%he search function here is horrible when it DOES work, so Jude, here are Carol's Pear Preserves and Doris' Peach Preserves for a Cold Morning. I did cut the sugar down in the pear preserves successfully to half the amount of sugar, so I used 2 lbs of sugar to 4 lbs of pears. Any less and you won't get a gel while the pears are still intact. Be aware that cutting the sugar does result in a longer cooking time, so the slices of pear are getting more cooked and can fall apart. I do have to admit, they are sweeter, clearer, absolutely perfect with the full amount of sugar, but I like the idea of a bit less sugar, even now that Dad's gone. Darn, why can't I have everything? (grin) Old Fashioned Pear Preserves from Carol (Readinglady) You can also make Pear Preserves if you want chunks of pear suspended in syrup. By weight use equal amounts of pears and sugar. You also need the juice and seeds of one lemon. I wouldn't go over about 4 pounds of fruit because it takes too long to cook larger amounts. This takes several days, but it's mainly waiting and the results are wonderful. Here's what you do: Day 1: Peel, core and cut firm-ripe pears into chunks or slices. Leave pieces large enough to retain character in preserves. Place pears in acidified water (Fruit Fresh or Ascorbic Acid). Rinse and drain pears. Place in large bowl and add sugar equal in weight to pears. Add juice of lemon and place pips (seeds) in small bag. It's messy but I also add any of the pulp that was reamed out. Add to bowl. Stir gently to distribute syrup and refrigerate overnight. Throughout evening stir occasionally to distribute sugar. (I usually don't do this more than once.) Day 2: Place macerated pears and sugar syrup with lemon seeds in bag in large pan. Bring to a boil and cook about 10 minutes, skimming foam. Reduce temperature and continue to cook (about 20 minutes) until pears are translucent and candied. Turn off heat and leave pears and syrup overnight. (This can be room temperature.) Cover pan with a cloth, not a lid (to prevent condensation). Day 3: Using a slotted spoon lift pears from syrup and place in a strainer. Collect any additional syrup in a bowl beneath the strainer. (I drained syrup left in pan into a bowl and washed the pan because the syrup was crystallized along the rim then I put the syrup back.) Bring syrup to a boil and cook to gel point stirring frequently. (Depending on how thick you want the syrup, this can be anywhere from 218-222.) You can also use the frozen plate test. The advantage is you get to thicken the syrup just the way you like without cooking the delicate pears to the point of disintegration. Return the pears to syrup and boil 1 minute to reheat them. Pull off heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (This allows fruit to equalize with the syrup so it doesn't float to the top of the jar.) Place preserves in sterilized jars and BWB 5 minutes or clean, hot jars and BWB 10 minutes. Now, on the Peach Jam for Cold Mornings, I used a whole orange because what the heck do I do with half an orange, LOL, and I used ripe (red) jalapenos because I didn't have habs. I think the habaneros are perfect for this, though, because they have a "fruity" flavor that goes well with the peaches. This stuff is perfect for bagels with cream cheese. ORANGE/PEACH/HABANERO JAM (Jam for Cold Mornings) 3 lbs. ripe peaches, peeled and quartered 1/2 medium sized orange, quartered and seeded 2 habaneros, seeds and all 4 cups sugar 1/4tsp almond extract 3/4 cup honey Combine peaches, sugar and honey in a dutch oven, stir well. Cover and let stand 45 minutes. In food processor chop oranges and habaneros until finally chopped, scraping down sides a couple of times. Place orange, habaneros and an equal amount of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Bring peach mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium high and cook, uncovered, 15 minutes, stirring often. Add orange mixture. Bring to a boil, cook, uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 221F, stirring often. Remove from heat, stir in almond extract. Skim off foam with metal spoon. Quickly pour hot mixture into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, wipe jar rims. Cover with lids and Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes. Yield: 6 half pints Happy Canning. Annie

Hah, I googled 'nchfp rose hips', because it is that time again, and found this old thread I had forgotten about! Too late to learn from my own mistakes documented here, though :-). But hopefully next time I will remember to look this up. This year, I'm doing a different made up method, simmering the rose hips until soft and then mashing with a potato masher. Maybe I'll try some lemon or lime juice, like the recipes in this thread. I'm not aiming for jelly, just syrup. That's what the previous batch ended up being, and it was so very tasty. if I had looked up this thread in time, I think I would have tried the freezer jam version, putting the raw rose hips in the juicer. I had them in the freezer already, so they would be mushy enough to get pretty good juice with just the juicer, I imagine. But instead I am doing the cooking method.

I was joking - people would think the quilted ones were fancier so I could ask more. Ball does more for the jars (haven't checked this year - last year was about $12/dozen compared to $8 for plain - and I just picked up 2 unopened older BOXES of quilted from Goodwill for $8/doz). Jars just keep going up each year. It was just 2-3 years ago I could get a dozen plain jars for $6.77 at WM, now it's at least $7.97 - maybe more this year. And I need lids too. Used my last box of RM lids, had to open a box of new lids& bands (I got a couple of those on clearance at grocery store last year). Still reusing jars (after we empty them I wash old lids & bands and store jars with those on top so can just pop jars in canner to heat and not have to wash again - just wash and heat new lids). Oh, and by the time I got the last jar filled the pan had set 5 minutes (I'm slow when I have to skim) and still floating a little. But I think part of it is that this is a syrup, not a setting type jelly/jam. Didn't cook it long enough (or have enough natural pectin) for that. Popped in a couple of replacement cherry toms today (broken stems) but holding off on more since it supposed to be 45 tonight (!) and I have to prep for market. Ones I planted 2 days ago look good, others are starting to look better now that it's dried out a *little* (only 1" of rain in the past 6 days), I'll fertilize tomorrow. Did you get a chance to look at my post on the Tomato thread? Do you think N only (bloodmeal) or light balanced fertilizer (Neptune's Harvest is liquid, can use that, maybe as a foliar feed, with only 30% chance of rain this weekend I guess, it's a 2-3-1, don't know if I need the P&K though since soil was pretty good, figured just N washed out?)? Time to go pick strawberries, clean the wet hay of the truck bed and start packing it for market. With all the tomato plants and the jams, fresh strawberries, I have to see if there's room on the table for some herbs (sprigs of oregano, I just got some tarragon from a friend last night to plant, and my cousin's mint)? Maybe some kale?

Hi Laurie, Welcome to the Cooking Forum. Your first name is the same as mine, same spelling too! I agree with Annie, jams and jellies are good to start with. Learn the low acid fruits and use acid adjusted/approved recipes for those. High acid fruits are more forgiving, the worst thing you'll get there is mold, which is what happens with lower sugar jams too. I hate the pectin jams, the sugar content ruins the flavor for me, so I've done quite a bit of experimenting with lower sugar jams. A good book I recommend (out of print but available thru used bookstores online) is "Summer in a Jar" by Andrea Chessman. She has a lot of great low sugar recipes in there she developed. Also, the Ball COMPLETE Book of Home Canning has a whole chapter on lower sugar jams. The reason for the sugar is it is needed to get a set with commercial pectin. Alternatives are a longer cooking jam which is thickened in the process, and also adding a chopped apple to some low pectin fruit jams, for the pectin since apples are high in pectin. Also making "old fashioned" preserves, in which you make a syrup from sugar and the juice from the fruit which macerates overnight. You then strain out the fruit, cook the syrup down and thicken that and add the fruit back in at the end. Kind of a pain to do, but tasty! Don't get discouraged, it takes a lot of experimenting until you find the ideal recipes you like. I made pear vanilla bean jam, and frankly, to me it was "meh." As was pear cardamom jam. But I liked vanilla bean marmelade, go figure. However, all of these recipes were easy peasy so you should get something enjoyable no matter what. Somewhere on Harvest, there's a "Best Of" recipe thread, but I'm not sure how to access it anymore. I printed it out a while back. Be forwarned, the Harvest Forum is not for the shrinking violets! But don't get discouraged by the pedantry. Folks there would much rather err on the side of safety when giving advice, and that is admirable at its heart. It just makes it a little confusing at times! Your best bet is to do what the folks here suggest, take the home course from the National Home Food Preservation Web site or just read up tons in books like the Ball Complete Book of Home Canning, or another one I like, (also out of print but available) called "Keeping the Harvest" by Nancy Chioffi and Gretchen Mead. Here's one of my favorite low sugar recipes that is perfect for this time of year. It's not a firm set jam, it's one you have to cook down to thicken. Also, can in small jars, as these low sugar jams mold faster than you might expect after opening, even in the fridge. This one has delicate flavor, so only make enough for this year, it doesn't keep well for two years like some high sugar jams. This is a recipe I found online. It was very, very good. I might add that I also added 1 TBLSP frangelico to the jam. It is not a firm set jam. Raspberry Peach Jam Recipe - Confettura di Lamponi e Pesche By Kyle Phillips, About.com When peaches are at their best and the raspberries are ripening up in the mountains, they're a perfect pair to set aside for the winter! What better way to do so than make raspberry peach jam? Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) peaches (ideally, white) 3/4 pound (300 g) raspberries 1 4/5 cup (800 g) sugar The juice of a lemon Preparation: Blanch the peaches for a second or two in boiling water, then chill them in cool water, peel them, quarter them, and discard the pits. Rinse the raspberries, discarding any that are blemished, and gently pat them dry. Interlayer the fruit and sugar in a bowl and let it all sit for 12 hours. Transfer everything to a heavy-bottomed pot, and bring it to a boil over a moderate flame, stirring it occasionally. Skim the froth off the surface and cook with a slotted spoon over a lively flame, skimming and stirring, for about 15 minutes, or until it begins to thicken. A drop placed on a cool slanted plate will flow some, but not much, when it's ready. The yield will be about 1 1/2 pints (1.5 l). Transfer the jam to jars, cover them, and boil them for 20 minutes to sterilize them. Yield: several jars raspberry peach jam. This assumes you know how to prepare jars for canning. Can add 1 TBLSP of Amaretto or Frangelico at the end. That's elegant and yum.