You have an email. I got some.

What you're talking about is really more a seedless jam than a jelly. The main issue is the pectin is in the cell walls of the fruit and the seeds, so once that is removed, the pectin level is lower. If your fruit was dead-ripe then the pectin level has further degraded and that will really make it difficult. However, I have made true raspberry jelly and seedless berry jams like those you describe without commercial pectin. The set will probably be slightly softer, not a syrup but not super-firm. If you get too eager for a firm set, there is a risk of overcooking, but it can be done and the preserve may further firm up over time. There are some parts of the country where this is easier to achieve due to differences in growing conditions which result in a higher natural acid level. So how well it will work in your case I do not know. If you use 1/4 underripe fruit, add lemon juice and cook the mixture with a bag which includes the lemon seeds and whatever pulp you have, the odds will improve as citrus has a lot of natural pectin. Just don't overdo it or the lemon flavor will predominate. The other option would be to add some natural homemade pectin from apples (i.e. an apple pectin or apple jelly base). Carol

Hi Laurie, Welcome to the Cooking Forum. Your first name is the same as mine, same spelling too! I agree with Annie, jams and jellies are good to start with. Learn the low acid fruits and use acid adjusted/approved recipes for those. High acid fruits are more forgiving, the worst thing you'll get there is mold, which is what happens with lower sugar jams too. I hate the pectin jams, the sugar content ruins the flavor for me, so I've done quite a bit of experimenting with lower sugar jams. A good book I recommend (out of print but available thru used bookstores online) is "Summer in a Jar" by Andrea Chessman. She has a lot of great low sugar recipes in there she developed. Also, the Ball COMPLETE Book of Home Canning has a whole chapter on lower sugar jams. The reason for the sugar is it is needed to get a set with commercial pectin. Alternatives are a longer cooking jam which is thickened in the process, and also adding a chopped apple to some low pectin fruit jams, for the pectin since apples are high in pectin. Also making "old fashioned" preserves, in which you make a syrup from sugar and the juice from the fruit which macerates overnight. You then strain out the fruit, cook the syrup down and thicken that and add the fruit back in at the end. Kind of a pain to do, but tasty! Don't get discouraged, it takes a lot of experimenting until you find the ideal recipes you like. I made pear vanilla bean jam, and frankly, to me it was "meh." As was pear cardamom jam. But I liked vanilla bean marmelade, go figure. However, all of these recipes were easy peasy so you should get something enjoyable no matter what. Somewhere on Harvest, there's a "Best Of" recipe thread, but I'm not sure how to access it anymore. I printed it out a while back. Be forwarned, the Harvest Forum is not for the shrinking violets! But don't get discouraged by the pedantry. Folks there would much rather err on the side of safety when giving advice, and that is admirable at its heart. It just makes it a little confusing at times! Your best bet is to do what the folks here suggest, take the home course from the National Home Food Preservation Web site or just read up tons in books like the Ball Complete Book of Home Canning, or another one I like, (also out of print but available) called "Keeping the Harvest" by Nancy Chioffi and Gretchen Mead. Here's one of my favorite low sugar recipes that is perfect for this time of year. It's not a firm set jam, it's one you have to cook down to thicken. Also, can in small jars, as these low sugar jams mold faster than you might expect after opening, even in the fridge. This one has delicate flavor, so only make enough for this year, it doesn't keep well for two years like some high sugar jams. This is a recipe I found online. It was very, very good. I might add that I also added 1 TBLSP frangelico to the jam. It is not a firm set jam. Raspberry Peach Jam Recipe - Confettura di Lamponi e Pesche By Kyle Phillips, About.com When peaches are at their best and the raspberries are ripening up in the mountains, they're a perfect pair to set aside for the winter! What better way to do so than make raspberry peach jam? Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) peaches (ideally, white) 3/4 pound (300 g) raspberries 1 4/5 cup (800 g) sugar The juice of a lemon Preparation: Blanch the peaches for a second or two in boiling water, then chill them in cool water, peel them, quarter them, and discard the pits. Rinse the raspberries, discarding any that are blemished, and gently pat them dry. Interlayer the fruit and sugar in a bowl and let it all sit for 12 hours. Transfer everything to a heavy-bottomed pot, and bring it to a boil over a moderate flame, stirring it occasionally. Skim the froth off the surface and cook with a slotted spoon over a lively flame, skimming and stirring, for about 15 minutes, or until it begins to thicken. A drop placed on a cool slanted plate will flow some, but not much, when it's ready. The yield will be about 1 1/2 pints (1.5 l). Transfer the jam to jars, cover them, and boil them for 20 minutes to sterilize them. Yield: several jars raspberry peach jam. This assumes you know how to prepare jars for canning. Can add 1 TBLSP of Amaretto or Frangelico at the end. That's elegant and yum.

sam_md - have you had a look over on the Harvest Forum? People make jelly and jam from all sorts of things and that's where the real enthusiasts hang out. Regarding the beach plums - to make jelly you'd strain the juice so pits wouldn't matter. Making jam, on the other hand, would indeed be a lot of work. Harvest Forum