Thank you so much for following up with what must be the gazillionth time you've had to tell someone to follow the recipes .. :) my brother has a star fruit tree which is way too productive for one person to keep up with!.. I had been using a dehydrator most of last year and finally made some chutney, i followed the recipe because i did not know what chutney was.. its a strange sweet pickle thing.. I've since found out.. This year I decided to try the jam.. I mixed some other fruit in with the star fruit and boiled it down, i did not add pectin, i likely used extra sugar. The recipe i was "going by" called for too much cinnamon because when i shared some with friends the next day they were polite but "eh" .. I had the same reaction and have had the case of BWB jars on the counter for 2 or 3 weeks to use as a base for the next jam adventure, figuring that if i didn't put in any cinnamon then it would turn out better. Can I still do that? It would mean everything would get boiled for the day; I'm not quick and it somehow takes me that long to make a batch. The only other things I have tried are the fruit leather, again with the recipe because I didn't know what it was, and it is living in the fridge; and I have found out fruit is preserved in jars with booze as long as the alcohol content is over 85 proof.. I have a LOT of that in jars in the garage, its a fast way to do something with the fruit. My idea was to strain them in May (star fruit brother's birthday) because it's supposed to give you yummy vodka after about 4 months, and then I could use the fruit to make chutney or jam at that time. Maybe I should stick to dehydrate and alcohol preserving? Maybe I should take up drinking fruity alcohol instead of canning? I had gotten a pressure canner, I had hoped to can soups. I have a chicken soup started, so far its just boiled chicken and water. I put soups in the fridge so the fat jells at the top and is easy to skim off, but I will to look into some recipes before I start any meat canning.. I have always been able to eat most anything, however I recently poisoned myself for the first time. I make yogurt with one of the home machines, I had a batch in the fridge, which I keep at just under freezing, and I lost track of when I made it because the house flooded which took all of my time for weeks. I when i was mixing the yogurt with some whip cream & jam, (which i put in to the little gram-cracker crumb pie's you get at the store, and I freeze) i tasted it with my pinky finger, like you do, and a few hours later I was the sickest I've ever been in my life.Threw out all the little frozen pies. and got cautious.. so the only question now is: can i use the cinnamon jam in another batch? And are you all going to try the yogurt/ whip cream / jam pies, which work with store yogurt?

Willodee, If you love that recipe, try these. My hubby is a HUGE banana fiend, so these are his favorites. The banana nut bread jam is particularly yummy. Banana Nut Bread Jam Shared with recipegoldmine.com by Treva 10 ripe bananas, pureed (need 3 cups) - I prefer fresh, firm bananas 1 tablespoon lemon juice 4 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts, minced 1 box pectin 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, optional Mix bananas, walnuts, lemon juice and powdered pectin in large kettle. Stir while bringing to a full rolling boil. All at once add sugars. Stirring continuously, heat until full rolling boil. Continue to heat 1 minute. Fill jars to 1/4 inch of top seat with two-part lid and ring. Boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Makes about 3 pints. Cranberry Banana Jam 3 cups (750 mL) cranberries, washed (frozen ones are fine) 1 cups water (375 mL) 2 cups (500 mL) ripe banana, mashed (about 4 medium) 7 cups (1.8 L) sugar 2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice 1 pouch (85 mL) liquid pectin In a large pot  at least 6 quart (6 L) capacity  combine the cranberries with the water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. The cranberries will disintegrate and thicken a lot  this is perfectly fine. Now add the mashed banana, sugar and lemon juice and bring the mixture back to a boil over high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in the liquid pectin, making sure youÂve squeezed out the entire pouch. Ladle immediately into hot, sterilized jars (see "Jam Production"). Cover with new lids, and screw on the bands. Makes about 8 1-cup (250 mL) jars. Jeanne's Decadent Banana Split Conserve Recipe By :Katie Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 4 cups thoroughly mashed bananas 5 cups granulated sugar 2/3 cup bottled lemon juice 1 teaspoon Fruit Fresh (absorbic acid) 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 package liquid pectin -- (3 ounce) 3 tablespoons pure cocoa powder 2 tablespoons light rum or rum extract 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts In a medium stockpot, combine the mashed bananas, lemon juice and Fruit Fresh. Gradually add in the sugar, cocoa powder and butter. Over medium heat, heat the mixture stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly so it will not scorch. Stir in the liquid pectin and return to a full rolling boil for 1 more minute, stirring constantly. Skim off any foam. Remove the stockpot from the heat, stir in the walnuts and the rum. Ladle into sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe rims. Cap and seal. Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 minutes for pints. Yields 9 to 10 half-pints. **Note: I made this and thought it needed more of a chocolate flavor. Either add more cocoa or change the rum with a chocolate liqueur. Island Banana Jam 3 cups ripe bananas, mashed (about 6 medium) 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained ½ cup diced orange pulp 1/2 cup dried coconut 1 T lemon juice (or half lemon, half lime juice) 1 box powdered pectin 1 tsp. EVER-FRESH or Fruit Fresh Fruit Protector (optional) 6 cups sugar 2 T dark or light rum Mix bananas, pineapple, orange, coconut, lemon juice, Ever-Fresh, and pectin in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add sugar and bring back to rolling boil, boil hard 1 minute. Remove from heat, add rum, and skim off foam. Ladle into prepared half-pint jars, and process in a BWB for 10 minutes.

Could you tell us the source of these recipes please? They both strike me as personal recipes rather than tested and approved ones but I could easily be unaware of some approved ones. If they are personal or blog recipes someone made up then refrigerated storage rather than canning would be recommended. The only "approved" thickener is Clear Jel. Cornstarch is specifically listed as a no. The Guar Gum is an unknown - never tested. In lieu of thickening prior to canning, if one doesn't want to use Clear Jel then any thickeners are added after opening the jar. AFAIK there are only 2 approved recipes that allow for using prepared mustard in canning. Personally I wouldn't have any problems with the first recipe simply because of all the vinegar in it but both the prepared mustard and the cornstarch will break down in processing and separate so I'd use Clear Jel instead if I was going to make it. I'd pass on the second recipe given all the flour. But both recipes are what I call "niche" recipes - complex ingredients with minimal use and appeal - so it is difficult to justify the supplies cost and time of making them. Especially with all the needed substitutions when they can so easily be made for fresh use or fridge storage. JMO Dave

Sleevendog, I think she's decided that the dough was still a bit wet from the soaking, and so made the paper soggy, and when they hit the hot oven they stuck. I don't know, but I do think we would be better off just using a greased baking sheet. I told her that's why people try recipes first, so if something unexpected happens, you figure it out and fix it. Sometimes it takes more than once. She was fine with that, and happy to make more pretzels, and her brother enthusiastically agreed, as his job is eating them! We'll be trying gluten free soon, I think, since her mother is celiac and we're working on adapting favorite recipes. Dcarch, who is that second girl, she does resemble the Princess (or perhaps the Princess resembles her). Cathy, I think she's pretty amazing too, but she doesn't smile enough. She has one crooked front tooth and will need braces and she's starting to be self conscious about it. It's the age, I guess. party-music, when we're baking for "home", we don't really care if the results are pretty as long as they taste good, so it was still fine. It's just an excuse to bake some more, but I like it better when they come out perfect for her. I'm usually more disappointed than she is, she just sets about figuring out why it happened and how to keep it from happening again. Lars, pumpernickel pretzels sound really good, we'll have to try them too, thanks for the idea. It's way more fun baking with someone than baking by yourself, although somehow I always get the clean up duty. Hmmm..... Annie