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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] jam making/white grape juice concentrates in placeofthesugar

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  • From: "Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>
  • To: "'North American Fruit Explorers'" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] jam making/white grape juice concentrates in placeofthesugar
  • Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2006 00:11:56 -0800

My freezer is generally packed to the gills. I seldom make a
fruit-concentrate sweetened jelly or jam, because I want freezer-free
methods of preserving. I'll still make a small batch now and then for the
fridge.

As far as honey vs. sugar in preserves - I like the Stocking Up recipes.
They're quite safe to put up. They use less honey than other honey-based
fruit spread recipes, and the fruit flavor comes through very well. They
are actually less sweet than many sugar-based equivalent recipes, and set up
with low-methoxyl or regular pectin. The honey flavor is there, too; I don't
think of that as detrimental, though. Honey tastes good with fruit, and
adds a layer of complexity. Recipe choice is important - just substituting
honey for sugar does run the risk of either under-jelling or burning the
honey.

All that said, most of the time I preserve with sugar, but I like the
variety of ways different components of the fruit flavor are emphasized with
the use of honey or fruit concentrate, and I like having some different and
delicious takes on preserves. Particularly when I've had dozens of pounds
of fruit to put up, it's been nice to have had different batches with
different characteristics.

Merry holidays,

~ Stephen



-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of list@ginda.us
Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 9:12 PM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] jam making/white grape juice concentrates in
placeofthesugar


On Dec 20, 2006, at 5:45 PM, Stephen Sadler wrote:
. . .
>
> These will be freezer jams. White grape juice concentrate cannot
> be counted
> on to have the same preserving qualities as honey or sugar.

On Dec 21, 2006, at 9:44 AM, Hélène Dessureault wrote:
>
> Pour into a few jars. Keep one in the fridge and freeze the rest.
> Will keep easily 3 weeks in the fridge.

Do you guys eat tons of jelly, or have huge freezers? One thing I
like about making jelly is that it turns a perishable fruit into
something yummy that keeps pretty much indefinitely. Of course, I
mostly make jelly with currants, which are so sour the added sugar to
help them jell is desirable for flavor, too. (No added pectin
needed, currants are very high in pectin, especially if not over-ripe.)

Although, i suppose if something tasted like fresh strawberries out
of strawberry season, it might be worth a lot of freezer space. . .

On Dec 21, 2006, at 9:44 AM, Hélène Dessureault wrote:
>
> One final comment. What prompt me to write this note was the
> comment by one
> member of the list who is using honey as a substitute for sugar.
> What a
> shame. Honey is a wonderful food that looses most of its quality
> when boiled
> extensively. It adds a brown colour to jams and imparts a strong
> flavor that
> covers everything else.

I agree completely. Honey is very nice, but it has such a strong
flavor that I would think it would overwhelm the fruit in a jam. And
it's "softer' than sugar, so I'd guess your jam would need to be a
lot sweeter to jell, unless you are using agar or the like.

Happy holidays to all,
Ginda
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