Boy there seems to be a real communication problem here. No, it is no secret nor something i just made up. It is common knowledge, discussed in many jelly making discussions here, printed right on the boxes. discussed on page 9 and page 28 of the Ball Blue Book (latest edition) and yes, all that info is also right on their website. From freshpreserving.com: (linked above) Ballî RealFruitî Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin makes delicious and heahtly, lower- calorie jam. It has been reformulated for improved flavor and performance. Recipe options include: --no sugar --low sugar --no-calorie sugar substitutes --honey There is no mention that you can't cook it. That is your assumption. And right below it is the Pectin specifically for freezer jams: RealFruitî Instant Pectin Homemade, no-cook jam has never tasted better. Ballî RealFruitî Instant Pectin is the perfect way to make delicious, homemade jam in under 30 minutes. Enjoy it now or freeze it for use within one year. Please don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Surejell product details

These are the recipes I've saved. Many of them come from this site and others, so please forgive me that I'm not giving credit where credit is due. To be honest, I believe I just used Pomona last year, using the ratios described on the instructions, adding sugar to taste. I didn't have enough hips to make a full batch of any of the recipes below. I haven't made anything with mine yet this year, but I did save a few sprays in tact to put in the jars of jelly, just for looks. I like the idea of using apple juice in the recipes you posted though, it seems that this would also help stretch the recipe a little. Rose Hip Jelly 5 cups prepared juice (about 2 qt. fully ripe rose hips and 6 ripe medium tart apples) 1 box SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin 1/4 tsp. ground mace (optional) 10 drops red food coloring (optional) 2 drops yellow food coloring (optional) 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine (optional) 6 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl BRING boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot, soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling. REMOVE stems from rose hips. Place in saucepan; add water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until soft and mushy, about 1 hour. Place 3 layers of damp cheesecloth or jelly bag in large bowl. Pour prepared fruit into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed; hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. Press gently. Measure exactly 2 cups juice into 6-8 quart saucepot. REMOVE stems and blossom ends from apples. Cut apples into small pieces (do not peel or core). Place in large saucepan; add water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Crush cooked apples; cover and simmer 5 minutes. Place 3 layers of damp cheesecloth or jelly bag in large bowl. Pour prepared fruit into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed; hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. Press gently. Measure exactly 3 cups juice; add to rose hip juice in saucepot. (If needed, add up to 1/2 cup water for exact measure.) STIR pectin, mace and food coloring into juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. STIR in all sugar quickly. Bring to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon. LADLE quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches; add boiling water if needed. Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. Rose Hip Jam (this recipe has been around since the 1700s) 1 pound prepared rose hips (about 4 quarts) 1 cup of water Sugar In a large pan, add the rose hips and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until very soft--about 20 minutes (add more water if necessary). Press or strain the mixture through a sieve to remove any seeds and to reduce large chunks of hips. Add one pound of sugar (about 3 1/2 cups) to one pound of pulp and simmer. Check the taste and add more sugar if desired. Cook until the mixture has thickened to jam-like consistency. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. This is good to eat when you have a sore throat. Rose Hip Puree (This is from an old 16th century recipe used to make rose hip tart) 1 1/2 cup prepared rose hips 3/4 cup water 2 T sugar 1/2 t cinnamon 1/2 t ginger 1 T lemon juice Simmer the prepared rose hips in water until soft -- about 10-15 minutes. Stir in sugar, spices and lemon juice and simmer for 5 minutes. Use puree for tarts, ice cream toppings or to eat as a sauce. Rose Hip Tea Prepare the rose hips as described above and place in a single layer on a drying screen. Allow to completely dry, then store in an air-tight jar in a cool, dark place. Hips may be used whole or slightly broken. Pour boiling water over the hips and allow to steep for 2 minutes. Strain. Experiment with your own ideas for using roses in recipes. You may discover a whole new way to use your roses. Drying Rose Hips and Rose Hips Puree Instructions Just after a frost is the best time to gather rose hips. Snap off the tails as you pick,or later when you reach home. Spread the hips out on a clean surface and allow to dry partially. When the skins begin to feel dried and shriveled, split the hips and take out the large seeds -- all of them. If you let the hips dry too much, it will be difficult to remove the seeds. If not dry enough, the inside pulp will be sticky and cling to the seeds. After the seeds are removed, allow the hips to dry completely before storing or they will not keep well. Store in small, sealed plastic bags. These will keep indefinitely in the freezer or for several months in the refrigerator. They are packed with vitamin C and are good to munch on anytime you need extra energy...or a moderately sweet nutlike "candy." Making Puree: Use soft ripe rose hips (the riper they are, the sweeter they are). It takes about 4 cups (1 Litre) of rose hips to make 2 cups (480 ml) of puree. Remove stalks and blossom ends. Rinse berries in cold water. Put them into a pan and add enough water to almost cover. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Press through a sieve or strainer. All that does not go through the sieve is placed in the pan again. Add a little water, enough to almost cover, if you want a thicker puree, add slightly less. This time heat but do not boil so vigorously. This will dissolve a little more of the fruit so that it will go through the sieve. Press again and then repeat the process one more time. By now, most of the fruit should have gone through the sieve leaving only seeds and skin to discard. Drying Puree: Line a cookie sheet, 12 by 17 inches (30 by 42 cm), with plastic wrap. This size cookie sheet holds approximately 2 cups (480ml) of puree. Spread puree or fruit leather evenly over the plastic but do not push it completely to the sides. Leave a bit of plastic showing for easy removal. Place on a card table or picnic table in the hot sun to dry. If the plastic is bigger than the cookie sheet and extends up the sides, anchor it with clothes pins so it will not flop down and cover the edges of the leather. Puree should dry in the sun six to eight hours. Kodiak Rose Hip Tea Ingredients 1 tea bag 1 tablespoon (15 mL) dried rose hips 3-4 whole cloves Sugar or honey to taste 1 cup (240 mL) boiling water Instructions Steep tea bag, rose hips and cloves in boiling water for five minutes. Remove hips and cloves. Reheat if desired. Sweeten to taste with sugar or honey. Makes one serving. Rosehip Jelly Ingredients 4 quarts ripe rose hips 2 quarts water 1 package pectin crystals 5 cups sugar 1/2 cup lemon juice Instructions Simmer rose hips in water until soft. Crush to mash, and strain through a jelly bag. Should make about 4 cups of rose hip juice. Add to juice, lemon juice and pectin crystals and stir until mixture comes to a hard boil. Stir sugar in at once. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove jelly from heat and skim off foam with metal spoon. Pour into hot sterilized jars. 5 min. at 0-1000 ft., 10 min at 1001-6000 ft.

If the issue is pH, and from the above comments it is, you can test your jelly's pH and know for sure if it will store safely. (I have just started canning, myself, so I read this thread to see what the folks here thought of the reduced sugar's effect on preserving the food. I don't know anything about that, but I know how to test pH.) According to the WSU extension site, and others, your food needs to be below 4.6 pH in order to prevent botulism from growing. Having strayed from the recipe, your jelly may be too low in acid/too high of a pH. Maybe not. If you are willing to spend $10-$15 on some pH paper, (or you know someone in a science lab) you can find out your jelly's pH. You will have to find narrow-range pH paper, I have used pHydrion brand, in the range of 2.8-4.6. I've just found that for $8 on the site in the link below. When I tested my jelly, I first placed some pH paper in vinegar and/or lemon juice, to test that the paper was working properly. It indicated a PH lower than 2.8, which is correct. I tested each batch--luckily I did not have to open sealed jars; I had some extra from each batch that went into the fridge. I warmed my jelly to make it more spreadable, massaged it onto the paper, then wiped it off and compared the paper to the color chart. I also did a run where I added a couple of drops of distilled water to make the jelly more spreadable. It had the same results, but was a little easier to do. Since a roll of pH paper will last for many years, it seems an excellent investment--especially for beginning canners! Oh, I just found this excellent resource. I wish I had it a month ago! http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/ext/pubs/formulatingdressings.PDF Here is a link that might be useful: chemassociates.com

Thanks for the suggestions. Jim, I grew up with the metric system so I get ' and " mixed up all the time. I did figure 3/4 of an inch. Some of them are this size but most are a lot smaller. I think some might be rugosas but they were probably just chosen for their amazing beauty and scent. The roses were there when I moved in, I do not have so much interest in crops that are not edible. I did 'declare' the roses were edible since the hips are and sometimes the petals. Then they flowered and took my breath away. I was in a rush when I posted the question, I meant to ask is there anything one can do other than jelly and tea? I like jelly but I have too much jam/marmalade/preserves from different fruit already. I will make tea and see how I like it. I have been drying the hips in a basket, since they do not all ripen at the same time, so I harvest a little at a time and let them dry whole. If I wait for a freeze I'll be waiting for a loooooong time......