I have not heard of anyone using Pickle crisp in fruits, just pickled vegetables. To me, the taste of it would not be something I would like in fruits. I can taste it, sort of a bitter taste. It does make the pickles crisp, though. From the Ball company on Pickle Crisp: Pickle Crisp is a natural mineral salt that keeps cucumbers and vegetables firm; yields crisp "fresh pack" pickles. Not recommended for "fermented" pickle recipes. This product replaces the need for old-fashioned firming agents but it does not replace "pickling salt" used in pickling liquid recipes. Pickle Crisp is a dry granular product that is added to each jar after vegetables are packed and before the hot pickling liquid is added - before heat processing. Add 3/4 tsp (4 ml) Pickle Crisp to each 500 ml jar; 1 1/2 tsp (7 ml) to each 1 L jar and 2 tsp (10 ml) to each 1.5 L jar of fresh pack pickles. Each 78 g package yields 18 - 1 L jars. Each package contains three 26 g pouches, each yielding six 1 L jars, for a total of 18 1 L jars. Available in stores selling home canning supplies, also available online. Yes, if you use part fruit that is under ripe you will get a firmer gel due to the higher pectin. Here is a description of the different types of fruit spreads: KINDS OF FRUIT PRESERVES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JELLY: is made from strained fruit juice. The product is clear and firm enough to hold its shape when turned out of the container, yet soft enough to spread. BUTTERS: are made by cooking fruit pulp and sugar until thick enough to spread easily. Spices are added depending on personal taste. The butter needs to be cooked slowly after the sugar is added to prevent scorching. Finer butters can be made by straining the pulp through a food mill and then through a fine-meshed sieve. JAM: is made from crushed or ground fruit and tends to hold its shape but is generally less firm than jelly. Jams are cooked until they round up in a spoon. They should be made in small batches and cooked rapidly until the sugar dissolves. CONSERVES: are jams made from a mixture of fruits, usually including citrus fruit; often raisins and nuts are added. Conserves are cooked until the mixture will round up in a spoon. They should be made in small batches and cooked rapidly. MARMALADE: is a tender jelly with small pieces of fruit or peel distributed evenly throughout. It should be cooked in small batches and brought quickly to the jellying point after the sugar is added. A marmalade commonly contains citrus fruit; part of the white rind should be cooked with the fruit for most of the pectin is found there. PRESERVES: are whole fruits or large pieces of fruit in a thick syrup, often slightly jellied. Preserves should be cooked in small batches in wide pans. If the syrup gets too thick before the fruit is tender and clear, add boiling water. If the fruit is clear and tender but the syrup is too thin, remove the fruit and cook the syrup rapidly to the desired consistency.

You can use a combination of cider vinegar, lime juice and lemon juice to get your 1 cup of vinegar. I use 2/3's cider and 1/3 lime and it has a great flavor. You can also look at the recipe for Annie's Salsa. There is a thread right on the first page with the recipe. It is, hands down, the best salsa. I am not sure about the sugar. I'll let one of the more experienced guys take that one!!

The OP inquired about the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving Pizza Sauce. In that recipe 1/2 cup of bottled lemon juice is called for. Since the recipe doesn't mention vinegar as an acceptable substitute, it shouldn't be used even if quadrupled (which clearly would be unworkable for other reasons, taste and consistency among them). Since vinegar is mentioned as an acceptable (though not optimal) substitute in various plain canned tomato products, it can be used for those recipes. The problem is that some may conclude that the ratio of vinegar to lemon juice in those tested recipes (4:1) holds true for all other products containing bottled lemon juice, and that's not the case. That's why the NCHFP says not to switch vinegar for lemon juice [barring those recipes where vinegar has been specified]. In an ideal world the USDA/NCHFP would have communicated more clearly the rationale, but they're over-stressed and under-funded and sometimes they aren't as clear as they'd wish to be. The Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce was developed and tested by Ellie Topp using red wine vinegar and red wine (which is also an acid). A scientist with a PhD in experimental foods, she has the skills and resources to develop new approaches to canning. Canning rests on science and verification, not assumptions. It is an evidence-based discipline. It can be very risky to conclude without proof that one can transpose a method or ingredients from one recipe to another. Perhaps red wine vinegar in some unspecified amount could be used in other recipes in lieu of lemon juice, but only lab testing would confirm that fact. There's no sense in arguing a hypothetical. I think this discussion has begun to get ugly, which is not a good thing for Harvest. I hope we can all just let it go. Carol

With respect to eating right away or freezing, don't know if you would be allergic to citric acid but if not, as Ken said above, that could be used in cooking for immediate consumption for a "bite" in food similar to citrus flavor (only for the bite - however). Citric acid will NOT taste like the lime or orange flavors that many of us savor. I would however, if allergic to citrus, start looking into the other fruit acids for that "gummy bear" bite that bottled lemon juice will often give. I have it in mind that 1/2 tsp. of citric acid is equivalent to 2 Tablespoons of lemon or lime juice as a place to start in recipe substitution (hope my recollection is correct). Remember, adjusting the particular ratio will be up to your particular taste. We can't help you there. Just another voice offering help (God would I hate to be allergic to citrus) Jim in So. Calif.