I have no/low sugar pectin they sell in the canister now, so looked at pectin calculator, there isn't a recipe for Blueberry Lime on their website but calculator says for blueberry jam use 4C of fruit and 1C of unsweetened juice or water?? That's in addition to 3Tbsp of lemon juice, 1-1.5C of sugar, and 4.5Tbsp of the pectin for a yield of 6 half pints.

Has anybody tried making jam (any kind of jam) using the pectin calculator and fruit juice/water? It seems to me (esp. with water) that you'd just be spending more time boiling off the water to get a set.

They do have a Reduced Sugar recipe for their Auto-canner they say will only work in the Auto-canner but I don't see why the recipe would be any different, just the processing instructions. That calls for
4 cups crushed blueberries (about 2 lbs or six 6 oz containers)
3 tbsp bottled lemon juice
4-1/2 tbsp Ball� brand RealFruit� Classic Pectin
1/2 tsp butter or margarine (optional)
3 cups granulated sugar

and no added water/juice. It seems very strange to me, the Reduced Sugar recipe uses the Classic pectin not the No-sugar pectin and just cuts the sugar from 5C to 3C.

The pectin calculator DOESN'T call for added liquid when using the Classic pectin. What is it about the no-sugar that requires (?) the liquid now?

Since the blueberries are frozen, do you think that they will provide enough liquid as they start to thaw, if I use 2 pounds of frozen berries and 4.5Tbsp of pectin mixed with 1C of sugar (and then I can add more once everything's bubbling)?

This is pure speculation on my part, but the low/no sugar pectin contains locust bean gum and xanthan gum. Both of those gums require hydration in liquid before they will work (and won't hydrate as well in liquids that contain over a certain percentage of sugar - I don't remember the exact percentage, maybe 60%?).

All the recipes say to whisk it into unsweetened juice or water until dissolved. I'd bet that's why.

I'm not sure it would work with just the juice from the blueberries. By itself, it *might* be a little too high in sugar %, and you wouldn't get the proper gelling.

Hm, wait a second...I was reading the ingredients off an old box of pectin I had in the cupboard. I just looked on Ball's website and they don't list those two gums as ingredients anymore. INGREDIENTS: DEXTROSE, FRUIT PECTIN, CITRIC ACID (ASSISTS GEL), CALCIUM ASCORBATE (RETAINS COLOR).

Which is almost identical to the Classic pectin - INGREDIENTS: DEXTROSE, FRUIT PECTIN, CITRIC ACID (ASSISTS GEL). Except for the calcium ascorbate.

Blows that theory out of the water, eh? Now I'm thinking there shouldn't be any difference. Is it possible the recipes haven't been updated for the new formulation? Interesting.

But Linda Z's recipe calls for 1/3C of lemon juice and 1/3C OJ (I use lime instead) for 2.75lb berries. I had a 3lb bag in freezer, added the 2/3C juice and heated on Low, it's got quite a bit of liquid in the pot now.

I just have to decide if I want to do Linda's/my recipe as usual (which requires 8-12 hr sit and 6C of sugar) or proceed with the Ball recipe with no more added liquid so I can get this jarred up this morning. I still have beans and tomatoes to do, and only have 1 Dutch oven (though I can pull out my 8qt stockpot).

I' thinking the set would be quicker/firmer and maybe the yield more if I use the pectin, maybe with 3C of sugar. Do you think it helps to mix the NS pectin with a bit of the sugar (say 1C)?