Hi:

I am a total newbie.
I have to watch my sugar intake and have lately been enjoying commercially
made jams with no sugar added but sweetened with grape juice concentrate.
I would love to be able to make such a thing at home.
I would love to be able to preserve using a fruit juice concentrate and
still be able to keep them on the shelf rather than the refrigerator due to
short shelf life.

Can any of the experts point me in the right direction?
These jams are up tp $6.00 (CDN) a jar and I would love to be able to make
my own.

Sincere thanks, Aileen

In article <4Pq3g.279$nq3.203@clgrps12>, "Aileen" >
wrote:

> Hi:
>
> I am a total newbie.
> I have to watch my sugar intake and have lately been enjoying commercially
> made jams with no sugar added but sweetened with grape juice concentrate.
> I would love to be able to make such a thing at home.
> I would love to be able to preserve using a fruit juice concentrate and
> still be able to keep them on the shelf rather than the refrigerator due to
> short shelf life.
>
> Can any of the experts point me in the right direction?
> These jams are up tp $6.00 (CDN) a jar and I would love to be able to make
> my own.
>
> Sincere thanks, Aileen

Well, Aileen, I've made but do you think I can find a recipe? ! I'll
keep looking.
--
-Barb
<http://jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 4-20-2006 with our visit
to Kramarczuk's.
"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

Aileen wrote:
> Hi:
>
> I am a total newbie.
> I have to watch my sugar intake and have lately been enjoying commercially
> made jams with no sugar added but sweetened with grape juice concentrate.
> I would love to be able to make such a thing at home.
> I would love to be able to preserve using a fruit juice concentrate and
> still be able to keep them on the shelf rather than the refrigerator due to
> short shelf life.

Hi Aileen...and welcome to our happy band!

I'm a UK member but also a type 2 diabetic, so I've come across this
problem before )

As you're in Canada, can I first refer you to "Canning and Preserving
Without Sugar" by Norma M. McRae published by The Globe Pequot Press
(ISBN 0-87106-724-2) which explains the process well. I bought mine
through http://www.abebooks.com but you might find a copy on sale
through EBay if a local bookseller can't help.

Here's one of her recipes for MOTHER's CARROT JAM (yes, using carrots!)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups peeled and chopped carrots
2 cups concentrated apple juice OR 4 cups apple juice from juicer
4 tablespoons Date sugar
2 lemons
½ cup blanched and chopped almonds

METHOD

1. Place carrots in saucepan, cover with water and cook until tender,
then drain discarding water.

2. Juice lemons, then grate rinds without adding the white pith.

3. Add all ingredients except the almonds into a deep pan. (The best is
what we in the UK call a "preserving pan" but a
deep pan made of aluminium or stainless steel will do.)

4. Simmer until thick and then taste. If not sweet enough add more date
sugar.

5. Add almonds and reheat for 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Pour into sterile ½ pint jars, leaving ¾ inch at the top. Cover with
sterile lids.

7. Process in a boiling water bath or the base of a pressure cooker with
trivet for 5 minutes after water returns to boiling.



Now to the "nitty gritty". Sugar is not just a sweetener in jams but is
an essential part of the jelling and preserving of the fruit. Apples
contain a high level of pectin and if you use apple juice, make sure its
not concentrated apple juice reconstituted as the apple juice will have
lost a bit of the pectin. You will still have to add sugar, but the
best (in my view) is fructose (fruit sugar) rather than sucrose (cane
sugar) if you have to watch your sugar intake for health reasons. You
will probably have to use gelatine as well to ensure a good "set" if you
cut down on the sugar (or agar-agar if you are a vegetarian/vegan). Its
probably best to make low sugar jams with fruits high in pectin as well.

Yes, it IS possible to make low sugared jam. In the Second World War,
here in the UK sugar was rationed and so sugar for jam making meant that
you had to go without for other aspects of cooking and every day life.
In "Good Housekeeping's Book Of War-Time Preserves" published in 1942,
the following advice is given:

"Normally about 1lb of sugar is used to every 1lb fruit. In wartime
this can be cut down to ¾lb sugar to each 1lb fruit but if this is done
the jam will not keep so well unless you take special precautions.

If absolutely necessary jam may be made with as little as ½lb sugar to
each 1lb fruit. Such jam will not set very firmly, and will keep for
only a very short period of time. It must therefore be sterilised and
sealed as for bottling fruit if it is to be kept longer.

A good plan is to make several batches of jam - some for immediate use,
with as little as ¾lb sugar in place of 1lb, some to be kept 2 or 3
months with, say, 14 oz sugar in place of 1lb......"

HTH.....and welcome again!

On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 14:59:12 +0000, Aileen wrote:

> > Hi:
> >
> > I am a total newbie.
> > I have to watch my sugar intake and have lately been enjoying commercially
> > made jams with no sugar added but sweetened with grape juice concentrate.
> > I would love to be able to make such a thing at home.
> > I would love to be able to preserve using a fruit juice concentrate and
> > still be able to keep them on the shelf rather than the refrigerator due to
> > short shelf life.

Hi Aileen...and welcome to our happy band!

I'm a UK member but also a type 2 diabetic, so I've come across this
problem before )

As you're in Canada, can I first refer you to "Canning and Preserving
Without Sugar" by Norma M. McRae published by The Globe Pequot Press
(ISBN 0-87106-724-2) which explains the process well. I bought mine
through http://www.abebooks.com but you might find a copy on sale
through EBay if a local bookseller can't help.

Here's one of her recipes for MOTHER's CARROT JAM (yes, using carrots!)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups peeled and chopped carrots
2 cups concentrated apple juice OR 4 cups apple juice from juicer
4 tablespoons Date sugar
2 lemons
½ cup blanched and chopped almonds

METHOD

1. Place carrots in saucepan, cover with water and cook until tender,
then drain discarding water.

2. Juice lemons, then grate rinds without adding the white pith.

3. Add all ingredients except the almonds into a deep pan. (The best is
what we in the UK call a "preserving pan" but a
deep pan made of aluminium or stainless steel will do.)

4. Simmer until thick and then taste. If not sweet enough add more date
sugar.

5. Add almonds and reheat for 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Pour into sterile ½ pint jars, leaving ¾ inch at the top. Cover with
sterile lids.

7. Process in a boiling water bath or the base of a pressure cooker with
trivet for 5 minutes after water returns to boiling.

Now to the "nitty gritty". Sugar is not just a sweetener in jams but is
an essential part of the jelling and preserving of the fruit. Apples
contain a high level of pectin and if you use apple juice, make sure its
not concentrated apple juice reconstituted as the apple juice will have
lost a bit of the pectin. You will still have to add sugar, but the
best (in my view) is fructose (fruit sugar) rather than sucrose (cane
sugar) if you have to watch your sugar intake for health reasons. You
will probably have to use gelatine as well to ensure a good "set" if you
cut down on the sugar (or agar-agar if you are a vegetarian/vegan). Its
probably best to make low sugar jams with fruits high in pectin as well.

Yes, it IS possible to make low sugared jam. In the Second World War,
here in the UK sugar was rationed and so sugar for jam making meant that
you had to go without for other aspects of cooking and every day life.
In "Good Housekeeping's Book Of War-Time Preserves" published in 1942,
the following advice is given:

"Normally about 1lb of sugar is used to every 1lb fruit. In wartime
this can be cut down to ¾lb sugar to each 1lb fruit but if this is done
the jam will not keep so well unless you take special precautions.

If absolutely necessary jam may be made with as little as ½lb sugar to
each 1lb fruit. Such jam will not set very firmly, and will keep for
only a very short period of time. It must therefore be sterilised and
sealed as for bottling fruit if it is to be kept longer.

A good plan is to make several batches of jam - some for immediate use,
with as little as ¾lb sugar in place of 1lb, some to be kept 2 or 3
months with, say, 14 oz sugar in place of 1lb......"

HTH.....and welcome again!

Aileen wrote:
> Hi:
>
> I am a total newbie.
> I have to watch my sugar intake and have lately been enjoying commercially
> made jams with no sugar added but sweetened with grape juice concentrate.
> I would love to be able to make such a thing at home.
> I would love to be able to preserve using a fruit juice concentrate and
> still be able to keep them on the shelf rather than the refrigerator due to
> short shelf life.
>
> Can any of the experts point me in the right direction?
> These jams are up tp $6.00 (CDN) a jar and I would love to be able to make
> my own.
>
> Sincere thanks, Aileen
>
>
Hi,
You can make jam or jelly adding no sugar or some sugar by buying and
using a low methoxy pectin. the easiest one to use, if Canadian things
are available to you, is Bernardin's No Sugar Needed Pectin. You just
follow the instructions. We have used this consistently in our Canning
community kitchen and I use it at home. I think that there is a US one
that is similar. Do recognize that fruit juice concentrates have quite
a bit of natural sugars ( sucrose and fructose) in them.
Ellen

Wow!
Thanks everyone for the welcome and the great info!
I will be checking things out this weekend.
Shivering in Nova Scotia, Aileen

Aileen wrote:

> Wow!
> Thanks everyone for the welcome and the great info!
> I will be checking things out this weekend.
> Shivering in Nova Scotia, Aileen

Aileen - I'll be thinking of y'all as we turn on the air conditioning
down in Texas.
If you do use the no sugar needed jams you will find the color and
clarity suffer in direct proportion to the amount of sugar you can add
(usually up to 3 cups per batch). I tried a batch with Splenda and
did not like the taste, texture or color, and I drink splenda all day
long in other stuff. The splenda/lo sugar stuff won't keep as well
once you open it either. Even in the coolth, it molds quicker.
Edrena, watching the sugar also. From far away.

Aileen,

Great question. We live in Ontario and are producing black currant jam but have noticed the demand for low sugar to be incredibly high.
We have tried Bernardins no sugar pectin with splenda as the sweetener. Can't stand it.
Tried no sugar pectin with Lycasin (sugar alcohol) it's OK at best.
Am trying with isomalt (sugar beet dervative). Jury's still out.

Pleased to say the no sugar pectin sets amazingly well and has the same consistency as jam but the currant taste is too tart still.
We have thought of combining white grape juice with Lycasin to see if the flavour is more palatable.

My concern is that if we substitute grape juice or apple juice then the glycemic index will rise to the point it is not diabetic friendly.

Just my experience with this.

In article >,
camelot > wrote:

> Aileen,

> Tried no sugar pectin with Lycasin (sugar alcohol) it's OK at best.
> Am trying with isomalt (sugar beet dervative). Jury's still out.
(snip)
> My concern is that if we substitute grape juice or apple juice then the
> glycemic index will rise to the point it is not diabetic friendly.
>
> Just my experience with this.

Have you used xylitol (also a sugar alcohol)? A hypoglycemic friend uses
it almost exclusively. I've made a crockpot jam with it and dried
apricots -- awesome stuff, but i put it in very small (1/2 cup/4 ounce)
jars because it sugars as you watch it (seems) once it's open so I don't
like it sitting around. I don't know if the sugaring would slow down
if, say, only half xylitol were used and the rest sugar.

Here's her recipe -- damn, it's good! Done in a crock pot:

From Bonnie Mad
"(snipped)The recipe called for 1 3/4 cups of sugar - I used a cup and a
half of xylitol.* It seems like you don't need quite as much xylitol,
even though, in most recipes, it's a 1:1 ratio.* I found that if I used
the full amount of xylitol, it crystallized in the fridge.* *I made
peach jam on Sunday, and used 4 1/2 cups of xylitol instead of the 5 1/2
cups called for, and it still jelled.**So, here's the recipe.**I
sometimes add a tablespoon or two of fresh lemon juice. "* *

Lazy Apricot Preserves
1 pound dried apricots
1 1/2 cups xylitol
3 1/2 cups water

PREPARATION:

Chop apricots very finely.* *The recipe said to use a food processor.* I
didn't chop them quite so finely.* I just used my chef's knife and kept
chopping until it looked like I wanted it to.* Transfer to a 3 1/2 quart
crock pot or slow cooker. Stir in xylitol and water.
Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 hours, stirring twice. Uncover and
continue cooking 2 hours longer or until jam has thickened, stirring
occasionally.
Ladle into hot, sterilized half-pint jelly jars, sealing and process
according to the manufacterer's directions, or store in the refrigerator
for up to 3 weeks. May be frozen for up to 2 months.


--
-Barb
<http://jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 4-20-2006 with our visit
to Kramarczuk's.
"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> Have you used xylitol (also a sugar alcohol)? A hypoglycemic friend uses
> it almost exclusively.
[snipped]

Now that looks interesting! Any idea if xylitol is a chemical or
commercial name before I start hunting here in the UK?

In article >,
Old Rocker > wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
> > Have you used xylitol (also a sugar alcohol)? A hypoglycemic friend uses
> > it almost exclusively.
> [snipped]
>
> Now that looks interesting! Any idea if xylitol is a chemical or
> commercial name before I start hunting here in the UK?

I want to say chemical, but don't hold me to it.
Look for it with the other sugar -ols -- maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol --
FWIW, here's something from a food scientist friend of mine:

>> I have made preserves using maltitol, and also with sorbitol.
>> Xylitol is of the same family of 'sugar alcohols' or polyols. For
>> more info onmaltitol go to globalsweet.com. Cerestar makes a
>> sorbitol and should have some info on their website. Please note
>> that the sugar alcohols have a laxative effect on a lot of people.


--
-Barb
<http://jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 4-20-2006 with our visit
to Kramarczuk's.
"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

In article >,
Old Rocker > wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
> > Have you used xylitol (also a sugar alcohol)? A hypoglycemic friend uses
> > it almost exclusively.
> [snipped]
>
> Now that looks interesting! Any idea if xylitol is a chemical or
> commercial name before I start hunting here in the UK?

Mind it's still a sugar -- absorbs slowly and doesn't spike blood sugar,
I guess.
--
-Barb
<http://jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 4-20-2006 with our visit
to Kramarczuk's.
"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 20:13:11 -0500, Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> I want to say chemical, but don't hold me to it.
> Look for it with the other sugar -ols -- maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol --
> FWIW, here's something from a food scientist friend of mine:
>
>>> I have made preserves using maltitol, and also with sorbitol.
>>> Xylitol is of the same family of 'sugar alcohols' or polyols. For
>>> more info onmaltitol go to globalsweet.com. Cerestar makes a
>>> sorbitol and should have some info on their website. Please note
>>> that the sugar alcohols have a laxative effect on a lot of people.

Nope, even my local pharmacist doesn't stock it/them. Certainly you won't
find it in my local supermarket (granulated sugar = sucrose, fruit sugar =
fructose). I know you can get sorbitol but I've only seen it in London,
so now you're starting me on a quest. "Sugar alcohols" - now that's a new
one on me....going to globalsweet.com now....

So "Natures Provision" is xylitol - that's the only brand I recognise, but
as its corn sugar that let's me out. I'm allergic..... (

Aileen wrote:

> Hi Edrena:
> I am sure jealous of the warm weather!
> Do you find that the low sugar jams last ok if unopened?
> What I mean is will they be able to sit on a shelf without being in the
> fridge as long as they are not opened?
> I love my splenda but would like to use a fruit concentrate to make the jams
> without any artificial sweetening. I am willing to eat a whole lot less
> Aileen, Sunny today in Nova Scotia (but not hot by any measure)

Back on line, had a bad pwr supply.
I would say yes it keeps as well unopened, but the color suffers. I
just threw
out some lo sugar (about 1 cup per batch IIRC with no sugar needed
pectin) 3 yr
old jam from the back of the jam closet. Wasn't bad, just looked
faded. I opened
& tasted - tasted actually fine, but even so, I couldn't begin to
finish it,
already had some opened. It did *not* keep as well in the fridge -
moldered
after just a couple months. Regular jam seems to keep forever.
Let us know how you do.

In article >,
Old Rocker > wrote:

> On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 20:13:11 -0500, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
> > I want to say chemical, but don't hold me to it.
> > Look for it with the other sugar -ols -- maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol --
> > FWIW, here's something from a food scientist friend of mine:
> >
> >>> I have made preserves using maltitol, and also with sorbitol.
> >>> Xylitol is of the same family of 'sugar alcohols' or polyols. For
> >>> more info onmaltitol go to globalsweet.com. Cerestar makes a
> >>> sorbitol and should have some info on their website. Please note
> >>> that the sugar alcohols have a laxative effect on a lot of people.
>
> Nope, even my local pharmacist doesn't stock it/them. Certainly you won't
> find it in my local supermarket (granulated sugar = sucrose, fruit sugar =
> fructose). I know you can get sorbitol but I've only seen it in London,
> so now you're starting me on a quest. "Sugar alcohols" - now that's a new
> one on me....going to globalsweet.com now....

I bought a bag of xylitol at my local food co-op. Try a 'natural foods'
store.
--
-Barb
<http://jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 4-20-2006 with our visit
to Kramarczuk's.
"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
[snipped]
> I bought a bag of xylitol at my local food co-op. Try a 'natural foods'
> store.

Tried that, with no luck, but my "natural foods" store doesn't even
supply Allspice Berries, and they looked blank at me when I asked for
xylitol.

Since then I've asked my diabetic nurse, and she also had some trouble
looking for "sugar alcohols" in the UK but advised against me trying it.
As someone on this list said, it can cause real digestive problems. So
I'm taking the easy way out...

Thanks for your tips though )

On Mon 01 May 2006 06:26:54p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Old
Rocker?

> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> [snipped]
>> I bought a bag of xylitol at my local food co-op. Try a 'natural
>> foods' store.
>
> Tried that, with no luck, but my "natural foods" store doesn't even
> supply Allspice Berries, and they looked blank at me when I asked for
> xylitol.
>
> Since then I've asked my diabetic nurse, and she also had some trouble
> looking for "sugar alcohols" in the UK but advised against me trying it.
> As someone on this list said, it can cause real digestive problems. So
> I'm taking the easy way out...
>
> Thanks for your tips though )

For both diabetic and diatetic reasons I recently bought some meringue
cookies sweetened with xylitol. We were unaware of the side effect until
we overindulged in the cookies and spent most of the day in the bathroom.
I won't make that mistake again!

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________