Natural pectin content in fruits varies greatly. Even tomatoes have pectin in them. Unless a lot of boiling and sugar is added to help natural pectin to set, its difficult for a person just starting out to make a successful jelly or jam with no added pectin. Some don't use any added pectin, but because diabetics must watch sugar intake its not a good idea to attempt it unless you have a lot of experience. Simply boiling down apple cider to at least 1/20 of its original volume will give a syrup and possible set. Adding things like peels, seeds, septa, and any hulls that surround seed cavities can help improve a natural set. Things like pepper jelly and others with very low amounts of natural pectin will simply boil down to syrup, or scorch badly before reaching any kind of set. Many people here have just strated out trting to make a home canned food. If they follow someones very old recipe and find it to be a failure, the person may not want to try a failure again. Pectin concentrates are quite common in the US and for most fist time jelly makers its a good idea to follow a recipe exactly before attemptng to set a jelly that has no added pectin and is also low in sugar. A BWB IS necessary no matter what place on earth you live on. The UK may not think its necessary, and is perfectly safe to can without any BWB, but thats simply giving dangerous and unpredictable safety to home canned products. I push the envelope some when using a steam canner, but because the canner has a rapid recovery and most canned items are high in acid, I don't worry as much about contamination. I would NOT home can without knowing about an alternative process that is done by commercial companies, and if its possible to duplicate some of these processes. Again, all high acid foods, which, by themselves are safer to home can compared to a low acid food that requires a PC and very high over 212 degrees F heating.

When you boil vinegar, it evaporates and blasts you in the face when you approach the pan, right? I thought it must have a boiling point below the boiling point of water. But it turns out the boiling point of acetic acid is higher, so you actually can drive off some water and concentrate the acid. I posted a link below, but googling [acetic acid boiling point] will lead to info about why it has a higher boiling point, etc. According to the sources I found, the boiling point of pure acetic acid is 244°F. The acid in lemon juice is mostly citric acid. That is in solution, which means it's broken up and bonded with the water rather than actually being a liquid itself. It doesn't boil, it just breaks down into other substances at 347°F. Valereee, I'm with Carol on this one. I once made pectin-free peach-pepper jam that was too soft, so I cooked it longer and ended up making it caramelized and rubbery. I would use the NCHFP method. Melissa Here is a link that might be useful: boiling point of vinegar

Thanks JohnDeereGal and Carol, your suggestions are appreciated. I'm really surprised Certo doesn't have a recipe for this. I read where someone else used the regular recipe for jam but increased the amount of berries so I decided to go for it. Of course she was talking about cooked jam, but she said if the recipe called for 3 cups of berries, she added an extra 2 cups (total 5). I usually make a double batch, but decided to try a single first. The Certo recipe calls for 2 cups of berries so I added an extra 1-1/3 cups. I also added just a dash of vanilla extract. I figured the extra berries would be pretty tart. Other than that I followed the freezer jam recipe. I won't know for sure until tomorrow, it needs to set up for 24 hours. BUT...we couldn't wait! Had pancakes for dinner and tried some. YUM! I compared the jam I made to the syrup and the syrup is definitely a bit more tart but the slight vanilla undertone was surprisingly good. Still thin though--tomorrow I hope it thickens just a bit. Thanks again, this will make awesome Christmas gifts! Linda

Here are two recipes I saved for "future reference" but have never made. Fig Jam 3-4 half pints 3 1/2 cups figs, chopped (peel if desired) 2 cup white sugar 1 large orange 3-4 Tblsp. Lemon juice (Either white or dark figs may be used, but use the larger amount of lemon juice with the dark figs.) 1. Peel (if desired) and chop figs. Add sugar. 2. Cut orange rind very fine.. about 1/3 cup. Cook rind in a small amount of water until tender. Chop the rind and add to figs. 3. Cook all slowly for about 1/2 hour until thick, stirring freuently. 4. Add lemon juice. 5 Ladle into hot, sterilized jars. Seal at once. This was on GardenWeb: • evenshade (My Page) on Mon, Jul 28, 14 at 15:00 We eat them fresh, of course, but for preserving, I make Chipotle Fig jam. I use a recipe similar to this one..... Chipotle Fig Jam Yields 4 half pints 2 lbs figs, chopped 2 cups sugar 1 cup water 4 tablespoons lemon juice, plus a few lemon slices if desired 1-1½ canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped " to taste, depending on your desired spice level Chop your figs according to how chunky you want your jam, and place in a large non-reactive pot. Cover with sugar and let macerate for 30 minutes to an hour. Add water, lemon juice, and lemon slices if using, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and stir regularly to prevent scorching. After an hour, if needed, use a potato masher to break up the figs. Stir in the chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce. Cook another 15-20 minutes, or until the jam has reached a consistency you like. Ladle into hot jars, and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. I have processed them in boiling water but usually make "freezer" jam.