Recipe for Clear Jel?? Its just used as a thckener in high acid canning and has safer properties compared to flour or regular corn starch. 2 1/4 cups of Clear Jel, thats a LOT!! It may cook as thick as gummy bears with that amount of liquid.. I usually add it as the last item mixed in a slurry with water. Its stirred in while the rest of the ingredients are boiling, look for a thickness after a minute of boiling, add more if necessary. Instead of a lemon taste and acid, I would make it with an acid blend of tarteric, malic, and citric. These primary acids are what is used in many fruit based wines, and also work very well in bland tasting jellies and jams.

Yes it is safe. Safety is seldom a problem with fruit jams because most all fruits (with a couple of exceptions) are high acid. Just keep in mind that as with all low-sugar jams & jellies it's storage life will be shortened. Dave

Naw, no war. :) Some of us just have issues with Clear Jel and the way the recipes are written. I'm sure there are folks out there who think the recipes as written are just fine. My goal is recipes for filling that is good to go, and can be simply be poured into a pie shell and baked. The folks I'm giving these to are *not* cooks, and if I had to include directions on how to thicken the filling before baking, they might just sit on the shelf! Good point. Then use the Clear Jel as Jim suggested above - premixed - and add just enough to get it to the consistency that you think is perfect for pie filling and can it. That way they will be good to go. Note that the link soonergrandmom provided says you can : "Also adjust the amount of Clear Jel [down] to 1/4 cup for 1 quart and 1 3/4 cup for 7-quarts." Dave

Diane, Stop talking about pie? Well, OK, we can stop talking about it but I also could say just what my mom used to say....."And if everyone else went and jumped off the rooftop, I'd suppose you'd have to do it too." (A momily. A momism. You know what I mean, just substitute 'eating pie' for 'jumping off the rooftop". LOL) And, exactly what baby weight are you referring to? I don't see any excess weight on you in the photos on your blog. You look perfectly normal and healthy, and NOT fat, girl. In fact, you look wonderful for a woman who's had a whole bunch of children....better than most women look after 1 child. Melissa, "MY" apple pie jam is Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam recipe from the Harvest Forum here at Garden Web. Just go there and use a forum search using the search box, and a million threads with the recipe will pop up. I especially love the apple pie jam on apple muffins. For the best salsa recipe in the world, go back to the Harvest Forum and type in "Annie's Salsa". Every batch I've made has been darn near perfect and every person to whom I've given a jar has said the same thing..."that's the best salsa I've ever had". It is better than every other recipe I use. I think I made 7 or 8 kinds of salsa this year, and next year I may make only Annie's Salsa. Tomorrow I'll try to sit still long enough to type in the other salsa recipes I use, but Annie's Salsa is all you'll ever need. : ) If you can't find Annie's Salsa or Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam on the Harvest Forum, let me know and I'll go find them. I never post on the Harvest Forum, but I scout it often for recipes. And, while you are there, search and find the oh-so-easy sour cream walnut recipe. I usually make pecan pralines as Christmas gifts, but next year I think that I'll make sour cream walnuts. If you make them, you have to wrap them up and give them away as gifts RIGHT AWAY or you'll find yourself eating all of them....just you and your family, sitting there munching away until the whole batch is gone....not that we did that here...but we wanted to! Dawn