Jam Recipes w/o all the Sugar?

Another MDC member has a fabulous site and she has a sugar free recipe for strawberry jam on it. Here's a link: http://cookingnt.blogspot.com/2006/0...berry-jam.html

It's a freezer jam, I don't know if it could be preserved with canning or not.

You can buy things like sure jell and use their recipes for lower sugar jam, or like the pp said, do a freezer jam, but you cannot make sugarless jam in canning jars. Sugar is required for safety, basically the high sugar/pectin content keeps the water content low enough so bacteria cannot grow. So either make freezer jam (that only lasts for a couple months at most I think), or use a pectin product and use their lower sugar recipes, but remember never to adjust a recipe for canning, it's important the recipe is followed exactly for safety reasons.

but in the store they sell jam sweetened with apple juice. there must be a way to make it without using refined white sugar.

i'm really interested because this year is going to be my first year making apricot jam and i was planning on using apple juice.

I'm going to try the strawberry freezer jam this weekend from jessicas post. Anyone know if you can use the same recipe for raspberry jam?

And how long does freezer jam keep? Do you just freeze it in little jars with room for expansion? Never done a freezer jam before!

Czen

Well, what I guess I meant was, you can't just go making jam without sugar and no pectin product and can it and have a safe product. I don't make jam with artificial sweetners, and I do use pectin products for low sugar jams, but making no sugar jam and just using juice won't work unless you have a recipe for it. In the case of using pectin, the pectin is what makes your product safe. As for making jam with juice, I am sure it can be done (but then juice IS sugar), but the thing is the jams that you can buy in the store use a completely different and more effective canning method. So they are safe. You can make freezer jam sugar free, not a problem, but when you go canning for long term storage you need to be sure you are using a tested recipe and not just guessing, as there is a science to it. And low sugar still means you are using sugar, same with honey, it's still sugar in the end. I have seen recipes for honey jam, just be sure to use a recipe.

First time poster in this forum....

I just did a big batch of low sugar strawberry freezer jam today using the low sugar Sure Gel pectin. I don't know how it turned out because it's still setting.

I am curious about the apple juice sweetner.....don't apples have pectin in them?

BTW - according to the Sure Gel insert, you can keep freezer jam in the refrigerator for 3 weeks or freeze it for up to a year.

yes, apples have pectin, apple juice not so much. You can use NO-sugar pectin (pink package) for no sugar jam, but it does require splenda. You can use juice to make jam, there are recipes out there, but they still require sugar or splenda, at least all the ones I have seen.

i just checked the pomona pectin site and it lists all sorts of sweeteners that can be used but doesn't require splenda or any other sweetener to gel, just calcium ions.

it seems like it might be fairly difficult to get but you can order it on-line.

i've never done jams before but i think i'm going to try the freezer jam if there is any good fruits at the farmer's market on tuesday.

I've seen pomona pectin in health food stores.

I did this yesterday AM:

4 c mashed berries (measure AFTER mashing)
1 c apple juice
1 pkg low sugar pectin
1/2 t stevia

Mix all in pot, bring to boil, boil for 5 mins. Fill hot jars & seal jars, process in canner.

It turned out AWESOME. I have diabetes, so I'm always trying to make stuff w/stevia instead of splenda or the other chemicals.

Okay. I found Ball low/no sugar pectin, and last night I made a batch. It had a sugar guidelines chart for artificial sweeteners and honey. I did:

4 cups mashed strawberries
1 package low sugar pectin
1 cup unsweetened apple juice ( I think you have to use this)
1 cup honey (optional)

It turned out great. We're just processing a batch of regular recipe jam with all 7 cups of sugar, to compare and contrast. I have no problem with a little sugar but 7 cups??? We'll see....

So, another question....Is there some sort of problem or something less desirable about using commerical pectin and their recipes? Is it more ideal or healthy to not use them at all? And if so, what's your recipe?

Thanks. Looking forward to a summer of striving for jam-making perfection!

I can get Pomona's for $2.70/box if anyone is interested. I'd run a coop for it but I don't know how much interest there'd be (I'm about to close the coop I'm currently running).

I've seen Pomona's at Whole Foods. I've also called them directly and they were super helpful and nice.

It's so neat to read about so many people interested in making jam. How cool!