What are you canning now?

[jomoncon]

Is that 1 teaspoon of concentrated stevia, powder?

Is that 1 teaspoon of Agave syrup also?

What fruits have you done?

What fruits require lemon juice and how much?  

If I have just two or three fruits I can do that would be great. 

I use about a teaspoon of concentrated stevia & then add agave to taste, anywhere from 1/2 to 2 cups. I add it about a half cup at a time until it tastes right. A lot depends on the sweetness of the fruit & how sweet you like your jam/jelly. I've found out that folks in my area like really sweet, so I generally add a lot.

I've done the following sugar free: Strawberry Jam, Blueberry Jam, Fig Preserves, Kiwi Jam, Plum Jam, Muscadine (grape) Jelly.

The instructions I have say that these fruits need a little lemon: blueberry, raspberry, apricots, sweet cherries, peach, pear & plum. 2 tablespoons per 4 cups of fruit/juice.

I purchase my pectin in bulk from Pacific Pectin. These are from the instructions they sent with their LM-0, sugar-free pectin. I like it better than the store bought pectin and even pomona.

 

[rancher hicks]

Thanks, many of us know someone who is diabetic and want to make them jam/jelly. All my research on line has yielded nothing worth bothering with.

Though now that I think about it I haven't tried the diabetic cook books.

 

[Arielle]

Thanks, many of us know someone who is diabetic and want to make them jam/jelly. All my research on line has yielded nothing worth bothering with.

Though now that I think about it I haven't tried the diabetic cook books.

You might try the low carb recipes as well. Personally I have not found the diabetes recipes to be low sugar, the recipes still rely on the use of insulin injectins ( or other glucose managing drug) to keep the glucose in the blood moving into the cells.

Because of the addition of sugars to jams and jellies, I usually eat fruit whole and skip the jams/jellies. ANd by doing such I don't need insulin. All about choices. . . .

Some times I miss a good jam.

 

[rancher hicks]

You might try the low carb recipes as well. Personally I have not found the diabetes recipes to be low sugar, the recipes still rely on the use of insulin injectins ( or other glucose managing drug) to keep the glucose in the blood moving into the cells.

Because of the addition of sugars to jams and jellies, I usually eat fruit whole and skip the jams/jellies. ANd by doing such I don't need insulin. All about choices. . . .

Some times I miss a good jam.

You and many others and that's why we're trying to find acceptable recipes for jam and jellies. Many folks don't know about jams other than the usual, strawberry, blueberry and grape jelly.

To have some Plum/lime or plum or blackberry/blueberry or Sweet cherry / blueberry is a nice treat. Or Pineapple/raspberry or Rhubarb/raspberry, or and the list goes on.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

I cannot eat any jam with sugar in it-- my blood sugars can go whacky when eating a cooked fruit as it is. I miss the jams, but can't risk the spike in blood sugars, so I don't eat them.

 

[fallenangel79]

I baked spiced zucchinin bread and it was good hubby and kids aet it all

 

[Arielle]

So I did a little sleuthing-- using WIkipedia for a quick reference. Agave nectar is essentially sugar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agave_nectar

As with most foods, pick what works best for you. THis would still trigger a hot flash for me-- just a little later than table sugar. lol

 

[wyoDreamer]

I have been wondering about the Agave myself and this is what I found from the American Diabetes Association website:

Is agave nectar safe for people with diabetes?

Agave nectar comes from the agave plant and is becoming a popular alternative sweetener to sugar, honey, fructose, etc. Agave nectar raises blood glucose a little more slowly (it has a lower glycemic index) than sugar and other sweeteners that provide calories.
It is okay for people with diabetes to use agave nectar as a sweetener, but they should not treat it any differently than regular sugar or corn syrup. It provides just as many calories and carbohydrates as regular sugar, honey, etc. You should still account for agave nectar when planning meals (1 teaspoon has about 15 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrate, though it can vary between brands).


I have close relatives who are/were Type 1 diabetic, my grandpa on my dad's side and my 2 aunts & grandma on my mom's. My mom died when I was 10, so I don't know if she would have developed diabetes or not. So I have to keep this in-mind when cooking/canning things to share.

 

[rancher hicks]

It seems to me that we forget that there is Corn Syrup aka "sugar" in just about everything we eat. Take a look in your cupboard and read the labels, you'll see what I mean. My point being we are on sugar overload and don't think for one minute that diet soda will save you.

The chemical in diet soda , actually INCREASES your hankering for sweet stuff.

By cooking and preparing your own food stuff you can reduce the amount of sugar in your diet and have that small amount of specialty jam. Jam will taste just as good on a stalk of celery as peanut butter. I suspect the crackers we buy will do far more harm than the jams we make too.

I wish you all well,

Rancher

 

[Lacy Blues]

I baked spiced zucchinin bread and it was good hubby and kids aet it all

Sounds yummy! A have a couple of monster zucchini on my table... hint hint.