Haven't made the Ball one, only Shirley's but a lot of people who make this end up treating it more like a "concentrate", using it with club soda, etc. because they do tend to the sweet side. You can reduce the sugar if you make it again. For measuring try the water displacement method. It's more accurate for anything chunky. So let's say you want 2 cups of strawberries. You take a quart measure and pour in 2 cups of water. Then you add berries until the level reaches the 4-cup mark. Result: 2 cups of water + 2 cups of berries = 1 quart. Carol

From the Better-Late-Than-Never Category: We won't discuss the condition of my recipe collection coming to the end of the canning season, but here's the Orange Pickled Beets recipe I promised long ago. I haven't made this for a long time, but it can be canned and served as pickled or thickened and served Harvard-Style. Orange Pickled Beets (by Florence Fabricant in the Garden-to-Table Cookbook) Makes 6 pints 8-9 pounds beets, without tops 12 narrow strips orange peel, an inch or so long 3 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar 3 cups sugar 1 cup orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed 1 tablespoon pickling or kosher salt 1. Wash beets, leaving an inch or so of stems. Place in a large kettle, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cover the kettle and simmer the beets until tender, about one hour depending on size. 2. While the beets are cooking, simmer the orange peel in water to cover for 15 minutes, then drain. 3. Combine vinegar, sugar, orange juice and the prepared orange peel in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Set aside. 4. When the beets are tender, drain them and rinse in cold water. Slip off the skins and lsice the beets. 5. Fill clean, hot pint jars with hot beet slices, leaving headroom of 1/2 inch. Add 1/2 tsp. salt to each jar. 6. Return the orange syrup to a boil and fill each jar to within 1/2 inch of the top with boiling syrup. Include 2 strips of peel in each jar. 7. Adjust lids and process the jars in a boiling-water-bath for 30 minutes. Carol

I've done this, and made a really strong mint 'tea' with the water first. I used thinly sliced Thai peppers, no where near 2 cups, maybe one cup? They're pretty hot. The result is great on PP&J, as well as crackers and cheese - apple and heat, and in my case, mint. It takes a bit of time, after removing from the BWB, to invert the jars now and again until it all jells and the pieces of pepper remain in suspension.

Now that we are getting such beautiful local peaches, I made a double batch of cubes this morning for poolside drinks later today. BELLINI FREEZE 4 fresh ripe peaches, peeled 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tbs. almond liqueur 1 (750 ml) bottle Asti Spumante or other sweet sparking white wine, chilled Remove peach pits and quarter peaches. In blender or food processor, puree peaches and sugar until almost smooth. Add almond liqueur; process 2 to 3 seconds to blend. Pour into a 9" X 5" loaf pan. Cover with foil or plastic wrap. Place in freezer, freeze until almost firm, 1 to 3 hours. Cut 3 lengthwise rows and 8 crosswise rows through partially frozen mixture. Replace cover and return to freezer; freeze until firm, 1 to 3 hours. Place in refrigerator to soften slightly 10 to 15 minutes before serving. To serve, place 3 pieces of frozen mixture in each of 8 sherbet glasses or champagne glasses. Pour wine over frozen mixture. Serve with a spoon. Makes 8 servings.