SP325-F Food Preservation Low or No Sugar in James, Jellies and Preserves

Home canners now have a choice. If you want to make jams, jellies or preserves without adding sugar, you now have the means to do so success fully.

The preparation of reduced sugar or “sugarfree” jams and jellies is now possible using alternative ingredients and methods. One ingredient that must be changed is the pectin. Two types of commercial pectins are now available to the home canner: the regular pectin that requires acid and sugar to set in a gel, and the “no sugar pectins” or the “lite” pectin that does not require sugar or acid but does require calcium. Some gelling agents are also available that contain, in addition to pectin, starch and/or gums that aid in forming a gel. Sugar may not be required when certain starches or gums are used to thicken or gel the final product.