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If you want low-sugar jams, you can look into Pomona pectin and the recipe books written specifically for using that type of pectin. You shouldn't reduce the amount of sugar in the Ball recipes since they are designed and tested for safety with a certain amount. However, there is a low-sugar section in the book which calls for the no-sugar-needed pectin in the jam/jelly recipes (which is different than Pomona's).
I am talking specifically about Ball recipes. All of their "canning authorities" will tell you this is correct. You shouldn't reduce the sugar in their recipes. Low-sugar recipes are designed differently, and those are the ones that should be used rather than simply reducing sugar in your favorite recipe. The ones with reduced sugar are many times cooked longer and/or they use specialty pectins. That was the whole point I was trying to make: don't simply reduce the amount of sugar in your current recipes--find new ones.
Anyone doing apples? I just came back from a visit to a friend with four big paper grocery bags full. Probably for sauce and pie filling. Hope my peeler/corer/slicer holds out!
Quote:
Originally Posted by freedomdove
And anyways, this is what I said:
I am talking specifically about Ball recipes. .
Ball makes a low-sugar pectin, hon. As does Kraft/Certo/Sure-Jell. Pomona isn't the only game in town for low-sugar jams and jellies. Each of these has different instructions, recipes, and caveats. And with the Ball pectin, the instructions allow the user to determine the amount of sugar used in the recipe.
And I will emphasize again that sugar in jam does not affect the safety of the end product. Canned foods are "tested" for more than safety, FYI. Sugar does preserve the color of the fruit, but doesn't affect the safety of the jam one whit.
[quote=Ohiogirl81;45921427]Anyone doing apples? I just came back from a visit to a friend with four big paper grocery bags full. Probably for sauce and pie filling. Hope my peeler/corer/slicer holds out!
I finished my last batch of apples on Tuesday. I did apple butter, lots of sauce and pie filling.
My stand peeler lost a metal pin on my first batch this fall. It still worked great. Then I lost another pin half way through this batch. It ceased working. I had to peel twenty plus pounds by hand. Boy did I realize how spoiled I had become!
I had a banner year of hot peppers. I have been freezing them all summer. I am thinking I will the last of them I will pick this week. I found this recipe I think I am going to try unless someone has a tried and true one they might share. "Hellish" Hot Pepper Relish
Anyone doing apples? I just came back from a visit to a friend with four big paper grocery bags full. Probably for sauce and pie filling. Hope my peeler/corer/slicer holds out!
Ball makes a low-sugar pectin, hon. As does Kraft/Certo/Sure-Jell. Pomona isn't the only game in town for low-sugar jams and jellies. Each of these has different instructions, recipes, and caveats. And with the Ball pectin, the instructions allow the user to determine the amount of sugar used in the recipe.
And I will emphasize again that sugar in jam does not affect the safety of the end product. Canned foods are "tested" for more than safety, FYI. Sugar does preserve the color of the fruit, but doesn't affect the safety of the jam one whit.
You are right,sugar has absolutely nothing to do with the safety of the jam or jelly.
Now, for apples, I am skipping doing any apples this year. I have done a lot of other canning, we are leaving for vacation in just a couple of weeks and no one in the family likes canned apples, apple pie filling or apple butter. I will wait until next year I think. Enjoy your apple canning.
I had a banner year of hot peppers. I have been freezing them all summer. I am thinking I will the last of them I will pick this week. I found this recipe I think I am going to try unless someone has a tried and true one they might share. "Hellish" Hot Pepper Relish
The recipe you linked to looked sketchy to me -- and I'm usually not someone who's rigid about tested canning recipes. The recipe makes no connection between the amount of brine and the amount of peppers used in the recipe, so I'd be wondering if I had enough brine to safely preserve the peppers. Unless I missed something.
I've made both of them; they're both similar, and they're both good! You can adjust the heat by using bell peppers, as the NCHFP recipe does. You can also reduce the amount of sugar if you like. None of those adjustments will compromise the safety of the end product.
Pepperfool is a good source for peppers that uses tested recipes:
Thanks! I knew that recipe seemed too easy! I think I will make the food.com hot pepper relish recipe. It seems closer to what I was thinking of anyway. I wanted more of a homemade version of the Wickles brand hot relish.
Thanks bunches!
Ball makes a low-sugar pectin, hon. As does Kraft/Certo/Sure-Jell. Pomona isn't the only game in town for low-sugar jams and jellies. Each of these has different instructions, recipes, and caveats. And with the Ball pectin, the instructions allow the user to determine the amount of sugar used in the recipe.
Yes, I know. That's why I wrote what I did in the last paragraph of my first comment:
Quote:
Originally Posted by freedomdove
If you want low-sugar jams, you can look into Pomona pectin and the recipe books written specifically for using that type of pectin. You shouldn't reduce the amount of sugar in the Ball recipes since they are designed and tested for safety with a certain amount. However, there is a low-sugar section in the book which calls for the no-sugar-needed pectin in the jam/jelly recipes (which is different than Pomona's).
~~~
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81
And I will emphasize again that sugar in jam does not affect the safety of the end product. Canned foods are "tested" for more than safety, FYI. Sugar does preserve the color of the fruit, but doesn't affect the safety of the jam one whit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita
You are right,sugar has absolutely nothing to do with the safety of the jam or jelly.
Did either of you read the post I made with links to the extension offices? I even put sentences in bold so you could see them clearly. It's not like I'm making this stuff up myself.
Yes, it's possible to make low-sugar and no-sugar jams. No, you shouldn't simply reduce the sugar in Ball's recipes or Grandma's favorite jam recipe/procedure and expect the same results. That's all I was trying to say. I was just throwing it out there as general advice--that if you want to make those jams then you need to follow recipes formulated for them. Maybe I should have been more clear the first time. ?
Done for the season! I made cranapple chutney and cranapple rum sauce with the last of the apples, and with cranberries I'd frozen from last fall when Aldi had them super cheap.
Looking forward to cleaning the kitchen and putting the clutter in the basement. I might make some mustards later this winter, but they'll be small batches so I won't need the whole pressure canner setup, strainers, food mills, etc. etc. etc.
My grandmother and mother canned but I was never interested until my 40's. Now I can tomatoes, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, jams, and various pickled veggies. I can things that I enjoy the way I like them, which is usually spicy in the case of pickled things, less sugar for jams or fresh summer tomatoes that I roast and can so I don't have to buy during the winter.
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I might make some mustards later this winter, but they'll be small batches so I won't need the whole pressure canner setup, strainers, food mills, etc. etc. etc.
"Lost" art of home canning?
