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How much sugar is "just right" for raspberry jam?
How much sugar is "just right" for raspberry jam?
Traditional recipes for jam call for what I consider to be excessively
high amounts of sugar from a taste perspective. I know the purposes of
this high amount of sugar was required to : 1) produce a good set, and
2) to act as a preservative to prevent mold growth once the jar was
opened. Now that I'm using potassium sorbate as a preservative I don't
need the sugar for reason #2. I'm also using a low-methoxyl pectin
which does not require ANY sugar to set.
So now that I can use any amount of sugar that I want, I'm having a
problem guessing how much sugar the recipients of my jam gifts
(gifting is the main purpose of my making jam in the first place)
would find desirable. This group seems like a logical place to ask the
question: How much sugar is "just right"?
The opinion of any fellow travelers who have already been down this
road will be greatly appreciated.
The fruit I'm using is red, black, and half and half red/black
raspberries, without any added water, and sucralose as the sweetener.
Sincerely, BlackHawk
Traditional recipes for jam call for what I consider to be excessively
high amounts of sugar from a taste perspective. I know the purposes of
this high amount of sugar was required to : 1) produce a good set, and
2) to act as a preservative to prevent mold growth once the jar was
opened. Now that I'm using potassium sorbate as a preservative I don't
need the sugar for reason #2. I'm also using a low-methoxyl pectin
which does not require ANY sugar to set.
So now that I can use any amount of sugar that I want, I'm having a
problem guessing how much sugar the recipients of my jam gifts
(gifting is the main purpose of my making jam in the first place)
would find desirable. This group seems like a logical place to ask the
question: How much sugar is "just right"?
The opinion of any fellow travelers who have already been down this
road will be greatly appreciated.
The fruit I'm using is red, black, and half and half red/black
raspberries, without any added water, and sucralose as the sweetener.
Sincerely, BlackHawk
Re: How much sugar is "just right" for raspberry jam?
BlackHawk 96 wrote:
> Traditional recipes for jam call for what I consider to be excessively
> high amounts of sugar from a taste perspective. I know the purposes of
> this high amount of sugar was required to : 1) produce a good set, and
> 2) to act as a preservative to prevent mold growth once the jar was
> opened. Now that I'm using potassium sorbate as a preservative I don't
> need the sugar for reason #2. I'm also using a low-methoxyl pectin
> which does not require ANY sugar to set.
>
> So now that I can use any amount of sugar that I want, I'm having a
> problem guessing how much sugar the recipients of my jam gifts
> (gifting is the main purpose of my making jam in the first place)
> would find desirable. This group seems like a logical place to ask the
> question: How much sugar is "just right"?
>
> The opinion of any fellow travelers who have already been down this
> road will be greatly appreciated.
>
> The fruit I'm using is red, black, and half and half red/black
> raspberries, without any added water, and sucralose as the sweetener.
> Sincerely, BlackHawk
I think you're going to find that the "just right" amount of sugar is
going to depend upon individual taste. To some folks it has to be super
sweet and to others, like myself, that would be too sweet. Many folk,
myself included, actually prefer the so-called "natural" fruit
preserves, etc. Basically they just use fruit sugar and call it a day. I
reckon you would have to query your giftees to find out what they think
is "sweet." HTH
George
BlackHawk 96 wrote:
> Traditional recipes for jam call for what I consider to be excessively
> high amounts of sugar from a taste perspective. I know the purposes of
> this high amount of sugar was required to : 1) produce a good set, and
> 2) to act as a preservative to prevent mold growth once the jar was
> opened. Now that I'm using potassium sorbate as a preservative I don't
> need the sugar for reason #2. I'm also using a low-methoxyl pectin
> which does not require ANY sugar to set.
>
> So now that I can use any amount of sugar that I want, I'm having a
> problem guessing how much sugar the recipients of my jam gifts
> (gifting is the main purpose of my making jam in the first place)
> would find desirable. This group seems like a logical place to ask the
> question: How much sugar is "just right"?
>
> The opinion of any fellow travelers who have already been down this
> road will be greatly appreciated.
>
> The fruit I'm using is red, black, and half and half red/black
> raspberries, without any added water, and sucralose as the sweetener.
> Sincerely, BlackHawk
I think you're going to find that the "just right" amount of sugar is
going to depend upon individual taste. To some folks it has to be super
sweet and to others, like myself, that would be too sweet. Many folk,
myself included, actually prefer the so-called "natural" fruit
preserves, etc. Basically they just use fruit sugar and call it a day. I
reckon you would have to query your giftees to find out what they think
is "sweet." HTH
George
Re: How much sugar is "just right" for raspberry jam?
On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:24:16 -0600, George Shirley
<gshirl@bellsouth,net > wrote:
>BlackHawk 96 wrote:
>> Traditional recipes for jam call for what I consider to be excessively
>> high amounts of sugar from a taste perspective. I know the purposes of
>> this high amount of sugar was required to : 1) produce a good set, and
>> 2) to act as a preservative to prevent mold growth once the jar was
>> opened. Now that I'm using potassium sorbate as a preservative I don't
>> need the sugar for reason #2. I'm also using a low-methoxyl pectin
>> which does not require ANY sugar to set.
>>
>> So now that I can use any amount of sugar that I want, I'm having a
>> problem guessing how much sugar the recipients of my jam gifts
>> (gifting is the main purpose of my making jam in the first place)
>> would find desirable. This group seems like a logical place to ask the
>> question: How much sugar is "just right"?
>>
>> The opinion of any fellow travelers who have already been down this
>> road will be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> The fruit I'm using is red, black, and half and half red/black
>> raspberries, without any added water, and sucralose as the sweetener.
>> Sincerely, BlackHawk
>I think you're going to find that the "just right" amount of sugar is
>going to depend upon individual taste. To some folks it has to be super
>sweet and to others, like myself, that would be too sweet. Many folk,
>myself included, actually prefer the so-called "natural" fruit
>preserves, etc. Basically they just use fruit sugar and call it a day. I
>reckon you would have to query your giftees to find out what they think
>is "sweet." HTH
>
>George
You're absolutely right, George. The problem is that I'm giving the
jam to many different people. I have completed my testing and have
come to the conclusion that for each cup of half red and half black
raspberries, mashed, 3/8 cup of splenda is "just right" for my taste
buds. Like the song says: "You can't please everyone, so you might as
well please yourself". I hope they like it, 3/8 of a cup is a far cry
from the 1cup called for in traditional recipes. I feel I'm moving in
the right direction, but not as far as you've gone.
BlackHawk
On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:24:16 -0600, George Shirley
<gshirl@bellsouth,net > wrote:
>BlackHawk 96 wrote:
>> Traditional recipes for jam call for what I consider to be excessively
>> high amounts of sugar from a taste perspective. I know the purposes of
>> this high amount of sugar was required to : 1) produce a good set, and
>> 2) to act as a preservative to prevent mold growth once the jar was
>> opened. Now that I'm using potassium sorbate as a preservative I don't
>> need the sugar for reason #2. I'm also using a low-methoxyl pectin
>> which does not require ANY sugar to set.
>>
>> So now that I can use any amount of sugar that I want, I'm having a
>> problem guessing how much sugar the recipients of my jam gifts
>> (gifting is the main purpose of my making jam in the first place)
>> would find desirable. This group seems like a logical place to ask the
>> question: How much sugar is "just right"?
>>
>> The opinion of any fellow travelers who have already been down this
>> road will be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> The fruit I'm using is red, black, and half and half red/black
>> raspberries, without any added water, and sucralose as the sweetener.
>> Sincerely, BlackHawk
>I think you're going to find that the "just right" amount of sugar is
>going to depend upon individual taste. To some folks it has to be super
>sweet and to others, like myself, that would be too sweet. Many folk,
>myself included, actually prefer the so-called "natural" fruit
>preserves, etc. Basically they just use fruit sugar and call it a day. I
>reckon you would have to query your giftees to find out what they think
>is "sweet." HTH
>
>George
You're absolutely right, George. The problem is that I'm giving the
jam to many different people. I have completed my testing and have
come to the conclusion that for each cup of half red and half black
raspberries, mashed, 3/8 cup of splenda is "just right" for my taste
buds. Like the song says: "You can't please everyone, so you might as
well please yourself". I hope they like it, 3/8 of a cup is a far cry
from the 1cup called for in traditional recipes. I feel I'm moving in
the right direction, but not as far as you've gone.
BlackHawk
Re: How much sugar is "just right" for raspberry jam?
"BlackHawk 96" <blackhawk96@inyourdreams.edu> wrote in message
news:olt5n39sm836js5uk1fig8gcnaufidg779@4ax,com ...
> Traditional recipes for jam call for what I consider to be excessively
> high amounts of sugar from a taste perspective. I know the purposes of
> this high amount of sugar was required to : 1) produce a good set, and
> 2) to act as a preservative to prevent mold growth once the jar was
> opened. Now that I'm using potassium sorbate as a preservative I don't
> need the sugar for reason #2. I'm also using a low-methoxyl pectin
> which does not require ANY sugar to set.
>
> So now that I can use any amount of sugar that I want, I'm having a
> problem guessing how much sugar the recipients of my jam gifts
> (gifting is the main purpose of my making jam in the first place)
> would find desirable. This group seems like a logical place to ask the
> question: How much sugar is "just right"?
>
> The opinion of any fellow travelers who have already been down this
> road will be greatly appreciated.
>
> The fruit I'm using is red, black, and half and half red/black
> raspberries, without any added water, and sucralose as the sweetener.
> Sincerely, BlackHawk
I would also tell your recipients that your using an artifical preservative
(Potassium sorbate is made by reacting sorbic acid with potassium hydroxide)
and an artifical (or modified) pectin and an artifical sugar. While from
a chemical perspective it is a "safe" preservative used in many foods, there
are some people who have a "thing" about artifical ingredients in their
food.
Home-made jam is probably one of the few things out there where the
recipient is going to certainly assume that it is made with "all natural"
ingredients.
You might also consider, while your on your anti-sugar kick, that there's
a lot of people who use raw honey to top their breakfast muffins, which
is basically equivalent to pouring solid sugar on them.
I have a policy that anything that goes out of my kitchen for gift or sell
(I usually donate a number of jars to various rummage sale fundraisers and
such every year) is labeled in accordance with the federal food labeling
laws,
which require disclosure of ingredients.
Personally, I refuse to eat anything with Splenda, saccharin, or
Equal in it. The health risks of saccharin are obvious, plus the fact I
can detect a saccharin aftertaste a mile away. The others are more of a
philosophical reason, however. My feeling is that unless your a diabetic,
if your concerned about eating sugar this means your too fat, or your
unable to exercise enough restraint when encountering anything sweet.
In both cases, you shouldn't be eating ANYTHING sweet AT ALL as
you should be retraining yourself to enjoy the natural flavors in food,
and weaning yourself off the dependency of the sweet tooth. Substituting
fake sugar merely perpetuates your horrible diet choices, and makes
you unconsciously continue to choose sweeter foods, most of which have
sugar in them, not fake-sugar (ie: Spenda, Equal, or saccharin) By
choosing to eat such foods I am financially supporting the industry that
produces fake-sugar, and therefore enabling millions of people who have
diet problems to continue to avoid adressing their fundamental problem,
which is they need to stop thinking that the only foods that taste "good"
are foods loaded with sugar.
Ted
"BlackHawk 96" <blackhawk96@inyourdreams.edu> wrote in message
news:olt5n39sm836js5uk1fig8gcnaufidg779@4ax,com ...
> Traditional recipes for jam call for what I consider to be excessively
> high amounts of sugar from a taste perspective. I know the purposes of
> this high amount of sugar was required to : 1) produce a good set, and
> 2) to act as a preservative to prevent mold growth once the jar was
> opened. Now that I'm using potassium sorbate as a preservative I don't
> need the sugar for reason #2. I'm also using a low-methoxyl pectin
> which does not require ANY sugar to set.
>
> So now that I can use any amount of sugar that I want, I'm having a
> problem guessing how much sugar the recipients of my jam gifts
> (gifting is the main purpose of my making jam in the first place)
> would find desirable. This group seems like a logical place to ask the
> question: How much sugar is "just right"?
>
> The opinion of any fellow travelers who have already been down this
> road will be greatly appreciated.
>
> The fruit I'm using is red, black, and half and half red/black
> raspberries, without any added water, and sucralose as the sweetener.
> Sincerely, BlackHawk
I would also tell your recipients that your using an artifical preservative
(Potassium sorbate is made by reacting sorbic acid with potassium hydroxide)
and an artifical (or modified) pectin and an artifical sugar. While from
a chemical perspective it is a "safe" preservative used in many foods, there
are some people who have a "thing" about artifical ingredients in their
food.
Home-made jam is probably one of the few things out there where the
recipient is going to certainly assume that it is made with "all natural"
ingredients.
You might also consider, while your on your anti-sugar kick, that there's
a lot of people who use raw honey to top their breakfast muffins, which
is basically equivalent to pouring solid sugar on them.
I have a policy that anything that goes out of my kitchen for gift or sell
(I usually donate a number of jars to various rummage sale fundraisers and
such every year) is labeled in accordance with the federal food labeling
laws,
which require disclosure of ingredients.
Personally, I refuse to eat anything with Splenda, saccharin, or
Equal in it. The health risks of saccharin are obvious, plus the fact I
can detect a saccharin aftertaste a mile away. The others are more of a
philosophical reason, however. My feeling is that unless your a diabetic,
if your concerned about eating sugar this means your too fat, or your
unable to exercise enough restraint when encountering anything sweet.
In both cases, you shouldn't be eating ANYTHING sweet AT ALL as
you should be retraining yourself to enjoy the natural flavors in food,
and weaning yourself off the dependency of the sweet tooth. Substituting
fake sugar merely perpetuates your horrible diet choices, and makes
you unconsciously continue to choose sweeter foods, most of which have
sugar in them, not fake-sugar (ie: Spenda, Equal, or saccharin) By
choosing to eat such foods I am financially supporting the industry that
produces fake-sugar, and therefore enabling millions of people who have
diet problems to continue to avoid adressing their fundamental problem,
which is they need to stop thinking that the only foods that taste "good"
are foods loaded with sugar.
Ted
