When you boil vinegar, it evaporates and blasts you in the face when you approach the pan, right? I thought it must have a boiling point below the boiling point of water. But it turns out the boiling point of acetic acid is higher, so you actually can drive off some water and concentrate the acid. I posted a link below, but googling [acetic acid boiling point] will lead to info about why it has a higher boiling point, etc. According to the sources I found, the boiling point of pure acetic acid is 244°F. The acid in lemon juice is mostly citric acid. That is in solution, which means it's broken up and bonded with the water rather than actually being a liquid itself. It doesn't boil, it just breaks down into other substances at 347°F. Valereee, I'm with Carol on this one. I once made pectin-free peach-pepper jam that was too soft, so I cooked it longer and ended up making it caramelized and rubbery. I would use the NCHFP method. Melissa Here is a link that might be useful: boiling point of vinegar

Thanks everyone for your help.....And Carol that peach and pepper relish looks great and may be up next for some trial runs. Here is what I ended up with (my heavily amended hab gold recipe..;)) 4 cups peach nectar (45%fruit juice) 4 cups apricot nectar (45% fruit juice) 1 cup black cherry extract 1 cup each diced finely (used food processer for finer dice) of dried peaches, dried apricots, and dried tart cherries 2 cup finely chopped onion 1/2 cup finely chopped fatalli peppers 3 cups vinegar 7 cups sugar *still let sit overnight like original recipe* I let the fruit juices simmer while I did the chopping and that reduced their volumes a bit. I found that using the food processor on the dried fruit worked wonderfully. I eliminated the red bell pepper because with the addition of all that fruit the flavor was lost plus I wanted to make sure you got some onion flavor and this allowed me to increase my onion amount. I used fatalli pepper which is awesomely hot (one of the very hottest habaneros) but with all that sugar which counteracts the capsaicin, it is actually only reasonably hot. I left the pectin out because with all that sugar I was able to just cook to 225 degrees or so and it turned out just syrupy/glazy just like I wanted. Plus the extra fruit juices added some volume so this batch was not soooo chunky and full as the last batch. Tried some on some shrimp last night and it was wonderful. We just used it as a glaze in the last few minutes of cooking time. I was licking my fingers the whole time. Thanks everyone again for your help Kendra

Yum! Sounds delightful. My favorite summer beverage is a Michelada. Lots a variations but basically ice, salted rim, beer and lots of fresh lime. Here is a link that might be useful: michelada

Chocolate Walnut Fudge Serves: 25    1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk    1/3 cup agave nectar    1 pinch salt    12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips    1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (4 ounces)  Mix sweetened condensed milk and agave in a small saucepan and stir to blend. Add a large pinch of salt. Bring mixture just to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add chocolate chips and lower heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts completely and mixture is smooth. Stir in walnuts. Pour the warm mixture into an 8 x 8-inch pan and smooth the top with a butter knife. Let cool and refrigerate until cold. Cut into 25 squares. ____________________________________________________________________ Banana Loaf Made With Spelt Flour Recipe Ingredients  1/2 cup butter at room temperature  1 cup or less light/golden brown sugar  2 organic eggs, beaten  1 tsp. vanilla (optional)  2 cups Spelt flour  1 tsp. baking soda preferably aluminum-free  1/2 tsp. salt  2 or 3 very ripe organic bananas, mashed  1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) Directions Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Stir in dry ingredients. Blend bananas and walnuts and mix gently. Bake in a well greased and lightly dusted 5 x 9 inch loaf pan or three 3 x 5 inch loaf pans. Bake for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Lessen the baking time for the smaller loaf pans. NOTE: When using spelt flour as a substitute for All-purpose or whole wheat flour, always remember that spelt requires approximately 25% less liquid. You can either reduce the liquid by 25% or add 25% more spelt flour than your recipe calls for.