R ~Canning without Sugar

[Guest Guest]

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/fcs/food/canning/can01.html

 

Fruits also can be safely canned without sugar. Pack the fruit in extracted juice, in juice from another fruit (such as bottled apple juice, pineapple juice, or white grape juice) or in water.

 

 

[Guest Guest]

One of my Amish cousins tried canning without sugar to please a DH who wanted to "save money".

 

The fruits looked so bad that even HE didn't want to eat it!!! Sugar improves the looks as well as the taste.

 

She had no problem spending the money for sugar in the *next* canning season!!

 

[Guest Guest]

but... but.. but.. what if you are diabetic?

 

there are several ladies here that are diabetic and I would like to gather some recipes here for them.

[Mother]

I have been canning fruits without sugar for years and have never had my fruits look or taste bad. Perhaps a bit of lemeon juice would help with the color. I make natural sugar free (and artificial sweetner free) jams and even apple butter and can them. I've never had one go bad nor look off color. If something is especially tart I use Stevia leaf but only in tiny amounts as that can give a bitter taste if too much is used. I grow Stevia myself and use the leaf from it just letting it simmer in either water or the juice I'm using but you can buy it in health food stores in a crystaline powder. Add it cautiously though or add it when you open the jar instead.

 

I'm not sure I have any actual recipes as I cook from memory and trial and error most of the time. But canning fruit without sugar is simple. Just use juice or water for the canning.

 

I have used frozen concentrated juices for the liquid but of course that adds more natural sugars to the product and that could be a problem for diabetics and for people like me who have Hypoglycemia (low blod sugar). I prefer to either juice some of the fruit I'm canning or just use water. Water of course gives you a less sweet product but not a bad tasting one especially if the fruit sets for a few months before use. Storing jars in the dark will also help with the color I believe.

 

For jams and jellies, there's a product to help it jell made specially for use with artificial sweeteners but it can be used with no sugar at all. A natural pectin for jellies and jams can be made by simmering apple peels in water. The resulting juice will be high in pectin and can be added to other. low pectin, fruits to help them jell. Always process all sugar free jams and jellies in either a water bath canner or pressure canner to ensure safety of the seal.

 

Now here's a little historic information. The pioneer did not use much sugar, nor much honey actually either as not everyone had bees or could find a wild "bee tree". They sometimes had molasses, maple syrup or sorghum though. Root cellaring or sun drying fruit was their normal means of preserving it though they also made a sort of thick jam by cooking and mashing the fruit, spreading it in a shallow pan and partially drying it in the sun, stirring occassionally to help it thicken faster. They also used vinegar and the natural sugars in apples to make applebutter which they stored in crocks in the root cellar or spring house. They used wax or even tallow to cover the surface of the product to seal it and then covered the whole thing with a cloth tied on with a string. If mold grew on the top, they just skimmed it carefully off, reboiled the whole thing, cleaned the container and put the product back in again. Lots of work but they didn't want to lose a product they needed so desperately. Our great grandmothers were inovative. They were just like us, trying to store enough food against the lean times so their family could eat and they did it without all the modern inovative gadgets and products we have today. That should tell us something.

 

 

[Rita]

I have not done this yet but I am planning to this canning season to try and see if this is good. I went to Splenda.com and sight and copy their recipes for jams and jellies.

I am hoping they tastes just as good with no after taste has anyone used Splenda at all in cooking or baking yet I am leary of it cuz I hate the after taste you can get from some products that are sugar free. They say that Splenda is heat stable and can be used in canning.

Here are the recipes:

No-Sugar-Needed Peach Jam

Use this jam on your toast or bagel.

 

Makes: Makes 48 (1Tbsp) servings or 3 (1-cup) jars

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

 

3 cups chopped peaches (about 3 pounds fully ripe peaches)

3/4 cup water

1 box SURE-JELL* for Lower Sugar Recipes Fruit Pectin

1/2 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granular

 

 

 

BRING boiling-water canner, half full with water, to a simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain jars well before filling.

PEEL, pit and finely chop or grind peaches. Measure exactly 3 cups prepared peaches into 6- or 8-quart saucepot. Stir in water. Gradually add pectin, stirring until well blended.

BRING mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in SPLENDA® Granular. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

LADLE immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil.

PROCESS 10 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Nutrition Information per Serving

1 tablespoon

Total calories 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No-Sugar-Needed Strawberry Jam

 

Preparation Time:45 minutes

Total Time:45 minutes

 

 

 

BRING boiling-water canner, half full with water, to a simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain jars well before filling.

STEM and crush strawberries; place exactly 3 cups of the crushed strawberries in 6- or 8-quart saucepot. Stir in water. Gradually add pectin, stirring until well blended.

BRING mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in SPLENDA® Granular. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

LADLE immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil.

PROCESS 10 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)/li>

 

 

 

Nutrition Information per serving

1 Tablespoon

Total calories 5 10mg sodium 1g sugar

 

 

[Crafty]

I made 4 pies this weekend with Splenda - two peach praline and two sour cream raisin. The meringue on the raisin didn't hold as much volume as I would have liked, but otherwise they were great!

[dogmom4]

Bumping.

I used so much sugar yesterday when canning apples it made my teeth hurt. I followed the Ball instructions. Can someone give safe instructions on how to can apples with apple juice? I still have a lot of apples to can.

[Violet]

Same exact way only heat the apple juice and put over the apples and process.

[dogmom4]

Same exact way only heat the apple juice and put over the apples and process.

 

 

Thanks Violet.