Looking for a blueberry jam recipe

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

It's blueberry season! YUM! In my fridge I have roughly 5 1/2 pounds of fresh blueberries. I would like to make some sugar free blueberry jam, but here's the hitch... I want to use part Erythritol in place of the sugar. I'm wondering whether this sugar alchohol will behave like sugar in a jam recipe. Anyone have any experience. I purchased 1lb of Erythritol especially for this purpose.

BTW - the jam is for my son. He's a difficult child with a very limited dietary repertoire. I want to lower his sugar intake without sending him over the edge cuz he didn't get his daily PB&J. My husband and I have noticed better behaviour on the days that he hasn't had much sugar. I would have never believed the sugar/behaviour thing before, but I've seen it with my own eyes.

Thanks a bunch!!
Hayley

[2big4mysize]

You can make sugar free jelly using Pomona's Universal Pectin. It is made from citrus peels. It uses calcium ions to jell. it comes with some calciun stuff to help set your low calcium fruits and has a jam hotline number to call if you have problems. You should be able to get it in a healthfood store. the shelf life of sugarfree jelly is much shorter then sugared ones so you may need to freeze it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! I'll look for this product. My local health food store will order just about anything if they don't carry it.

Thank you for the tip on freezing. I actually own a good sized chest freezer that my husband so thoughtfully emptied for us a few months ago. (He actually unplugged it so he could plug in a stereo while tidying up the basement. Everything defrosted and we had to toss it all.) So, we have lots of room now.

I've done some canning before--mostly tomatoes and cranberries, but I've never made jam before. Any additional advice or recipes would be welcomed.

Thanks!
Hayley

[Misty]

Canning question

Hi Haley..glad you wrote in about canning jam. I have a bumper crop of peaches about to come ripe and have been searching for a sugar free recipe. I think I read somewhere that fruits can be cooked down until thickened without added sugar for canning but can't find it anywhere. I live on a small farm and do a lot of canning, veggies and fruits alike and am desperately searching for ways to make a lot of my original recipe's sugar free. If you have any idea's or can offer me any help. I'd truely appreciate it.
Thanks a bunch..
Misty

[Naja]

Pectin is almost pure carbs, but I'm not sure about their digestibility. Apple pectin is said to have a beneficial effect in cleansing the digestive system.

You may consider using Splenda or one of the sugar alcohols, and a small amount of unsweetened pectin plus a little unflavored Knox gelatin to help solidify and set the jam.

Some of the benefits of apple pectin are recorded here: http://www.newfoundationspubl.org/sh...urse/apple.htm

[Anonymous]

Misty,

I still haven't found any recipes that use Erythritol or other sugar alcohols as sweeteners. I tried to make my own. I used Ball Fruit Jell pectin for sugar free recipes, and I replaced 1/3 of the sugar with erythritol, and 2/3 with Splenda. My results are still undetermined. The only jar I have opened and used so far was less than perfect. The erytritol crystalized in the jam and I had to add a bit of boiling water to the mix. I'm hoping that this jar isn't representative of the other jars. See, this was the last jar I made from the batch, and I think too much of the water had boiled off. I didn't even process this jar... just filled a small jelly jar, shut the lid and stuck it in the fridge. The other jars were processed.

As for pectin being a carb... I tried to look it up, but didn't find much information (in layman's terms) that was helpful in determining whether or not it would affect blood sugar (I admit that I didn't give it a 100% effort). My suspicion is that it doesn't. Here's why: Kaopectate (yes, the anti-diarrhea medication) is made with pectin (hence the "pectate" suffix). I have a feeling that it must stay in the gut if it's used to control diarrhea. I always thought that it was a fiber, but I have no idea where I gleened that information, so I have nothing to back that up.

I haven't tried using gelatin to gel the jam. Mainly because you can't process it in a boiling water bath. I want to be able to store this stuff in my pantry... not my fridge. I could freeze it, but I have read that the gelatin will "weep" if frozen. And I don't want that either.

I will update you on what my results were once I open one of the processed jars.

Hayley

[Anonymous]

Okay... I opened one of my processed jars of blueberry jam. It was perfect the first time I used it (made my son a PB&J), but subsequently it did get a little crystally. Not like the first jar that was the last of the batch and all boiled down, but a few crystals. I wonder if the erythritol (god, I hate typing that word) precipitated out because of being refridgerated. It sat on my pantry shelf until the first time it was used, so that first sandwich had room temp jam on it.

My assessment of erythritol is that you need to use more water than you do with sugar. If I feel like attempting this again I will, of course, post my results.

[Misty]

regarding your Ketchup recipe

Hi again Haley!
Just had to let you know that I just made a batch of your recipe for catchup and it's deeeeelicious! Much better than any store bought I've tried. The only problem is, I had no idea what that Benefiber was, and decided to try making the ketchup without it, so far it's great. After making a batch of your recipe, I turned to my trusty Ball Blue Book for canning and found a similar recipe, so made a second batch since the first was so quick & easy. With this second batch I decided to add a little extra cayenne pepper to make it more like the new more flavorful ketchups on the market now. This batch turned out great too, and of course I replaced the natural sugar with Splenda. If you want or need that recipe, let me know and I'll be glad to share it.
*Hugs*
Misty

[Anonymous]

Hi Misty,

Did you get my PM about the peaches?

I'd love to see your ketchup recipe! Why don't you post on my thread on the "Other" recipe board, titled "I made Ketchup!" I think the ketchup I made is totally edible, but I'd like to try some that's a little less flavored of cinnamon and clove.

By the way, Benefiber is a fiber supplement that you mix in soft food or beverages. It's pretty much just guar gum, and it literally tastes like nothing. Guar gum is often used as a thickener, so I thought that I would see if Benefiber worked to pull some of the liquid in the ketchup together. It worked, but it's not necessary.

I'm really glad you tried making the ketchup! Commercial SF ketchup is SO expensive--most low carb stuff is for that matter.

Take care!
Hayley

[Misty]

Hi again Haley,

Nope, sorry to say I didn't recieve your pm about the peaches..please try again. Also, thanks for the info about Benefiber, I did have to cook my ketchup down quite a bit to prevent the water from seperating out but it eventually worked and I'll take your advice and post my recipe in the "I Made Ketchup" location later today.