I have just made some low sugar jelly from our
muscadines and bunch grapes, using Pomona's Pectin which I learned of
from this newsgroup (it is outstanding stuff). My wife is diabetic
and I have been trying for years to find a product that would make an
acceptable jelly, and Pomona's is the product. (thanks to you folks).

Anyway, the question is since the sugar content is very low, should
the jelly be refrigerated/frozen or can it be stored on the shelf
along with the regular jams and jellies? Everything was sterile when
putting up, but not sure about the low sugar content.

Thanks,

Jim

cbx wrote:

> I have just made some low sugar jelly from our muscadines and bunch
> grapes, using Pomona's Pectin which I learned of from this newsgroup
> (it is outstanding stuff). My wife is diabetic and I have been trying
> for years to find a product that would make an acceptable jelly, and
> Pomona's is the product. (thanks to you folks).

> Anyway, the question is since the sugar content is very low, should the
> jelly be refrigerated/frozen or can it be stored on the shelf along with
> the regular jams and jellies? Everything was sterile when putting up,
> but not sure about the low sugar content.

I use only Pomona's. If the jars have been properly boiling-water bathed,
then storing them at room temperature is fine if they haven't been opened.
I try to use mine up within a year and a half. Raspberry is the only
one that seems to degrade over time. In fact, I now make only raspberry
freezer jam as I find the taste much closer to fresh.

Once the jars are opened, they should definitely be refrigerated, and
probably last 3 or 4 weeks. Some fruits might last longer -- I've found
that raspberry is the first to go bad; plum and blueberry rarely do.
But I'd try to use them up within a month. They can't sit around in
the refrig like commercial jams, which seem to last forever.

On a related note, this year I got a bumper crop of 60 lbs. of Italian
prune plums from a friend's tree. I left the skins on, cut them in
quarters, and put them in a large non-stick pot with very little sugar.
I roasted them at 425 degrees for about an hour. They reduced down by
at least 50%, and it came out really nice and thick and I didn't need to
add any pectin at all. I just BWB it at that point. It came out kind of
like that Bonne Mamman brand of jam. Quite nice. I also did nectarines,
peaches, and apricots by this method. If you have a lot of extra fruit
so that you can afford to end up with 50% of what you started with, I
think it's a great method. (But I'd use only a non-stick pot; I think
it would be a sticky, burnt-on sugary mess without one.) I did pears
by this method also, but they didn't fall apart as the other fruits did.

Sandy

"cbx" > wrote in message
...
> I have just made some low sugar jelly from our
> muscadines and bunch grapes, using Pomona's Pectin which I learned of
> from this newsgroup (it is outstanding stuff). My wife is diabetic
> and I have been trying for years to find a product that would make an
> acceptable jelly, and Pomona's is the product. (thanks to you folks).
>
> Anyway, the question is since the sugar content is very low, should
> the jelly be refrigerated/frozen or can it be stored on the shelf
> along with the regular jams and jellies? Everything was sterile when
> putting up, but not sure about the low sugar content.
>

If your in doubt you can always pressure can it. I'd call your county
ag extension office but I would guess they would say that in the absense of
manufacturers guidelines, it isn't safe to boiling water can.

Ted

On Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:56:01 -0500, cbx > wrote:

>Anyway, the question is since the sugar content is very low, should
>the jelly be refrigerated/frozen or can it be stored on the shelf
>along with the regular jams and jellies?

Almost any fruit you'd make jam or jelly with is acid enough to be
boiling-water-bathed. Figs and bananas need additional orange or
lemon to make them acid enough, and then they're okay.

When I've made low-sugar jams they've kept fine at room temp till
opened, but they have to be eaten up quickly (in four weeks or so)
after we open and refrigerate them.

--Rebecca