Well then, that must have been my problem because I did double the recipe!! I didn't realize you couldn't! I know you're not supposed to fool around with amounts in recipes so you keep the acid ratio correct, but where this was just strawberries and sugar and nothing else in the recipe I figured it was ok! I guess not! And I measured out 4 quarts of whole strawberries. The recipe was 2 quarts of strawberries and 6 cups of sugar. It didn't say to cut them or mash them before measuring - in fact (I'm remembering off the top of my head here as I don't have the book with me) it said to crush the strawberries one layer at a time and then to mix with the sugar, so it sounded to me like you measured the whole strawberries, then crushed them and that's what I did. I'm not going to fuss with what I already made - as I said, it won't go to waste as hubby will use it as pancake topping - we've even been known to plop a spoonful of jam in a bowl of oatmeal, so this stuff will work for that as well. But I'm glad I spoke up because for future adventures in jam, I wouldn't have known any of this and would probably have given up on it if I kept failing! And I thought it was weird that the jam recipe that used the pectin used an extra cup of sugar from the one without pectin. I've learned so much from just this thread - thanks so much guys! I want to take my next adventure into the realm of peaches! Peach jam sounds yummy and if I fail again, hubby does like peaches, so he'll have more pancake topping than he knows what to do with lol!! Lisa

I did a test today of three apple varieties. I cut half of each into about 1/2 inch pieces and added 1/4 cup of water and placed it in a coffee cup into the microwave on high for 2 minutes. Wealthy stayed in chunks and held up very well after stirring but tasted blah. Gala turned to mush and absorbed all the liquid.[good for apple sauce]. My favorite was Honey Crisp. Pieces held up very well and the taste was wonderful. May I suggest you go to the supermarket and buy one of several varieties and do this test. I didn't try the McIntosh or the JonaMac as I only had half hour lunch break at the Farm Market. The Crispins and Northern Spies are much later here.

I put a cookie sheet down at the next oven level below the pie plate, not directly underneath and touching it. That seems to work fine. SharonCb

You'd be better off to bake it and then reheat it when you want to serve it. Or if not, then do as Ann recommends for the bottom crust, but you can also get the filling completely ready (be sure there is some lemon juice in it to keep the apples fresh looking) and put it in the refer until you assemble your pie. You can also roll out the top crust and keep it between plastic wrap, then place on the top of the pie before baking. It may be a little stiff to pinch the edges, so if you can let it (just the top crust) sit at room temp for a few minutes, that would be best. If the filling is chilled, it might take a bit longer for the pie to bake. Or you could do a crumb crust on top...mix it all up and keep in refer until you are ready to assemble the pie for baking.