We
like having home made jam on our toast for breakfast. But I have always felt uneasy at how much
sugar goes into it. So I made a batch of
lower sugar apricot jam – and was
pleased to find that it was just as good!
I
had 500g of apricots (weight after removing their stones).
I
added to the chopped apricots 250g of sugar (half the quantity the normal
recipes would suggest), the juice of 1 lemon (to help with jam setting), a
tablespoon of brandy (obviously optional) and a few drops of vanilla extract.
I
boiled it until it reached the setting stage.
You test this by putting a small quantity onto a very cold plate and
then running your finger through it to see if the jam on each side stays
separate or runs together. When it stays
separate the jam is ready.
Just
before turning off the hob I added 1 teaspoon of stevia powder (a natural
herbal sweetener which is over 10 times sweeter than sugar).
I
put the jam into clean, hot jars and put a little waxed paper disc on top of
each one before putting the lid on. I
keep this jam in the fridge since the jars were not fully sterilised.
The
jam didn't taste at all of the brandy or the vanilla but to my mind they did
accentuate the apricotiness of the end product.
Oh good to know that you can use stevia in jam.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds lovely! I need to get some jars and do jam. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteNever thought of testing jam to see if it has set. obviously a beginner, but so.happy to read that there are ways to see when/if it is ready!
ReplyDeleteI love apricots, your jam looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteYour jam looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOne of my mother's favorite fruits. She would love this.
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking to Raising Imperfection.
Please come back Friday to see if you were featured. :)
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(¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo
Raising-Reagan.com
Looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteCool that you made that work. Looks great and I'll bet it tastes even better!
ReplyDeleteJoy's Book Blog
That's a great tip for testing the jam...not that I've ever made jam b/c I'm too chicken to do so. But a nice tip all the same! Thank you for linking this week, Carole. I'm going to stop in this week and link some sauces to Food on friday. For now, I'm recovering from vacation. Ha!
ReplyDeletehow do you keep the apricots from turning brown in freezer?
ReplyDelete