Jam, jam, jam....

illusio

An abundance of strawbs last weekend, so made a batch of 'normal' jam and been giving away some of it. But, I and the bulk of my family are diabetic, so the masses of sugar in the jam isn't a good thing. I know I'll have a couple more kilos this weekend so don't want them to go to waste.

If I use separate pectin sachets, how little sugar can I get away with per kg of fruit? Not sure whether the pectin 'reacts' with sugar, or whether it would set sugarless boiled fruit if added?!! I'd like to add no more than about 200g fructose per kg, and maybe top up with sweetener if it didn't taste sweet enough, but am I just going to end up with a runny strawberry gloop? No point in wasting them if that's the case, I'll puree and freeze and reuse for something at a later date

Thanks

pretz_2

ok i dont know much about jam making anyways but i found this and maybe it will help you

http://www.healthy-diabetic-recipes.co.uk/Diabetic_Strawberry_Jam.html

pretz

Penelope_Penguin

illusio wrote: »

An abundance of strawbs last weekend, so made a batch of 'normal' jam and been giving away some of it. But, I and the bulk of my family are diabetic, so the masses of sugar in the jam isn't a good thing. I know I'll have a couple more kilos this weekend so don't want them to go to waste.

If I use separate pectin sachets, how little sugar can I get away with per kg of fruit? Not sure whether the pectin 'reacts' with sugar, or whether it would set sugarless boiled fruit if added?!! Pectin is a saccharide that sets the jam; sugar is the preservative

I'd like to add no more than about 200g fructose per kg do you mean sucrose , and maybe top up with sweetener if it didn't taste sweet enough, but am I just going to end up with a runny strawberry gloop? No point in wasting them if that's the case, I'll puree and freeze and reuse for something at a later date

Thanks

You can, of course, freeze the strawberries and eat them later. I find fresh strawberries sweet enough to eat as they are, with maybe a splash of balsamic vinegar

I'll add this to reduced sugar jam recipes later

Penny. x

grandmasam

Hi illusio,
I make jam, pickle and chutney for sale to order and in particular diabetics.
I adjust the recipes as follows;
4lb fruit
4lb sugar = 1k 206g fructose
for fruit with little or no pectin to improve the set, i use sachets of pectin and follow instructions on the packet.
I know this seems a lot of fructose but it is the preservative [as sugar in jam]
Once opened keep in the fridge. Oh, dont forget to stir constantly once fructose is added as it is a b***ger for catching/sticking!!
good luck
caz

FamilyTree_2

This may be of little help but I buy Jam in the supermarket that has no added sugar, instead they use fruit juice (grape I think), so I'm not sure if this would be suitable for a diabetic and I'm not sure what the recipie would be sorry.