@Addison, I'm still looking for it. In Canada, it's made by something now called ingredion.ca, but they referred me to http://www.quadraingredients.com as being who distributes for them, but quadra says they don't sell directly to consumers, they are a bulk seller in flats only or something like that. Which I called them assuming they would be, their being a distributor and all, my purpose was to ask, "who do you sell to that sells to consumers so I can go and buy it from them". But I don't know what was less, the ability of the girl on the other end of the phone to speak either official Canadian language, or, her interest in exerting herself one iota and helping someone, she was so disinterested, and I didn't need to speak whatever language she could actually speak to get that part! So I'm at an impasse currently, but only currently, I am pretty tenacious. This post was edited by RandalOulton on Thu, Dec 11, 14 at 10:58

Well then, that must have been my problem because I did double the recipe!! I didn't realize you couldn't! I know you're not supposed to fool around with amounts in recipes so you keep the acid ratio correct, but where this was just strawberries and sugar and nothing else in the recipe I figured it was ok! I guess not! And I measured out 4 quarts of whole strawberries. The recipe was 2 quarts of strawberries and 6 cups of sugar. It didn't say to cut them or mash them before measuring - in fact (I'm remembering off the top of my head here as I don't have the book with me) it said to crush the strawberries one layer at a time and then to mix with the sugar, so it sounded to me like you measured the whole strawberries, then crushed them and that's what I did. I'm not going to fuss with what I already made - as I said, it won't go to waste as hubby will use it as pancake topping - we've even been known to plop a spoonful of jam in a bowl of oatmeal, so this stuff will work for that as well. But I'm glad I spoke up because for future adventures in jam, I wouldn't have known any of this and would probably have given up on it if I kept failing! And I thought it was weird that the jam recipe that used the pectin used an extra cup of sugar from the one without pectin. I've learned so much from just this thread - thanks so much guys! I want to take my next adventure into the realm of peaches! Peach jam sounds yummy and if I fail again, hubby does like peaches, so he'll have more pancake topping than he knows what to do with lol!! Lisa

If you used the Clear Jel at 1/2 strength then you may not need any cornstarch anyway. We find the Clear Jel, even at 1/2 the amount too stiff which is why we leave it out completely and mix in 1 T cornstarch when making the pie. But It is just a matter of preference. Otherwise it is just a matter of pouring your canned filling into the bottom crust - how much filling all depends on the size 8" or 9" and regular or deep dish - and putting on the top crust, crimp the edges, cut a couple of vents holes in the top and bake it. Other than that there are likely 100 ways to make an apple pies. You'll find many different recipes over on the cooking forums here. Some like to pre-bake the bottom crust, some prefer to use extra filling for a thicker pie, some bake at 400 and some at 375 and some at 425. As to the slices - that too is a matter of personal preference. Personally we like the slices that our peeler makes rather than thick chunks. They let you get much more 'apple' in the apple pie. :) Dave

What exactly is "approved" sources? I don't imagine the government approves any sources other than themselves, so who is doing the approving? Is there some kind of list somewhere you are referring to? Or do you mean only use recipes listed on the NCHFP website? The Ball Corporation (Jarden in Canada) publications on home canning have been held as THE approved source for over 100 years. The are often referred to as the canning bible and are well known for their ongoing research and updated publications on safety issues. This was long before the USDA or FDA came into existence. Also for decades Rodale Publishing was also regarded as totally safe in their canning publications. Unfortunately they quit maintaining the currency of their canning publications when NCHFP was created but with a few exceptions most of their publications are still valid. In addition there are the USDA and FDA publications, all the publications from NCHFP, all the publications from the many land-grant university extension services, and many publication from well-known food scientists such as Linda Ziedrich, Ellie Topp, Margaret Howard, etc. People who have the educational credentials and research background to know what they are talking about as opposed to the many bloggers and authors that merely subscribe to the "it hasn't killed anyone yet" school of science. There are a number of discussions here about what constitutes approved sources, which books are approved and which should be avoided, and reviews of various canning blogs pro and con. There used to be a number of MFP's (Master Food Preservers) that participated here on a regular basis and we made a concerted effort to review new publications and websites as they came up. Unfortunately Deanna and I are the only ones we have heard from since the move to Houzz but all that past info from the others is still available here and classes are available to anyone who wishes to takes them through their local county extension service. If you don't want to invest the time in getting the MFP credentials then take some basic classes or even the basic online course offered by NCHFP is a place to start. Honestly I find a lot of this kind of arbitrary. I'm sure it does seem that way when one is new to the process or has none of the underlying science training. But they aren't arbitrary. There are valid reasons, based in research and testing for all these guidelines. So everyone is left choices: (1) to either get the training so that they do understand it all and know where changes can and cannot be made (2) or accept them at face value and do them in order to have the assurances of safety they provide (3) or to challenge, question, ignore, and criticize them and just do their own thing when it comes to canning as long as they willingly accept the associated risks that come with that approach. The internet has plenty of blogs and forums that have adopted #3 approach and preach against the accepted guidelines. In some cases it is because they don't know any better, in some cases it is because they don't care, and in some cases it is because they claim to hate the government and reject all that it stands for or represents. This particular forum has long had the reputation of being safety oriented, or rejecting the make-it-up-as-you-go-along canning methods, and a place where those new to home canning can get safe advice. Are the guidelines perfect? Of course not. But they are the best and safest options we have available. Dave