Making homemade jam: A no‑sugar guide for perfect preservation

Do you remember those homemade jams from childhood, those you'd sneak a finger into when Grandma wasn't looking? Many people probably get nostalgic and crave that sweetness. However, nowadays, with our increased awareness about healthy eating, we're trying to avoid overly sweet products. This doesn't mean we have to give up homemade jams. They can be made without sugar or gel fixatives; you just need to know a few rules.

Let's remember, though, that sugar, despite its less favourable reputation, not only contributes to the taste and consistency of jams but also serves as an excellent preservative. Therefore, when opting out of adding sugar, it's crucial to prepare preserves with utmost care, ensuring not only the impeccable quality of the fruits but also that the jars and lids are thoroughly sterilised.

Making a thick jam without sugar or gel fixative is possible if you choose the ingredients for such preserves well and properly handle the thermal processing. Even the smallest details matter.

It's worth noting that jam should be cooked for a long time on low heat, stirring the contents of the pot/pan occasionally to prevent the fruits from burning. The optimal time is 3-4 hours. Cooking the jam might take longer if there is more water to evaporate. Importantly, sometimes the fruits become overcooked. It's challenging to make flavourful preserves from such fruits. To avoid this, the fruits shouldn't be cut too small, as a significant and rapid loss of water from the fruits can cause them to become mushy and float in their own juices.

A natural gelling agent is pectin, a substance found in the inner walls of fruits. Strawberries, raspberries, and pears contain little pectin, making it difficult to get a thick jam from these fruits without using sugar or gel fixatives. Additionally, these fruits contain a lot of water, so more time is needed to evaporate it. On the other hand, fruits particularly rich in pectin include apples, especially their skins, as well as gooseberries, bananas, peaches, and plums. Apricots are also worth mentioning, as they contain much pectin and are also low in water. They can be an excellent gelling addition to preserves. You just need to add about 200 grams of pectin-rich fruits for every kilogram of other fruits to achieve a thick jam consistency.

An easier solution could be using pectin powder. It's a natural product that thickens and preserves beautifully. Another example of a product that can replace sugar or gel fixatives in fruit preserves is... potato starch. This product thickens perfectly, giving the preserves a slightly pudding-like consistency. Always pay attention to the amount of starch used - too much can impart flavour to the jam. It's essential to remember that jams made without sugar or gel fixatives can spoil quickly. It's a good idea to pasteurise them beforehand.