Some of the best syrups for pancakes and ice cream are jellies/jams that didn't set. My grandkids raved about the Cherry topping, that was supposed to be jam.

I like the Ball no-sugar but I haven't tried other brands. The "Classic" Ball and Surejel pectin require too much much sugar, you're right. But as Rose mentioned, the fruit is important - esp. if you're not adding tons of sugar. Make sure the berries taste good - most supermarket berries don't, esp. out of season. You might want to try frozen strawberries if you can find a brand that tastes good to you. The jam will be mushier, no firm chunks, but might taste better. Or wait until next summer and pick local berries - do you happen to grow your own?

I'll try to give you some answers from my experiences with both the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet. Some people, maybe you, maybe not, but definitely me, have a low tolerance for high carb foods, such as pasta, white rice, potatoes, breads, sweets, and even things like fruit juice. If I eat some of those, my blood sugar spikes and I want to eat more and more of these foods - therefore, weight gain. If I eat a small portion of whole wheat bread and a small portion of the whole fruit (with fiber - not just the juice) the body has to work longer and harder to digest the "good" carbs and my blood sugar doesn't spike high. Atkins has you eat enough meat, eggs, salads, and lower carb vegetables to fill you up and make you feel satiated while keeping the carb count to 20-30 grams per day, which is very low. On this plan I felt great and had plenty of energy and lost 22 lbs. in 2 months, but couldn't maintain that strict way of eating. South Beach emphasizes the "good" carb foods like, whole wheat products, brown rice, beans, and less saturated fat in meats, butter, and cheese. I've lost 11 lbs. in 6 weeks doing the SB diet and feel that it is a healthier way of eating that I can stay on forever. SB does get a little confusing at times; they have updates where they add foods that previously were not on their list of foods to enjoy; some foods they promote are hard to find in all areas or are expensive. For myself, I'm sort of combining the elements of Atkins and SB. I make my own Whole wheat bread, stay away from lots of processed foods, and those chemically toxic bottles of Diet Coke/Pepsi/Mt.Dew/etc. - sorry, but I had to say it! I do put real butter on my morning toast but don't have any butter the rest of the day. I use olive or safflower oil in cooking. I start each day with 1 or 2 eggs with turkey bacon or my homemade lean sausage and I have a cup or two of coffee each day. I usually have a small portion of fruit during the day, but not eaten all at once. I take nuts and cheese for my snacks and keep dinner to a protein and salad or vegetable. I try to drink a lot of water each day and have just discovered that I like Crystal Lite diet drink mix - but I add more water than is called for as I like them weaker. And I don't drink it exclusively all day. My job provides me way more walking and physical activity than I want. I'm also dealing with menopause - which I thought I was completely through - arrrggghhhh! But I'm not on hormones and don't plan to be. When I used to eat too much of a high carb food like potatoes, I would feel like a big couch potato - no energy at all. When I stick to protein and vegetables, I feel better and have more energy. It just takes a while to get completely away from our old eating habits. I've said I'm going to post a big sign at home and at my office that says "REMEMBER HOW GOOD LOW CARB FEELS!" Hah! You might want to do some internet searching and read up on low carb diets in general and Atkins and South Beach in particular. This seems to be more than just a fad now - companies are investing in making low carb products, fast food restaurants are adding low carb menus and....Krispy Kreme doughnut stock has recently gone down!! LOL! If you have other questions, I'll be glad to answer if I can. Teresa

would it then also stand to reason then that I could take any of the other fruits Ball says don't need lemon juice, food process them into pulp, combine them with honey in the same ratio as the recipes above, but add half, little or no pectin, follow the same boiling and processing instructions, and call it sauce? With a couple of provisions. First the natural pectin amount will vary from fruit to fruit and degree of ripeness. So consistency could be an issue if you don't use the pectin. If that doesn't matter then second provision - high acid fruits only. Learn your fruit pHs and when in doubt, add lemon juice or citric acid. You'd need avoid using (or would have to add lemon juice) with any of the borderline or low-acid fruits like figs, mangoes, windfall apples, melons, some berries, etc. See https://foodsafety.wisc.edu/business_food/files/Approximate_pH.pdf Third, degree of desired sweetness will vary from fruit to fruit of course so amount of honey needed may also vary. And do keep in mind that using honey does have some provisions of its own - pasteurization, not for babies, tends to crystalize, etc. We prefer using the Ball Lo-No sugar pectin for all our jams and in most cases we add no sugar OR honey as we prefer the 100% fruit flavors of jams. Wife and I have tried the Pomona several times but neither of us really care for the mouth feel it results in so Ball Lo-No is our go-to pectin. Dave