Jam and Jelly recipes for diabetics
Hi all! My grandmother is diabetic but loves homemade jams and jellies. But most recipes are obviously loaded with sugar. For Christmas this year, I wanted to make her some sugar free versions but all of the recipes I've found don't sound very appealing. Does anyone have any suggestions or tried and true favorite recipes? I'm also open to other diabetic friendly treats as well. Thanks!
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9 Comments:
This is something that has been on my TO DO list for a while... my sister is a diabetic and endocrinologist and is always asking me to make recipes suitable for her and her patients.
I have been meaning to make my cranberry sauce with Stevia or Agave Nectar. The apple juice I already use has no suggar added. I have not tried it, but I think it is worth a try. Let me know how it goes if you do try it...
Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking
MadelynRodriguez at 10:38AM on 12/18/08
I've made sugar-free or low-sugar jams using low-sugar pectin (the one I used was Pomona's Universal pectin - this one, and I was really, really pleased with it) - it makes low-sugar or sugar-free jams really easy. The package insert has recipes and a "formula" with proportions, which makes it easy for you to develop your own recipe. You can use sugar (reduced amounts), honey, fruit juices or any other sweetener of choice.
brooke29 at 12:30PM on 12/18/08
If this wasn't a medical need, honey or agave or whatever could be substitutes that are a little heathier, but if the point is to avoid sugar, those are all still forms of sugar.
You could make jams and jellies and preserves with no added sugar, but realistically, the fruits themselves have a lot of sugar, so you'd only be fooling yourself that this was a "sugar-free" treat.
Other than limiting consumption (treat it like the sugary treat that is it) or using weird chemicals, you're always going to be faced with the fact that the fruit itself is the first problem.
dbcurrie at 12:38PM on 12/18/08
Many diabetics can tolerate small amounts of agave nectar much better than white sugar. Jam is a once in awhile treat, but even a small amount once in awhile made with white sugar can cause serious problems for diabetics. If agave nectar is tolerable in small doses, I recommend it highly for jams and jellies - I made a whole cupboard full of jams and jellies using agave this year, and they turned out great. Pomona's Universal Pectin is the way to go - use their guidelines inside the package for preserves made with honey.
producestories at 1:23PM on 12/18/08
I have no doubt that agave is healthier that white sugar. The problem is that many people don't hear the "er" and leap directly to the idea that it's healthy. Same thing with "no sugar added." People see that on a label and they think it's sugar-free when in fact it could be packed with sugar -- it just doesn't have extra sugar added in.
Even if the jam or jelly is made with no added sugars at all, it still has the natural sugars in the fruit. And that's something that a diabetic has to be aware of.
I'm sure there are plenty of ways to make a jelly that's heathier than a storebought jelly, depending on your personal definition of "healthier." But it's healthier in comparison to other jellies, which sort of lowers the bar as far as healthy food is concerned.
dbcurrie at 2:45PM on 12/18/08
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I knew the jelly wouldn't be completely sugar free because of the fruit. Perhaps I should have said reduced sugar since this is going to be a once in awhile treat but not something she should not eat everyday.
HeatherB at 3:33PM on 12/18/08
@Heather, the diabetic association has a website with all sorts of info, and if you're going to be doing more of this sort of cooking, there are also diabetic cookbooks available.
If it's a sometimes-treat, I'd still suggest you go with a fruit-only version and skip any of the added sweeteners. Unless you're starting with a really tart fruit, that is.
dbcurrie at 4:41PM on 12/18/08
The Ball Blue Book has a section devoted to special diet canning. I'd stick to recipes that are made with fruits lower in sugar to begin with like peaches and raspberries rather than say, pineapples or grapes (even low sugar grape jelly is still pretty carb-heavy). Jams will require less sugar than jellies (in most cases).
Keep in mind that low-sugar jams and jellies, particularly the ones made with unsweetened fruit juice rather than pectin do not have the same shelf-life because of the preserving qualities of sugar. If you're making a "fridge-jam" (not going through a canner so it can be stored without refrigeration) you can just omit the sugar altogether. In that case, strawberry is probably the easiest.
Goodythecook at 5:07PM on 12/18/08
I'm a type one diabetic and I have a lot of trouble finding appealing low sugar recipes too.
I've never made my own jelly but I have had great success with fruit butters. I dont have access to the recipe I usually use (my cookbooks are in storage right now) but they have what sounds like a good one on recipezaar.com.
Good luck!
mayoxqueen at 10:59PM on 12/18/08