UPDATE — On 06/02, Daniel’s Jam, part of the Friendship Series, will release… That jam will be joining the ‘Lower Sugar’ lineup! The only sweetener in Daniel’s Jam is honey, and not much was used… the amount of sweetener for that jam ends up being only 1 tablespoon of honey per jar! Otherwise, it is just blackberries; blackberry juice, and vanilla beans, simmered slowly with just a touch of pectin to help it gel — something to look forward to my friends!! 🙂
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**ORIGINAL POST**Hi Y’all… In response to a large number of questions and requests, I have been experimenting with developing, and offering a few ‘lower sugar’ options. When I decided to do this, there were a couple of ground rules that I put in place for myself:
- That I would not use any chemicals… that includes the ‘low or no sugar’ pectins that you can find on the market these days; those products achieve their goal by using chemical additives. I was taught the natural way, which I embrace and respect. Chemically created or enhanced jams and jellies can be found in the grocery store — NOT ON THIS SITE.
- That I would offer up what I come up with for my customers to try, so that could get feedback on the product…
- That if it doesn’t go as planned, I would step back, re-evaluate, and then approach again, armed with the feedback from my customers.
- And that, if I’m not ultimately successful in the end, AT LEAST I TRIED!!
So, today I have added [2] new flavors to the SHOP; both utilizing 80% less sugar than I normally use when making jams. Those flavors are:
- Lemon Pear Jam [using lemon peel, pips & pith to thicken naturally]
- Orange Cranberry Preserves [using cranberry to thicken naturally]
Since the sugar has been dramatically reduced, you will notice a softer set with these two flavors, versus other jams you may get from me, or have gotten from me in the past. It will set — It’ll just take its sweet time getting there; yet the final set won’t be as firm as other preserves or jams that you get from this site — that is the price of reducing the sugar; sugar is a required part of the jelling process… take too much of it away, and it will affect the final result. So, those of you looking for options that are LOWER SUGAR — THESE FLAVORS ARE NOW HERE FOR YOU TO TRY!! If you want a firmer set sooner, then just store it in the refrigerator and you see a firmer set within 24 hours.
In the hopes of getting feedback from my customers, I am offering both the Lemon Pear Jam, and the Orange/Cranberry Preserves at a discounted rate. So, if you’re looking for a lower sugar option, try one or both of them, and let me know what you think!
Enjoy!!