Lisa, if your fruit was hard like that and not juicy and really ripe it will be more firm jam or jelly. The greener the fruit the more natural pectin it has and will be a more firm product. This is why we teach people to use a mix of really ripe and some a bit more green in a batch of jam. This seems to be important with strawberry jam more so than some other types, in my experience. I just want to encourage you to not give up !!! You will be able to do this. It sounds as though the peaches were not ripe and juicy enough to get the liquid you needed. You do add the sugar all at once when using the powd. pectin. Normally it will dissolve and mix in with the liquid part in the pan, but since you didn't have the right amount of juice it just started burning. It does depend upon how ripe the fruit is how thick or thin the jam will be. Using fresh, tree picked fruit is ideal, but I do agree, that frozen may be better than what you used. Well, you are way to far away for me to help in person, or I would try to do more to help. Can you find a friend or someone who could help you through this in person ? If you try to cut down on sugar in a recipe with pectin it will not gel. You need to use the recipe for each type and brand of pectin. I prefer the powd. pectin. If you want a low or no sugar jam, learn to use Pomona's Universal pectin. It will gel water. Really it takes no sugar at all to gel. It is different to work with and may take a time or so to get comfortable with it. I am diabetic and use it for my jams for myself. My husband likes it when I make his with SureJel and use the sugar. So, I make both kinds here. You have learned to not double recipes, however, with Pomonas you can double and triple. You normally have to mail order the pectin from them. They sell in bulk, too. Not just boxes, but they have boxes, too. They even have a helpline you can call. The nicest folks there !! You can even create your own recipes with the stuff. They include recipes and instructions. Check out the link below to help you. You can click and see the recipes, too. http://www.pomonapectin.com/ You will not get crystal clear jelly with it, but you want jam, anyway. Doesn't matter to me if it is clear or not, even with jelly. I am not entering it in the fair, it is to eat. Each type of homemade jellied product have a different description. I am also sending you the link to all kinds of good info. Types of Jellied Products Jelly, jam, preserves, conserves and marmalades are fruit products that are jellied or thickened. Most are preserved by sugar. Their individual characteristics depend on the kind of fruit used and the way it is prepared, the proportions of different ingredients in the mixture and the method of cooking. Jellies are usually made by cooking fruit juice with sugar. (Some are made without cooking using special uncooked jelly recipes.) A good product is clear and firm enough to hold its shape when turned out of the container, but quivers when the container is moved. When cut, it should be tender yet retain the angle of the cut. Jelly should have a flavorful, fresh, fruity taste. Jams are thick, sweet spreads made by cooking crushed or chopped fruits with sugar. Jams tend to hold their shape but are generally less firm than jelly. (Recipes are also available for uncooked jams.) Preserves are small, whole fruit or uniform size pieces in a clear, slightly gelled syrup. The fruit should be tender and plump. Conserves are jam-like products that may be made with a combination of fruits. They also contain nuts, raisins or coconut. Marmalades are soft fruit jellies containing small pieces of fruit or peel evenly suspended in the transparent jelly. They often contain citrus fruit. Other fruit products that are preserved by sugar but not jellied include butters, honeys and syrups. Fruit butters are sweet spreads made by cooking fruit pulp with sugar to a thick consistency. Spices are often added. Honeys and syrups are made by cooking fruit juice or pulp with sugar to the consistency of honey or syrup. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This document was adapted from "So Easy to Preserve", 5th ed. 2006. Here is a link that might be useful: Univ. of Georgia on jams, jellies, etc.

I always post comments here about adding 'character' to jams and jellies. You have stated a good example, adding tons of sugar so pectin will set, but that leaves a clying sweetenss that hids the true flavors. I can't have either issue as sugar isn't good for diabetics. In any case to help boost the flavor, you might want to try and add some acid blend to the jam before its poured in jars. Taste beforehand to see if it has enough tartness to improve the overall taste, hence, 'character'. About haf a tespoon for a 5 cup batch would be a good starting point. The acid blend is made of 1/3 each of citric, malic, and tarteric acids, which are all fruit based and ae also used in making wines to improve acidity, its in granular form. You can find the acid blends at wine making supply stores. I go though about a pound of it per year, and add it to fruit drinks, carbonated beverages, and many things I like to offset the Splenda or other atrificial sugar taste. Adding rhubarb may help increase acidty too, slice it into 1/4 inch thick wafers so it doesn't leave long fiberous strands in the jam. Rhubarb will be in season here in about a month. It does contain a trace of oxalic acid, and more so in the leaves to the point of being toxic. I must avoid it however due to kidney issues.

If you're asking if strawberry jelly needs lemon juice for safety, no. Strawberries tend to be lower in pectin and some strawberry recipes do call for lemon to increase the natural pectin level and improve the set. Strawberries differ regionally and by season; it can be difficult to determine which recipe will work best with your particular growing conditions, but either way is just fine as far as risk is concerned. Carol

Fruit Fresh is to preserves the color of the fruit. Pectin as you discovered is to thicken, to make the jam set. Using it or not is a personal choice but making jam without it is much more difficult and gives a very different (softer) texture. Some fruits have lots of natural pectin in them - citrus, apples, etc., others do not. Strawberries do not so unless you are a very experienced jam maker using pectin is recommended. If you type 'strawberry jam' in the forum search bar you will find loads of discussions about the problems with making strawberry jam, especially when pectin is not used. If you type 'pectin' into the search bar you can read all about the various brands and types and how to use it. Dave