Sugar-Free Strawberry Jam

[sawhorseray]

Well I spent all of today working on canning a half dozen pint jars of sugar free strawberry jam, it was a lot of darned work. I won't know until tomorrow if the jam even set right, pretty sure it did. Canned it in my pressure cooker out on the patio after a trip to market and a ton of prep work. I had seven pounds of berries to process, they say to use a potato masher, what they didn't say was that they needed to be chopped up if you don't have a food processor, which I hated, never used, and gave away when we moved here. What the heck, I used my Wusthof processor!

Once I got everything mashed and ready to boil things speed up, and get really dammed hot! There's jars and lids to boil clean, and a big pot of strawberry mud that has to maintain a rolling boil for a full minute, then get pulled from the burner and have the Splenda stirred in. Did I forget to mention that everything gets really hot? So I'm ladling the boiling strawberry mud concoction into the still hot steaming jars because the directions say that's how to do it. No time for pics, don't believe me, watch Youtube, I'm a one-man act.

So the canning gets completed and all the gear gets wiped down and boxed up, the canner back in the shed. The pints are cooling while the days earlier mess gets cleaned up. Look at the clock, it's the Evan Williams Hour!

So to recap expenses

Strawberries...................$10.50
No Sugar Pectin............$7.40
Splenda............................A Buck?

I'll put a jar in the fridge, three in the pantry, and have a couple promised out. Thanks for lookin', I might do it again some time, might not. RAY

 

[bmudd14474]

Cant wait to see how it turns out.

 

[chopsaw]

Nice work Ray ! I have all kinds of plans , that end up in the recliner . I bet it's gonna be good .

 

[sawhorseray]

Cant wait to see how it turns out.

Thanks Brian! Preliminary investigation leads me to believe all will be OK. Thanks for the Like! RAY

 

[sawhorseray]

Nice work Ray ! I have all kinds of plans , that end up in the recliner . I bet it's gonna be good .

Thanks Rich, this got way more involved than I had in mind. If it was pasta or bread I'd have quit and just tossed the dough in the fridge and said screw it, tomorrow. All day with no nap, no walk to the park for Bob, no lunch, and now dinner is looking like pork shu mai! It's canned, it'll last longer than I will. Thanks for the Like Rich! RAY

 

[jcam222]

Sounds awesome Ray! I did the refrigerator jam version a few years back with blackberries.

 

[sawhorseray]

Sounds awesome Ray! I did the refrigerator jam version a few years back with blackberries.

Thanks Jeff! In hindsight I maybe could have done the "Water Bath", easier to say the least. Thanks for the Like, Jeff! RAY

 

[Fueling Around]

Waiting to see how it turns out.
Been wanting to make a sugar free (replacement sugar) raspberry jam for a few years.
Somehow, my wife claims (confiscates) all the raspberries I pick from the patch.
I do all my canning outdoors and hot is good, but makes it miserable.
2 fingers of Bourbon well deserved.

Thanks Jeff! In hindsight I maybe could have done the "Water Bath", easier to say the least. Thanks for the Like, Jeff! RAY

That was my next question if you found something that sugar free required pressure canning instead of water bath.

 

[sawhorseray]

I never said anything about "required" John, pressure canning is always the best way to go, but it does require having the gear to pull it off, most folks don't have that stuff. Everyone has a big pot and a stove, tho I've never water bath canned anything, no reason to. Check this Splenda site out. I got hep to it from my buddy jcam222 , there's a world of great sugar free eats out there. I've been kind of focused on berry pies! RAY

Zero Calorie Sweetener & Sugar Substitute | Splenda

Learn more about the joy of Splenda® Sweeteners, the number one recommended sweetener brand by doctors and dietitians. Find recipes, coupons, & more!

www.splenda.com

 

[chopsaw]

I'm trying to hit the sack without eating something , and I see this !

 

[Fueling Around]

I never said anything about "required" John, pressure canning is always the best way to go, but it does require having the gear to pull it off, most folks don't have that stuff. Everyone has a big pot and a stove, tho I've never water bath canned anything, no reason to. Check this Splenda site out. I got hep to it from my buddy jcam222 , there's a world of great sugar free eats out there. I've been kind of focused on berry pies! RAY

Zero Calorie Sweetener & Sugar Substitute | Splenda

Learn more about the joy of Splenda® Sweeteners, the number one recommended sweetener brand by doctors and dietitians. Find recipes, coupons, & more!

www.splenda.com

...

Thanks Ray.

You pressure canned and then had second thoughts if a water bath would have sufficed.
That confused me.
I was just wondering if a regular sugar versus a sugar substitute required changing the canning method of a typical high acid fruit.
With regular sugared jams I never used either pressure or water canning. I simply boiled, jarred and used a paraffin wax seal.

 

[sawhorseray]

You pressure canned and then had second thoughts if a water bath would have sufficed.
That confused me.
I was just wondering if a regular sugar versus a sugar substitute required changing the canning method of a typical high acid fruit.
With regular sugared jams I never used either pressure or water canning. I simply boiled, jarred and used a paraffin wax seal.

I used a cup and a half of Splenda, zero calories. The recipe would have called for almost four cups of pure sugar, quite a difference, over 3000 calories in fact. I'll have a piece of my pie 3, maybe five times a week, sometimes with sugar-free whipped cream all over it. I'll be 72 years old come my next birthday, most folks that know me know I'm still eating pretty darned good. Just sayin'. RAY

 

[Steve H]

Looks great Ray! That's something I never tried to make.

 

[gmc2003]

Man that looks good Ray. Nicely done

Point for sure
Chris

 

[DRKsmoking]

Pies look good Ray, and the jam I bet will be great also.
I don't have a canner, as I always use water bath for most of my canning.
Have never used the sweeteners, but as I get a little older and told to watch what I eat , has me looking into it

David

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

It will be worth it. Now I gonna half to do it. I usually just make a jar at a time. I been using a sugar sub called Purecane I really like. It kind of high. I watch for a sale on it. I need to make another jar of Mustang Grape jam. I just can the juice and make a jar as needed.

 

[sawhorseray]

Well here the next day I awake to find that my jars didn't "set" quite perfect, close, but no cigar. Upon further research and with hindsight I discover that the amount of pectin I used was for a batch of jam that measured eight cups, what I produced was just short of ten cups. There's a lesson to be learned here, and I'm thinking in the end it will boil down to me being stupid due to not having all the correct information on hand before starting this endeavor. I have a email in to the makers of the pectin to see if there's any way to bail this out, and I'll do a little net searching. What I have could just about be poured out of the jar, kind of a super thick chunky strawberry syrup. Now that I think of the word "syrup" I can see it would make a wonderful topping on a bowl of ice cream, and be great over pancakes or French toast! Neither of those options is what I had in mind at the onset of this effort, I still have to regard this as a failure, I don't eat ice cream or pancakes. The poolboy comes today, he's got five kids between the ages of three and eleven, home schooled Mormons. I bet mama makes lots of pancakes to feed a brood like that rather than buy expensive boxes of cereal. I'll see if he want it, free of course. That would make the bitter pill of failure a little easier to swallow, knowing that it wasn't a complete waste of time and effort.. RAY

 

[chopsaw]

I wouldn't call it a fail . Could you use it as pie filling ? I mentioned I made BBQ sauce out of some I got from my sister that was to sweet for my taste .

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Well here the next day I awake to find that my jars didn't "set" quite perfect, close, but no cigar. Upon further research and with hindsight I discover that the amount of pectin I used was for a batch of jam that measured eight cups, what I produced was just short of ten cups. There's a lesson to be learned here, and I'm thinking in the end it will boil down to me being stupid due to not having all the correct information on hand before starting this endeavor. I have a email in to the makers of the pectin to see if there's any way to bail this out, and I'll do a little net searching. What I have could just about be poured out of the jar, kind of a super thick chunky strawberry syrup. Now that I think of the word "syrup" I can see it would make a wonderful topping on a bowl of ice cream, and be great over pancakes or French toast! Neither of those options is what I had in mind at the onset of this effort, I still have to regard this as a failure, I don't eat ice cream or pancakes. The poolboy comes today, he's got five kids between the ages of three and eleven, home schooled Mormons. I bet mama makes lots of pancakes to feed a brood like that rather than buy expensive boxes of cereal. I'll see if he want it, free of course. That would make the bitter pill of failure a little easier to swallow, knowing that it wasn't a complete waste of time and effort.. RAY

Trying putting in fridge for a day

 

[DRKsmoking]

Ray I have had it happen before and , Certo says to put back in pot and reboil for time said at first. Than bottle( water bath way )
But where you have more product than the amount for the pectin, could you maybe pick up more pectin and use maybe 1/8 of package to compensate. Or like others have said , a nice strawberry topping or a new glaze for some chicken etc.

David