OMG.... The quick answer is NO! Please take time to read the recipes at the National Center for Home Food Preservation linked below for more information about reduced-sugar recipes. Call your County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences for up-to-date on the subject.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Jams and Jelly

Thanks Grainlady. I have been reading various websites and found conflicting information, hence the question to the CF canning folks.

The NCHFP is THE authority when it comes to all kinds of food preservation. If there is conflict, I would absolutely come down on their side. Unfortunately there is a lot of bad information out there about canning. For most cooking recipes and tips, it isn't really crucial, but you can get seriously sick if you aren't careful about food preservation. Sorry to sound preachy.

You would get more input if you post your question on the Harvest forum where canning and preserving are the main topics.

Cheryl

Thanks Cheryl. Yesterday I did check on the Harvest forum but didn't find an answer specific to my question.

I have been making marmalade for a number of years and I hope I haven't made anyone sick. oops, there was that one jar I sent to Compumon that didn't have the requisite amount of head room, thankfully she is still with us. I think I will just stick with my usual method.

Thanks.

Cathy, on the Harvest forum there is a regular poster called linda lou. She has posted about using Splenda in place of sugar to make jams suitable for diabetics. I would search for posts she has made, or see if you can contact her directly. She seems very knowledgeable and helpful.

Sorry I have no experience with Splenda in jams. I use it in baking to replace part of the sugar but I know nothing about the effect on jelling.

Cheryl

I made jam with Splenda and the pectin for sugar free jams, and I wasn't pleased with it, at all. It didn't set up well and didn't taste great. Maybe making with part sugar, part sugar substitute might be better.

I use sugar, now, and take the sugar into consideration with my diet. I am not a diabetic, but am careful with sugar.

Unless someone is eating huge amounts of jams, jellies or marmalade, all day, every day, there's really no need, even for a diabetic, to eliminate the sugar found in these products. Regular jam, jelly and marmalade can be part of a healthy diet.

You can change your regular pectin to the low or no-sugar needed pectin. Regular pectin does require a specific balance of fruit to sugar. I've never used pectin in marmalade making - citrus has a lot of natural pectin anyway. But you obviously have a recipe using it that works for you, so go for it.

I've never used stevia, but I believe it is heat-stable, that should be fine. Adding some sugar will keep the color bright as well as adding some element of "this won't go moldy as fast". Sugar is a preservative, and I do find that low-sugar jams and jellies do mold a bit faster in the fridge (doesn't make any difference sealed on the shelf). Probably about 6 weeks as opposed to maybe 12-14 weeks for high sugar jams.

Hope that helps.

OK, first, oranges, lemons and limes are sufficiently acidic that they can be water bath canned using only water, so it's not a safety issue to reduce the sugar level.

I have been unhappy with results using stevia, Splenda and Equal, so I stopped using them. You can, however, make low/no sugar fruit spreads using pectin made especially for no-sugar or low sugar recipes. It's not usually interchangeable with regular pectin, you have to buy the special stuff.

I normally cut the sugar in half (at least) and just cook the fruit until it either jells or gets thick, in which case it becomes a fruit butter. Low sugar jams and spreads do not keep as well, they mold more quickly after opening, they lose color and flavor and become unappetizing far more quickly. However, keeping half the sugar might alleviate that problem.

I do have a problem getting citrus marmalades to jell anyway, sometimes it takes a week or longer and sometimes it never does jell, so I haven't tried a reduced sugar version of it yet. I haven't had a bumper crop of oranges yet, though. (grin)

So relax, take a deep breath and step away from the jam pot for an instant. Cutting down the sugar won't kill anyone (I know you wouldn't eat moldy/rancid/spoiled jam anyway) but it may spoil quickly and you'll have to go out and get some special pectin.

Annie