Playing catch up here. I work on Thurs, Fri, Sat. so by Sunday, there are 40+ emails of posts. You guys talk a lot.
I scan over the posts quickly so didn't catch that Worth was making a funny.
imp, I have a friend here who makes fermented dill pickles. They are the best pickles I have ever tasted. I hope to make some when I get a bigger kitchen.
carolyn, each recipe can be different because of the amount of natural pectin and acid in the fruit, what the pectin is made of and how it works, and how much sugar it takes to get the product to gel with or w/o pectin, the proportions of the ingredients, etc. Since jellies need to be firm enough to hold their shape, they usually require the addition of pectin to set up. Even with pectin, I sometimes have trouble getting jellies to set up well.
From NCHFP;
"Sugar is an important ingredient in jellied fruit products. It must be present in the proper proportion with pectin and acid to make a good gel. Sugar is the preservative for the product, preventing the growth of microorganisms. It also contributes to the taste of the product. Never cut down on the amount of sugar a recipe calls for unless syrup is the desired end result."
There are recipes for making jams without pectin but they do require a lot of sugar to get it to gel. It requires a long boil to reach the gel point, possibly 30 mins. I prefer to just boil one minute with pectin as I think it tastes fresher, less cooked.
Ball has a low/no sugar pectin that you can use if you want to cut down on sugar in preserves. It makes a softer set jam which needs to be used within a month or so once opened, as it will mold more quickly. Don't think it can be used for jellies.
More info here;
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/jell...gredients.html