One of the things I knew I wanted to make my future mother in law for Christmas was a sugar free jam. While she loves to put jam on her toast, the no-sugar-added jams currently available on the market can be prohibitively expensive and limited in the range of flavours. Since I make Toast Topper for most of my giftees at holiday time, I decided to put up a small batch for her.
As for the flavours, I had a stash of local cherries in my freezer and knew that would be my base. Not wanting to leave it at just that (although it is delicious), I added a dose of ginger for a seasonal zing. Finally, just to be fancy, I sprinkled in a touch of edible gold flakes - everyone needs a bit of sparkle every day!
I know that a lot of people are leery about artificial sweeteners like Splenda, and I say to each their own (I use it in my cooking if I'm looking to cut the sugar or if I'm cooking for diabetics). You can certainly use sugar or another sweetener of your choice in place of it here, just make sure it is heat stable since it has to go through the cooking and canning process. Stevia blends like Truvia will likely work but I have not tested with those. Happy jamming!
Sugar Free Cherry Ginger Jam
Makes ~ 4 cups
4 cups stemmed and pitted black cherries, pureed
1 tbsp calcium water (from Pomona's)
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups Splenda (or your preferred heat stable sugar substitute)
1 tbsp Pomona's Pectin
2 tsp ground ginger
pinch of edible gold flakes (or even edible gold cake sparkles), optional
- Combine cherries, calcium water, and lemon juice in a pot and bring to a boil.
- Whisk together Splenda, pectin, and ginger in a small bowl and add to the cherries.
- Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, until dissolved.
- Ladle into jars and top with a sprinkle of gold flakes (if using). Note: if processing, the gold will disperse into the jam. This is ok!
- Process in a waterbath for 10 minutes.
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