Grapefruit

[YYY]

Hi Everybody,

 

I want to can some grapefruit. The Ball Blue Book sorta tells how to do it. Sweety is diabetic so the syrup is out. I have on hand the store brand of Equal, which is different from Splenda.

 

1. Can I use the “Equal”?

2. If not, is just boiling water OK? We can always sweeten it after opening the jars.

3. The Ball Blue Book does not say this, but should I add lemon juice to the water?

4. What is the shelf life without sugar?

5. Have any of you canned grapefruit? How did turn out? Anything I should know ahead of time?

 

All comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

 

YYY

 

[JCK88]

HI there YYY,

There is a book called Canning and Preservingt Without Sugar by

Norma M. MacRae, R.D. that you might want to look into. Mine is dated 1993 and it is for diabetics....

 

I am going to look up grapefruit right now and see if it's in there...and it is ..on page 65. These directions also apply for oranges.

 

It says: Wash fruit, pare off rind and separate cut out sections, using a sharp knife to remove any white skin or seeds.

Save any juice that drains off for syrup. Pack into hot sterile jars, leaving 3/4 inch at top for expansion. Cover with drained juice plus enough boiled water to cover the slices. (You may use 1/4 volume frozen pure grapefruit juice pluc 3/4 volume boiled water if you wish a sweeter product.) Cover with hot streile lids and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes."

 

Essentially, you can them in the juice. THe book mentions that you can use artifical sweetner, but it does not recommend it. IT strongly suggests simply using juice and water.

 

The book has ideas for making extremely light syrups with honey and a LOT of water and a ton of recipes for other things. If your hubby is diabetic, you would do okay with this book. I got it because my dad was diabetic and I wanted to can him some of my peaches and such. I canned peaches in water and he just loved them. It did not affect the quality at all. The shelf life...I don't know. He ate them right away! LOL

 

The book mentions that if you think packing fruit in its own juice is too high in sugar, that you use boiled water instead. There might be an updated version of this book...I have not checked. It includes tables for making various syrups and then lists their carbohydrates and other nutritional info. I hope you can find one! Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

[YYY]

JCK88

 

Thank you so-o-o-o much. This is EXACTLY the information I need.

 

I will use just water and any juice coming out of the grapefruit or combine with frozen grapefruit juice as suggested. I’m pretty sure I have a can of juice in the freezer.

 

The book suggestion is much appreciated. It will soon be added to my library.

 

 

Again, thank you.

 

YYY

 

[YYY]

Hi again JCK88

 

I used your instructions and canned 7 pints of grapefruit (just grapefruit juice and water). It turned out great.

 

Thanks again,

 

YYY

[JCK88]

YYY,

 

You're welcome! Oh, so glad to be of help!!! I've learned tons here and it's nice to sometimes give a little back. If you can't find the book let me know. I'll copy recipes from mine for you.

 

Hugs