Per the FDA Web Site, raisins are 3.8-4.1 acidity.

Here is a link that might be useful: FDA Web site for food acidity

I found this recipe which might work for you with some modification. As written it's pureed like a plum or apple butter, but I'm assuming you'd want to leave the raisins whole.

I don't see safety concerns in the recipe as it's a high-acid high-sugar product. I would follow the standard instructions for processing jams and sweet preserves.

If you want to use honey, I'd use a light color light flavor honey and probably no more than one cup honey out of the four cups sugar in the recipe. You could try going up to two cups for two cups of the sugar, but too much honey alters the flavor and can also interfere with the gelling properties of the pectin. Also keep in mind with honey that you will need to reduce the water somewhat, approximately 1-2 T. less per 1/4 cup honey.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Spicy Raisin Jam

Thank you for your help! I did make the Spicy Raisin Jam with dark raisins, and also Golden Raisin Jam with less spice, more citrus zest, and neither were pureed. Thanks so much, Carol. Both are excellent and set up nicely (like a preserve not tight like jelly). I decided not to use any honey. What I have from my neighbor's hives is a strong flavored wildflower honey; delicious on its own, but not so for jam I think. Thanks for your info about honey/sugar ratio that I will use in future fruit jams.

Thanks pixie_lou for pointing me to the FDA's acidity listing. That will be most helpful for my combo fruit jams. I thought it funny that they list "Crabapple Jelly, corn" as an entry, along with something I've never heard of "Grass Jelly" - what the heck is that made from? And, why would they include "Rattan" in a food list??? Besides which it bugs me that they can't spell Eell (Eel), Figs calamyrna (calimyrna), or Rambutan (Thailand).

Nancy

What about Calamary and Sickle pears? I know I'm forgetting some other howlers in there...

I like the Antipesto. But why don't they have a Pro Pesto? Our household is definitely pro pesto.

Yeah, we eat a lot of Enchalada sauce in this house...

Shoot - I missed those howlers!

pixie-lou -- Anti-pesto indeed!!! Now "anti-pasto" is correct, and to my mind, going to an Italian restaurant I usually say something like "Give me something other than pasta" so I am really anti-pasto, not anti-pesto. (So, my freezer is full of pesto that is not anti - it is pro- like yours).

Calamary would make my friends in SF, CA just hoot, but it is the correct spelling for it when in Italy. It is still just "squid" in my book, but delicious no matter how it is spelled and deep fried to golden.

I did look up "Grass Jelly" and it is made from a mint family weed that grows in the Far East (I assume it is like dandelions here - edible and somebody can make a buck on it). It processes out like black Jell-O and does not look at all appetizing but supposedly, has medicinal properties well favored by the local population (well, so do apples and bananas, but not when black).

I actually Googled "Sickle Pears" (Seckle) and came up with a whole lot of sites with that name, and so, keeping in the spirit, found that one of them said to "boil lightluy". There is even a semi-famous painter, Childe Hassam 1859-1935, who painted a lovely oil of "Winter Sickle Pears". I guess they couldn't spell then either. Today there is Joan Potter, a current and living artist, who has a canvas called "Sickle Pears" which is quite nice, but perhaps even current artists can't spell, or, to be fair - aren't well versed in proper slang for botanical names for the Pyrus communis - the common pear we call Seckle. Gee, I love nit-picking when they can't defend themselves....

Nancy

So could you do a "raisin butter"? Just raisins, a bit of water and sugar to taste? I have make apple and rhubarb butter and love the ease of the making those (plus can waterbath them).

I saw what the pH was but what is the highest pH that is safe to waterbath?