saucepan with 3 1/2 ounces water, bring to a boil, and boil for a few minutes until the berries break down. Strain this mixture through a chinoise or sieve, pressing the fruit lightly with the back of a skimmer. Add the collected raspberry juice to a preserving pan. Pour the macerated strawberries into the sieve. Bring the strawberry syrup to a boil in the preserving pan with the raspberry juice. Skim and continue cooking over high heat. The syrup will be sufficiently concentrated at 221�F on a candy thermometer. Add the macerated strawberries, black pepper, and balsamic vinegar, and bring to a boil once more. Skim, return to a boil, cooking for about five minutes while stirring gently. Check the set. The strawberries should be translucent. Put the jam into clean, warm jars immediately, wipe down the rims, add lids and rings and seal. Process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes. Yield: 5 half-pint jars

The worst that could probably happen is that it would be extra juicy, and after sitting 24 hours, I really doubt that another 10 is going to hurt. If they're unrefrigerated, there might be just a little fermentation going on, so I would definitely stick them in the fridge. Jelly and jam is pretty tough to turn into a hazard. After all, it's all sugar. What's to go wrong?

I use the Joy of Pickling all the time, Joy of Jams and Small Batch not so often, I also have Ball Complete and don't use that as much as Joy of Pickling. Not that I haven't gone through all the books, I do make a few recipes from them but Small Batch is probably the one I use the 2nd-most. I use the NCHFP a lot. And now I have to buy another Blue Book since I gave mine to my sister.

Carol, See, you answered your own question and you don't need me at all. Yes, in this case, even though they failed to specify it in the latest edition of the BBB, you crush the berries first. I have had this recipe for years, and in the 'Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving', it is stated correctly as: 4 1/2 cups crushed blueberries For some reason, in the latest BBB edition, they dropped the word crushed. (sigh) I don't know why, because I can see where someone would look at that, measure, then crush as they begin following the narrative of the recipe. If the intent of the recipe is to measure first and then crush, they usually word it something this this: 4 1/2 cups blueberries, crushed So, I think you're fine. I made Blueberry-Lime about a month ago and it is all gone. So, I'm making more tomorrow. Today I've been working on cherries, with two batches of Cherry Jam completed, and a batch of Cherry Preserves halfway done. It is in the 'soaking cherries in sugar/juice stage' right now. Tomorrow it will be Blueberry-Lime Jam and 5 more lbs. of cherries are awaiting some sort of processing, so I'm thinking maybe Candied Cherries and/or Cherry Syrup....or something. I made homemade Vanilla-Cherry Ice Cream last week, only I doubled the amount of cherries in that batch and Tim is in hog heaven with his ice cream. And, tomorrow is a salsa day after I pick tomatoes and peppers. I need to write out a schedule and post it so I can keep my days straight. Last week was mostly peppers, and I've been trying to do fruit and salsa this week before the next big wave of peppers is harvested. The pepper harvest this year is very similar to last year's, but I'm trying to process and use the peppers within a day or two of picking them so that I don't wake up one morning and realize the peppers have taken over the kitchen like they did last year. I wish the tomatoes were producing as well as the peppers, but I'm just happy I'm getting tomatoes because it is a very tough tomato year. Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam is also on my 'To Do' list, since DS discovered when he was here checking out the jelly closet yesterday that--horrors!--all the Apple Pie Jam is gone. (Why do people want what you don't have? I had 8 or 10 kinds of jelly in there and he was looking for the one that I didn't have.) DS and DDIL have been carting jelly out of the house by the case, but I don't mind because there is such an overabundance of peach and plum jelly/jam/butter/spiced butter. They're having fun sharing the bounty of 'our' family garden with their friends, family and coworkers. I'm having fun making stuff, so it all evens out. I love this time of year. I love looking at all the beautiful jars lined up in a row sparkling like little jewels. [I also love looking at all the goodies piling up in the freezer, and then later in the fall, in the root cellar.) The garden, on the other hand, is muddy and weedy and hot and humid and full of grasshoppers and worse, so I'm ignoring it today. Happy jellying and jamming! Dawn