The lemon juice in particular is helpful for jelling. You can eliminate both, though, if you want to. It's not a safety issue. Depending upon the natural acidity and ripeness of the berries, the syrup may not thicken as much. You can improve the odds by using 1/4 underripe berries because less-ripe berries have more natural pectin and higher acidity. I know draining the berries takes forever and it's a royal pain, but if you want jewel-like clarity in your syrup, it's the only way. If you get impatient and squeeze the bag, it'll extract some of the pulp and the result will be somewhat cloudy. Using the food mill will create a strawberry pur, not strawberry juice. It's fine if you prefer a strawberry sauce rather than a clear syrup. Lots of Forum members do just that. I'm inserting below part of an old thread with a post by Annie. You'll see two different syrup recipes, one with pulp and one with just juice. Both have their merits. There is less waste and higher yield using the pulp recipe. "This is a great recipe, it's Linda Lou's. I've copied it here from another thread. I used the recipe for puree and just dropped the peaches into my blender, uncooked, and pureed them that way. I wanted some little "chunks", so I chopped up a couple of peaches into small bits that didn't go into the blender and added them to the pot. I did crush and simmer the blueberry and strawberry syrups. Now I have 3 pounds of apricots on my counter and I think I'm making them into syrup tonight. 'Syrups made from blackberries, huckleberries, raspberries, boysenberries, loganberries, sour cherries, and Island Belle grapes as well as mixtures of berries are of good flavor, color, and consistency (thin like maple syrup, medium thick like corn syrup, or slightly jelled). Syrups can be made with or without pectin and lemon juice. Lemon juice may improve color. Use of pectin will vary consistency. To Prepare Fruit Puree: Sort, stem, and wash ripe fruit or thaw frozen unsweetened fruit; crush fruit thoroughly; measure crushed fruit. Add 1 cup boiling water to each 4 cups crushed fruit and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer to soften--about 5 for soft fruits...about 10 minutes for firm fruits like cherries and grapes. Press through sieve. SYRUPS MADE WITH PUREE 4 cups puree 4 cups sugar 1/2 package or less powdered pectin (if desired) 3 or 4 Tbsp lemon juice (if desired) 1. Mix puree, sugar, pectin and lemon juice. 2. Bring to boil and stir for 2 minutes (boil till jelly thermometer reaches 218F). 3. Remove from heat, skim off foam, and pour into 1/2 pint or 1 pint jars to within 1/2 inch of top. 4. Adjust lids and process in boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes. 5. Remove from canner and cool. 6. Check lids, label, and store in cool, dry place. To Prepare Fruit Juice: Sort, stem and wash ripe fruit or thaw frozen, unsweetened fruit; crush fruit thoroughly. Place crushed fruit in dampened jelly bag and drain. For clearest juice, do not press bag to extract juice. For firm fruits, heat is needed to start flow of juice. Add about 1/2 cup water to each 3 cups crushed fruit. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Place hot fruit in dampened jelly bag; drain. SYRUPS MADE WITH JUICE 4 cups juice 4 cups sugar 1/4 cup lemon juice (if desired) 1/2 package or less powdered pectin (if desired) 1. Mix juice, sugar, lemon juice and pectin. 2. Bring to boil and boil 2 minutes. 3. Remove from heat, skim off foam, and pour into 1/2 pint or 1 pint canning jars to within 1/2 inch of top. 4. Adjust lids and process in boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes. 5. Remove from canner and let cool. 6. Check lids, labels, and store in cool, dry place.'" Annie

I saw some today, but I am in Al.

Do a search for -mango chutney- or -mango steak- or -mango roast duck- or -mango salsa- All kinds of recipes have been dreamt up using mangoes

Hey Mango Perro, Thanks for Noticing. I to am a Coconut aficionado, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to be getting my hands on one, and to top it off, its a Mango.....a Mango that taste like Coconut!! Yes, I am in Santa Barbara. When are you and JF heading down to Mimosa? I also make the Fall/Winter trip for their sale. Maybe we all can make a day of it and I can meet you both down there and grab some lunch or dinner after we are finished. It would give us the opportunity to corner the owner and ask him to start ordering from Zill's Nursery. E-mail me, and I can let you know how I was able to get the Mango trees and from whom. Talk to you soon.. Jacob