So safety is your concern? If so then there is no safety issue with high acid fruits such as pineapple (pH 3.20). You can use it just like any other high acid fruit.

The issue with pineapple in canning is the effect heat has on the flavor so it is a quality issue, not a safety one.

The lemon juice is normally a jelling component in acid fruit recipes. It only plays an acidification role when using the low acid fruits .

Dave

Thank you, then that totally answers the question. I will use the Ball recipe with the honey and pineapple the same way I do for other fruits and omit the lemon juice.

I made this once before, but couldn't remember how, and whether I'd used the lemon. I found it to be very tasty and the quality good enough for me. Consistency doesn't matter to me either -- it can be anywhere from pineapple sauce to pineapple blob and I will still enjoy it and find a use for it. The main goal is to get something into the cupboard that is safe, shelf stable and sugar free. That way, when I'm in a time crunch, I have something homemade to pull out and make something with.

Thank you very much for answering my question.

Another question -- 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? For using in yogurt, on pancakes, ice cream, etc.?

It's incredibly hard to find sweet recipes without sugar in them. I have a couple of books that specialize in using honey, but they are outdated and I am concerned about using them. Recipes that call for sugar rarely offer information on making honey substitutions and even though I've canned for quite a few years, I never substitute or alter recipes of my own accord.

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

Yes, I also prefer using the ball lo-no sugar pectin. In most cases I don't add any sweetener either, but when I need to add the lemon juice, I balance it with a little honey.

I just realized something when you talked about the honey. In any of the recipes I've seen, including from Ball, I've never seen them specify what type of honey is acceptable or not. Never heard mention of it. For my latest batch of fruit with honey, I used Raw honey. Unpasteurized. I did follow all recipe instructions, which included bringing to boil and keeping at hard boil for one minute. Does that raw honey make this recipe unsafe? I have 16 jars of preserves done this week with that honey.

I've never seen them specify what type of honey is acceptable or not. Never heard mention of it. For my latest batch of fruit with honey, I used Raw honey

Technically speaking the choice is yours for your own consumption. If you are eating it and you have no problems with raw honey, fine. Just note that the shelf life will be more limited.

But the assumption in published recipes is pasteurized honey (just as pasteurized milk is assumed in milk based recipes). So selling it, gifting it to others without acknowledging it is raw honey, or feeding it to very young children or those with compromised immune systems is not recommended, even prohibited in some states. The incidences of bacteria, molds, and yeasts that are destroyed by pasteurization, is much higher with raw honey, even with cooking since many of them are not killed by simple cooking.

Dave