I made lavender jelly this year, and it seems to be a "love it or hate it" kind of thing. I really like it, but my DH and my best friend both think it tastes like perfume, lol! Here's the recipe I used - the notes and review came with the recipe; they are not mine,but I tend to agree with them. Lavender Jelly 3 1/2 cups water 1/2 cup dried lavender flowers* Juice of 1 lemon (approximately 1/4 cup) 1 (1 3/4-ounces) box powdered pectin or 1 pouch (3-ounces) liquid pectin 4 cups sugar In a large saucepan over high heat bring water just to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in dried lavender flowers, and let steep for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, strain mixture into a deep kettle or pot, discarding the lavender flowers. Stir in lemon juice and pectin; continue stirring until the pectin is dissolved. Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil; add sugar. When the jelly solution returns to a hard rolling boil, let it boil for 2 to 4 minutes (see below), stirring occasionally. Boil Times: 2 minutes - soft gel 4 minutes - medium gel Testing for "jell" thickness - I keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it thickens up to the consistency I like, then I know the jelly is ready. If not, I mix in a little more pectin (about 1 teaspoon to 1/2 of another package) and bring it to a boil again for 1 minute After boiling, transfer the jelly into hot sterilized jars. Fill them to within 1/4 inch of the top, wipe any spilled jam off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. BWB 10 minutes. Makes five 1/2 pints. A recipe review: I made this last night at the request of a friend who purchased lavender just for this recipe. She gave me 1/3c of lavender flowers and after reading some of the reviews with regard to lemon juice, I decided to use all of the lemon juice listed and use 1/3c of the lavender. The flavor is excellent and amazing and it set up perfectly. I've never had anything like this before. I felt very sophisticated and elegant this morning eating this jelly on my English muffin. I think this jelly would be wonderful on lemon grilled chicken, lemon scones, or even raspberry sorbert. I used 4 drops of purple food coloring and the color is like a blush wine color--very pretty. I am so glad to have tried this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing; I am planning on growing my own lavender this summer just for this recipe! -------------------------------------------- Here's a basic flower/Herb Jelly recipe: Basic flower jelly recipe (can also be used for other herbs) From: bhaile.leo.vsla.edu (Bess Haile): 2 cups flower infusion: steep 2+ cups moderately packed flowers in 2 cups boiling water at least 30 minutes 1/4 cup lemon juice (E. Toley says not to use bottled, but I do) 4 cups sugar 3 oz of liquid pectin (this will be 1/2 box of liquid Certo) Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil you can't stir down. Add pectin and boil 2 minutes. Ladle into hot sterile jars. Seal in preferred manner. Note (Bess Haile): I prefer the liquid certo to the powdered. It seems to jell better with flowers. Also, I find the extra minute of boiling helps to create a stiffer jelly, though 1 minute will create a clear jam-like texture. I always use the 4 oz canning jars because I can give away some of the jellies without running out of all my stock. Not everyone likes jelly from flowers. My own family HATES rose jelly which is one of my favorites. Also, note, rose petals have a bitter white bit where the petals join the flower. Cut these off. I do this by holding the flower, step up, and cutting around the flower, leaving all the bitter bits on the flower. I've used Rose, Honeysuckle, Lavender, and many herbs too. Rosemary makes a good jelly for a glaze on roast pork (and probably lamb). Lemon verbena and spearmint are great too! ---------------------------------------- Me again - I've made Rosemary Jelly with this recipe and yes, it is good on roast pork. :-) Have fun!

Not low sugar, but I'd think someone here might be able to help with that. I like this jam from USApears.com . They have other pear recipes as well. I also like the pear butter in the Ball Blue Book. The nutmeg is distinctive. Bartlett Harlequin Jam - USAPears.com You wouldn't think that the addition of maraschino cherries could change the complex flavors of this very easy jam. From a base of Bartlett pears comes a jam as pretty as it is delicious. Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds Bartlett USA Pears 1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 package (2 ounces) powdered fruit pectin 5 1/2 cups sugar 1 jar (8 ounces) red maraschino cherries, drained and chopped Directions Peel, core, and finely chop pears. Measure 2 cups fruit into heavy kettle; add pineapple and lemon juice. Add pectin; stir well. Bring to boil; stir constantly. Add sugar; mix well. Cook and stir over high heat until mixture comes to full rolling boil. Boil 4 minutes. Remove from heat and skim. Carefully stir in cherries. Ladle into clean, hot half-pint canning jars to within ¨û-inch of tops. Seal according to jar manufacturer's directions. Place jars on rack in canner. Process 5 minutes in boiling water bath with boiling water 2 inches above jar tops. Remove jars from canner. Cool away from drafts. Remove rings from sealed jars after 12 hours. yield: Makes about 8 half pints PEAR BUTTER - Ball Blue Book 2 quarts pear pulp [about 20 medium] (my notes - about 12 large) 4 cups sugar 1/3 cup orange juice 1 tsp grated orange rind 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg To prepare pulp: Quarter and core pears. Cook until soft, adding only enough water to prevent sticking. Press through a sieve or food mill. Measure pulp. Add remaining ingredients; cook until thick, about 35 minutes. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Pour hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust caps. Process pints and quarts 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield: about 4 pints. Also try Bernardin, the Canadian "Ball" canning site. http://www.bernardin.ca/ I did a search for pears there and got quite a few hits, including an interesting sounding pear cinnamon jam I may have to try this year. Here is a link that might be useful: Bartlett Harlequin Jam

cooksnsews, although Canada has guidelines for canning and they are different in some instances than ours here in the states, they just don't seem to have the "oh my G*d, you're going to die if you do that" reaction to some old canning methods that we do here in the United States. For instance, I didn't water bath Chase's dill pickles when I made them for Dad Pickles get soft and mushy if they are BWB. I told Dad it wasn't recommended by the government agencies and he told me he was over 70 and would eat the blasted pickles the way he liked them, LOL. The reaction I got from my Canadian family members when Dad brought out homecanned dill pickles was something like "eh, you know they say you shouldn't do that any more". Here, even if I tell people how I canned them and what the ramifications could be, I will be chastised about poisoning my family and ebe told how those pickles should only be disposed of while wearing a haz-mat suit for fear of contamination. I think everyone should know the risks they are taking and then decide whether they want to take them. Being poisoned by jam is pretty low on the risk factor scale. As for water bathing jam, I've done it for years, Grandma even did it because she hated paraffin and found that lids were just so much more consistent. LindaC is the only person I know that still uses the stuff but I would eat her jam without a second thought, it's just not that big a danger. As I mentioned, I wouldn't conjecture about the chili sauce, because I don't know what's in it. Annie

Hi there- I'd posted a nice little recipe for jam tarts I use each year, and I wasn't sure if the folks here would be interested-- figured I'd share: http://web.mac.com/thriftshopromantic/iWeb/The_Thrift_Shop_Romantic/Jam_Tart_Recipe.html Have a happy, --Jenn http://web.mac.com/thriftshopromantic/iWeb/