Mainly it's the sugar that's tying up the water. Pectin is a soluble fiber and as the sugar absorbs water, it forces the pectin strands to stick together, forming the gel. Acid also plays a role in determining the strength of that bond. There's been discussion of sugar's role in reducing (though not necessarily eliminating) the risk of low-acid product since it clearly reduces water activity. There have even been some interesting but not definitive studies about sugar-free pickled beets and increased spoilage and health risks. But due to inadequate funding, I don't know that research will ever be thoroughly pursued. It's too bad. But pectin is present in much smaller amounts and I haven't read anything indicating it plays any measurable role in that process. Barring new information, I'll stick with my original position. Carol

I sell baked goods and preserves at my local farmers' market, and my bestseller is my special onion-garlic-hot pepper jelly. I can sell up to a case a week, so as you can imagine, I make a LOT of it! And yesterday, I also made the most delicious apricot pepper jelly for the first time. Both recipes call for liquid pectin, and as many have expressed, it's not always easy to get a good set. Over the years, with trial and error, I have figured out the secret. Certo tells you to boil the fruit, add the pectin, then bring it back to the boil "for exactly one minute." But one minute is just not enough to reach a good jelling stage on pepper jelly. After adding the pectin, I boil mine for about FIVE minutes, or until the bubbles look very thick as they boil and I start to meet a slight bit of resistance as I stir the jelly. Another thing to look for, I find, is that the jelly should start setting up a bit even before you get all of the jars filled, wiped down, and the lids put on. If it's completely liquid even after it starts to cool down, you might be in trouble. However, if the occasional batch of pepper jelly doesn't set up, there is a pretty simple fix. Just open the jars, dump the jelly back into the pot and boil it hard again for 3-5 minutes before jarring it back up. You'll lose a jar in the process (due to evaporation), but it's better than remaking the jelly with extra vinegar and sugar, which yields a product that is way too cloyingly sweet to me and wastes an additional packet of pectin to boot. Trust me...I do this all the time, and it works like a charm! Happy high canning season, everyone! --Gina (lindseysluscious.blogspot.com) Here is a link that might be useful: Lindsey's Luscious

I finally finished processing all my strawberries. I started with 12 lbs. strawberries, and ended up with 8 pints of strawberry product, and used about 5 lbs sugar, lol! The first batch of preserves I made was my favorite. The recipe came from the book "Summer in a Jar" by Andrea Chessman. It is out of print but can be found used. This is my all time favorite canning book, because of her emphasis on small batch preserving and low sugar recipes. I really am a devotee of the low sugar recipes, so much more flavor! I made what is called "mixed berry jam" because I had about a cup of red raspberries from my garden. The low sugar recipe called for the inclusion of ground apples for their pectin. It had excellent flavor, and you cannot see or really taste the apple. I used a slightly green golden delicious and it added a kick, not unlike rhubarb. The only down side is the low sugar jams just do not last a long time once opened. So I can them in small jars. Next year I am going to try the straight strawberry recipe, which also calls for apples to add pectin. The second batch I made using Sure Jell "low" sugar pectin. 6 cups strawberries, 4 cups sugar, not that low IMHO. This was my least favorite batch. It has the best color and appearance, and the traditional "store bought" strawberry jam taste. I just do not care for the jams made with commercial pectin, they are too sweet, bland and gummy for my palate. Just my opinion though. These will probably make the best gifts since they are what most people are used to. Lastly I made the "Deluxe Strawberry Preserves" from the Ball Blue Book. These also had a lot of sugar, but no commercial pectin. You leave the berries sit in the sugar syrup overnight. The strawberries dehydrate, and make a thick, intensely flavored syrup. So you have these little itty bitty strawberries floating in very, very sweet syrup. Pretty, although when I put the jars in the BWB, all the strawberries that had been distributed in the syrup rose to the tops of the jars. This sauce would be wicked good on ice cream, cheesecake, waffles, pancakes, blintzes and angelfood cake and other cakes. However, I almost never make or eat such things. I'm going to mix it in with nonfat vanilla yogurt, and maybe try some on oatmeal. I can never find rhubarb here, and I think strawberry rhubarb is one of the best kinds of jam. I'm gonna try to find some to plant for the garden next year. I also made strawberry jam with lavender one year, that was kind of interesting, the lavendar has a spicy flavor. So if I ever end up growing lavendar I might try that. Lastly, maybe add some liqueur. Is it drambuie that is strawberry flavored? Or maybe some cointreau, which makes everything taste good. I might try a long cooking recipe next year, something like a strawberry butter. Freezing is really the best strategy for preserving strawberries that suits my lifestyle, except that I have very little available long term freezer space. I am too much of an impermanent person to maintain a freezer. I wish it was different but sadly it's not, at least for now.

Mom2, according to the science Carol has posted, the sugar does help reduce the available water which can change the acidity requirements. That doesn't look like much lemon juice for the amount of bananas, so if I were you I would try to find the sugar. Can you borrow some from a neighbor or something? Do you have a sugar bowl you can raid to top off what's in the canister? Or maybe you can can with brown sugar, I don't think I ever have but a search would answer that question. I don't see why you couldn't use Pomona with bananas, but I'd be concerned about reducing the sugar. Melissa