How do I reduce the quantity of sugar in jam or jelly recipes?
When preparing jams or jellies with dry or liquid fruit pectins, reducing the quantity of sugar from that recommended in the recipe can cause gel failure. Consumers with special dietary needs may wish to use a special product, BERNARDIN® No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin, which gels fruit mixtures with no added sugar. Such fruit spreads are sweetened exclusively by fruit’s natural sweetness. The sweetness of fruit spreads made with this No Sugar Needed pectin can be enhanced with artificial sweeteners or a small quantity of corn syrup, honey or up to 3 cups of granulated sugar. The quantity of sugar in a long boil jam recipe may be reduced at the maker’s discretion. However, the product will need to be cooked longer to reduce liquids and concentrate the natural sugars from the fruit used. In many cases, this lengthened cooking will result in a product with a carmelized flavour and considerably lower yield than similar quantities of fruit prepared with added pectin. Although long boil fruit
