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

Lisazone6, we make lots of jam, and we eat it, too! The very small 4oz jars and the 8oz jars (half-pints) are too small for us. Well, at least the 4oz jars are. I usually make the 16oz (pints) and decide that "that's the flavor we'll eat right now" so that it doesn't sit around too long. We also refrigerate the jam once it's opened because my husband's worried about spoiling. If you're purchasing new jars you'll see that there's very little difference in price from the smallest to the largest jars. That might be another factor. If you're gifting some of your home canned products (which many of us do) you'll notice that most people don't return the jars ... although it would be wonderful if they did. So, if you'd like to make some gifts of jam you might want to use the smallest jars for some of the batch, and fill up the larger jars for your own use. Jam making is so much fun. It doesn't take a huge amount of fruit or time or equipment. And it always tastes wonderful! Oh, and when you "skim the foam off the top of the jam" before you bottle it, don't throw that foam away. It's delicious. Keep a little bowl handy to fill with the extra jam that won't fill a jar ... and that will be your reward. Freshly made jam on a spoon, a piece of toast, or a bowl of ice cream! And yes, I understand exactly how excited and proud you are. I don't think you'll outgrow that feeling either. It's that feeling that will keep you canning in triple-digit heat, standing over a boiling water bath, and cleaning up the jars and mess (and being too tired to make dinner) that will keep you doing it year after year!

I was cleaning out my basement this past month - what can accumulate in over 20 years!!! Anyway, I came across a set of old Time/Life cookbooks I bought when I was first married, but never ended up using all that much. One of them was on preserving, so I took it out of the box and flipped thru it - that was where I learned about the acid and sugar issues (they recommended adding lemon juice to tomatoes as well), but to me, the instructions weren't all that clear and I was confused about why you could hot water bath jam, but not string beans. Now I understand a little better. I will definitely check out that book - I have to go up to Borders today at lunch anyway, so I'll see if they have it and if not, I can just get it on-line. I definitely will be back with questions once I get started!! Rhome410 - I forgot about salsa! That's something I want to can as well. I make my own and freeze it, but again, because of space issues I'd like to can whatever I can and save the freezer space. Good luck with your garden as well! I'm VERY excited about the blackberries most of all - I can't wait to pick my own. I'm sick of lusting after them in the grocery store at about $5 for a tiny little package!! And the whole family loves blackberry jam. Lpinkmountain - thanks for the recipe. Apples are cheap enough that I'll probably work on making some apple sauce and apple butter while I patiently wait for my berry bushes to produce, which haven't even been planted yet!! Thanks to everyone for the tips and the links - I didn't even think of the Harvest forum - that makes sense. I'll be back soon with more questions, I'm sure. While I'm here, besides Wal-Mart, is there another good place to get the supplies? I know I can get them online as well - is there an "approximate" price range to look for? I would have no idea if I was getting ripped off or not because I don't have a clue what the supplies should cost. And I won't shop at Wal-Mart even if they're the cheapest around, so that's not an option for me. Thanks! Lisa

Modern canning jars and lids are no way as well made/durable/heavy duty as old ones. Way of the world nowdays with a lot of stuff, like furniture for example. When you make jam, the less cooking to get a good set the better, for two reasons--the flavor compounds from the fruit can be deteriorated by the heat because heat activates chemical reactions, and--the longer sugar cooks the more it caramelizes. I know this from being a maple syrup maker from way back. The longer you have to boil the sap to get it to the right concentration, the darker your syrup and the more "taste" it will have. So with jam, you will then have the sugar competing with the fruit, the fruit's taste getting weaker and the sugar's taste getting stronger. But ten minutes? I dunno. I am crap at making elegant jams and preserves. I seem to go from syrup to taffy with no in-between. I've tried a lot of methods, including the "old fashioned" one to minimize cooking time and maximize flavor, and I have never managed to master it. This is an issue for me with berries and peaches, the other fruits I think not so much. Last year I made a decent strawberry preserves with sherry and it tasted darn good, best I ever made. But my strawberry jam is not spectacular usually. Still it is MILES better than store bought, which is loaded with corn syrup. And I've never done paraffin. I've had enough experience with it making candles to last me a lifetime!