Seedmama, That does sound like a reasonable substitution, but because we're talking about fats in canning I wouldn't make it myself (and I'm considered a safety-ignoring cowboy by some on this forum). It's not hard to get a hold of actual chocolate, after all. All, Boy, I really am forgetful in my old age! I made this chocolate-raspberry jam again yesterday with my two young visiting nieces (aged 9 and 11; one is my brother's youngest from Montreal and one is my sister's from Toronto, so they were having a visit with each other at their auntie's place in between). We had a lot of fun! We went raspberry picking the day before and they worked hard in the hot sun, and then in the hot kitchen, but were very proud to make labels and bring their creations home to their families. We got a bigger yield than the recipe called for---more like 8 pints than 6 or 7 --- and we also found it very runny. This was no problem, as it gave me a chance to explain to my new young canner nieces that there is no such thing as a failed jam, only successful sauce! But now I went looking for this old thread to reread, and I see that when I made this jam several years ago it ALSO came out runny, but then set up almost firm a few days later! So maybe that will happen again. I had to laugh at myself because I had the same thing with the boiling---we addded the sugar after a minute of what looked like a "full, roiling boil," but then when it heated back up again it boiled much harder and I thought we should have waited longer before adding it. Sigh! You'd think an editor would know to check her sources. Anyway, we used the recipe Gardengrl had posted, calling for 3 ounces of chocolate---used a 100-gram bittersweet bar of a quality grocery house brand. MMM is it good. If it doesn't set up to be spreadable it's going to end up getting stirred into oatmeal and poured on pancakes. We love to jazz up our winter breakfasts around here with home-canned jars from the happy harvest days.... Z, who enjoyed reliving her wedding and Annie's!

Actually carol that recipe you posted the link to has twice the sugar to fruit ratio of my recipe. My recipe has 4 cups of fruit and 1 1/2 cups of sugar, the recipe you posted the link to has 3 cups of sugar for 4 cups of fruit. The Ball freezer jam pectin is actually a lower sugar pectin. The ratio is like my non pectin recipes. However my guess Michelle is it would not set up without the full amount of sugar. However you could experiment by reducing the sugar a little and seeing if it sets until the point when you end up with syrup. Which would be wonderful over pancakes or ice cream. I have found that when I first make the jam it is too sweet. After a day in the fridge the sugar dissolves and the sweetness is perfect. -Robin

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to add my experience with this recipe to it. I got the recipe from the Ball blue book and tried it out last month. Since I do not have a good supply of raspberries around here, I used wild blackberries instead. It was awesome. You end up with a typical red/purple jam and when it is spread, it has the orange bits of the mango with dark purple /black bits of the blackberry seeds. It is very colorful and tastes awesome. It became an instant family hit that will be requested every year. It didn't set solid. It has a little movement to it which we actually prefer for jam. I also found that the smaller variety of mangoes (here they are called banana mangoes) are super yummy, very smooth-fleshed and have less flesh clinging around the seed. Tiff

I don't know if you are averse to using pectin, but here is a recipe using Pamona's from the North American Raspberry and Blackberry Assn: Edited by Olychick: the recipe calls for 4 tsp pectin, but the directions call for 4 CUPS of pectin, obviously a typo.... 8 cups strained seedless black raspberry pulp 4 teaspoons calcium-water mixture prepared per Pomona's Pectin package 2 Tbsp lemon juice 2 cups sugar 4 teaspoons Pomona's Universal Pectin Directions: For Fruit Mixture, combine black raspberry pulp, calcium-water mixture, and lemon juice in a 6-quart or 8-quart stainless steel pot. In a separate container, combine 2 cups sugar and 4 cups Universal Pectin. Heat Fruit Mixture slowly to boil. Turn down heat, add Sugar-Pectin Mixture to Fruit Mixture, mix for 2 minutes to dissolve sugar. Turn up heat (a bit above medium on a gas stove) Bring to good boil, turn off heat. Fill jars to 1/4 inch from top, apply lids. Process in hot water bath canner: 10 minutes at sea level, 15 minutes at 5000 ft altitude. Shelf life one year. Note from Pete Tallman: Standard supermarket pectin formulas like Sure-Jell don't work with such low sugar percentages. This recipe was developed according to cooked jam recipes from instructions included in Pomona's Universal Pectin, which is available at many natural food stores. See www.pomonapectin.com for list of stores. See Pomona's Universal Pectin recipes for use with alternative sweeteners. Source: Peter Tallman, developer of new black raspberry variety "Niwot" Here is a link that might be useful: Seedless black raspberry jam This post was edited by olychick on Mon, Jul 7, 14 at 22:08