Well then, that must have been my problem because I did double the recipe!! I didn't realize you couldn't! I know you're not supposed to fool around with amounts in recipes so you keep the acid ratio correct, but where this was just strawberries and sugar and nothing else in the recipe I figured it was ok! I guess not! And I measured out 4 quarts of whole strawberries. The recipe was 2 quarts of strawberries and 6 cups of sugar. It didn't say to cut them or mash them before measuring - in fact (I'm remembering off the top of my head here as I don't have the book with me) it said to crush the strawberries one layer at a time and then to mix with the sugar, so it sounded to me like you measured the whole strawberries, then crushed them and that's what I did. I'm not going to fuss with what I already made - as I said, it won't go to waste as hubby will use it as pancake topping - we've even been known to plop a spoonful of jam in a bowl of oatmeal, so this stuff will work for that as well. But I'm glad I spoke up because for future adventures in jam, I wouldn't have known any of this and would probably have given up on it if I kept failing! And I thought it was weird that the jam recipe that used the pectin used an extra cup of sugar from the one without pectin. I've learned so much from just this thread - thanks so much guys! I want to take my next adventure into the realm of peaches! Peach jam sounds yummy and if I fail again, hubby does like peaches, so he'll have more pancake topping than he knows what to do with lol!! Lisa

If you search 'apple recipes' here you'll find Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam recipe - rave reviews. It, as well as several other recipes, are in many of the different apple threads but I will post it again for you. Linda Lou's APPLE PIE JAM 4 cups tart apples, peeled and finely chopped 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 4 cups sugar 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 box pectin 1/2 teaspoon butter Add water to chopped apples to measure 4 cups.(This is NOT 4 cups each, but water placed on top of the diced apples to come up to the 4 cup mark.) Place apples and water into large, heavy saucepan. Stir in lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice. Measure sugars. Stir pectin into fruit. Add butter. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in both sugars. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon. Ladle quickly into hot, clean jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands on finger tight. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. ___________________ Dave

Gardener, I'd look for a tart apple. If I'm not mistaken, that recipe calls for commercial pectin like Sure Jell. If you decrease the sugar you upset the fruit/acid/sugar ratio and risk having it fail to jell. Or try a similar recipe without the pectin, apples have a LOT of pectin and I haven't had any problems. I use this recipe and I've even doubled it without any problems with it setting up, and no commercial pectin. of course, I love maple syrup, so I love this recipe which was given to me by Nancy (wizardnm): APPLE MAPLE JAM 12 C finely chopped apples (about 6lbs) I used the food processor 6 C sugar 1 C Maple syrup (grade B if possible) 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp Allspice 1/2 tsp Nutmeg 1/4 tsp cloves Combine all in a large deep pan. Slowly bring to a boil. Cook to the jellying point. Stir frequently, so it doesn't stick.Pour into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust caps. Process 10 min in BWB. Yields about 8 half pints. Annie

I just did 14 half pints of that jam Saturday night. About 9 p.m. the jam was simmering away and the power went off, some drunk hit a power pole and I lost my lights. My stove is gas, though, so I finished up by lantern light! The jam was just as good as always, I used half Ida Reds and half local Ginger Gold apples and doubled the batch. It "jells" really well, even without the peels. I hate commercial pectin and it hates me, it's too inconsistent for me, so I love these recipes that don't need it. In addition, if you don't need pectin you can cut the sugar down and I did cut it down to about half because Dad shouldn't have all that sugar. Well, he shouldn't eat the jam at all, but he does, so he gets at least half the sugar! Be sure to taste to make sure it's sweet enough for you if you do that. The Ida Reds cooked down so much they could have been apple butter, but the Ginger Golds stayed firmer, thankfully. This is one of my favorite jam recipes, I make a couple of batches every year. Michael, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Annie