jude, fruit preserves are pretty safe, the fruit is acidic and the sugar acts as a preservative. The reason for lemon juice in most preserve recipes is for the acidity to allow commercial pectin to work or for the pectin naturally found in the lemon. Now, that said, figs and tomatoes have both been found to contain borderline levels of acidity, MSU says figs are "slightly above" 4.6, so you want to ensure that you use enough lemon to reduce the acidity to a safe level. Recommended is 2 tablespoons per quart of figs. Bottled lemon juice is preferred because it has a consistent acidity whereas fresh lemons vary Since you have about 3 quarts of figs, ypu'd have about 1 lemon per quart. That's about 2-3 tablespoons of juice plus the peel. If you have nice big juicy lemons it's probably good, but I think I'd add the fresh lemons and a bit extra. Annie

Thanks Carol. OK, I ended up going with a barely used Presto 01781 23 quart that's like new, didn't arrive yet... Can someone please post the part # for the 3-way weight that was listed in another thread? This one has the dial gauge and the new design 1 piece 15lb weight included but may upgrade to the 3-way weight if I can find it cheap. Also, what do you use, if anything, to do a double batch of pints? My current Presto does 10 pints and this one handles 20 I believe... I'd like to make a 20 pint batch of Annie's Salsa all at once... I will triple the recipe and divide it for tailoring to different heat levels but can it all at once. Thanks. Mark

Here it is as written: SLOW COOKER PIZZA: 1 (16oz.) pkg of wide egg noodles 1 1/2#'s ground beef or turkey 1/4 chopped onion 1 (26oz.) jar of spaghetti sauce 1 (4 1/2oz.) can drained mushrooms 1 1/2tsp. italian seasoning 1 (3 1/2oz.) pkg of sliced pepperoni, cut in halves 3 C. shredded mozzarella cheese 3 C. shredded cheddar cheese Basically cook noodles and drain. Cook hamburger & onion, stir in mushrooms, sp. sauce, seasoning. In 5Qt. slow cooker, layer in thirds,,meat sauce, noodles, pepperoni, cheese. Do this 2 more times. Cook on low for 3-4 hours. I have a 5.5 Qt ceramic lasagna dish I can make it in. Any idea of time or temp.???? Thanks.

I love mine too, I have the 18 quart and the 6 quart, and I do everything in mine that I do in the oven, even Boston Brown Bread and I've baked brownies in mine when my oven was on the fritz. I roast the bones and vegetables for stock right in the roaster and then add the water and seasonings and let it go, everything done in one pot. I've posted pictures of roast chicken on WFD and the skin was as brown and crispy as I get in the oven. And mine has vents, but you can close them. However, as cynic mentioned, it may be more efficient to do the browning on the stovetop. Not necessary, but perhaps quicker. And, as cynic has suggested before, the small ones make great crockpots, my 6 quart even has a temperature setting for "slow cooking". I use the big one several times per year and I'll roast the prime rib in it tomorrow. The small one gets used at least a couple of times a week, and Elery liked it so much he bought one for his house. Far more efficient than turning on the oven for roasting one small chicken for myself, or baking a small amount of beans all day. I also do huge batches of apple butter and tomato sauce in mine for canning, just leave the lid ajar so that it cooks down, and because they heat up the sides too, you don't have the scorching issue or the spattering that I have on top of the stove. Enjoy it, Alexa, I love mine. Annie