From: wilkins@scubed.com (Darin Wilkins)
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Subject: Repost - AFNS Jams
Summary: All-fruit-no-sugar jam recipes
Date: 10 Sep 92 06:10:16 GMT
Organization: S-CUBED, A Division of Maxwell Labs; San Diego CA


Recently there have been a number of requests for sugar-free
recipes.  I posted these recipes about a year ago, so long-time
readers can hit 'n' now.

These are recipes for all-fruit no-sugar (AFNS) jams.  Regular
commercial jams (the kind with sugar) are typically around 50
calories/Tbl (Tbl=tablespoon).  Most commercial AFNS jams are in the
range of 25 cal/Tbl, although some of the labels sneakily list
themselves as 15 cal/TEASPOON (not Tbl).  This is 45 cal/Tbl, almost
as bad as the regular jam.  Read the labels carefully.

Anyway, these AFNS jams are 10 to 15 cal/Tbl, an improvement over the
commercial AFNS jams, and a substantial improvement over regular jam.
I haven't made any of these, so I can't vouch for the taste.

These recipes call for fresh fruit, but you can substitute frozen whole
unsweetened berries if you wish.  Thaw the frozen fruit thoroughly
before using.  You don't need to use a blender or food processor on
thawed fruit; it is easily mashed by hand.

Also, these jams must be kept refrigerated.  Do not leave out for
prolonged periods.

------------------------------------------
Blueberry Jam  (makes about 8 C, 10 cal/Tbl)
------------------------------------------

1 envelope plain gelatin
1 (6-ounce) can apple juice concentrate, thawed
2 Tbl lemon juice
5 pints fresh blueberries

Place half the juice concentrate in a small pan or microwave dish.
Sprinkle gelatin on top and let soften, about 1 minute.

Combine remaining juice concentrate with lemon juice.

Puree blueberries, a pint or so at a time, in food processor or blender.

When gelatin is soft, heat gently until melted.

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Spoon into sterilized jars.

Store in refrigerator or freezer.  Keep refrigerated.

------------------------------------------
Black and Blue Berry Jam  (makes about 8 C, 10 cal/Tbl)
------------------------------------------

(Note:  Blackberries are very high in fiber, about 6 grams/C.
	Unfortunately, most of it is in the seeds and most commercial
	blackberry jams strain out the seeds.  This recipe attempts to
	reduce the 'seediness' of the jam by combining the blackberries
	with blueberries, thus preserving the fiber.  If you wish to
	strain the seeds out, feel free to do so.)

1 envelope plain gelatin
1 (6-ounce) can grape (or apple) juice concentrate, thawed
2 Tbl lemon juice
3 pints fresh blueberries
2 pints fresh blackberries

Place half the juice concentrate in a small pan or microwave dish.
Sprinkle gelatin on top and let soften, about 1 minute.

Combine remaining juice concentrate with lemon juice.

Puree berries, a pint or so at a time, in food processor or blender.

When gelatin is soft, heat gently until melted.

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Spoon into sterilized jars.

Store in refrigerator or freezer.  Keep refrigerated.

------------------------------------------
Strawberry Jam  (makes about 3 C, 15 cal/Tbl)
------------------------------------------

1 envelope plain gelatin
1 (6-ounce) can apple juice concentrate, thawed
2 Tbl lemon juice
2 pints fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
*Optional.  Replace part of the strawberries with raspberries, keeping
 total of 2 pints of fruit.  Mash raspberries with the back of a large
 spoon rather than blender or food processor.

Place half the juice concentrate in a small pan or microwave dish.
Sprinkle gelatin on top and let soften, about 1 minute.

Combine remaining juice concentrate with lemon juice.

Mash berries, or puree in food processor, using plastic blade.

Mix with apple-lemon-juice mixture.

When gelatin is soft, heat gently until melted.

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Spoon into sterilized jars.

Store in refrigerator or freezer.  Keep refrigerated.
------------------------------------------

The adventurous may wish to try this recipe, which uses artificial
sweetener.  Unfortunately, the recipe calls for '9 plums'.  Not a very
satisfactory way to specify a quantity for something which varies
between varieties as much as plums do.  I suspect that some varieties
are twice as large as others.  I will hazard a *guess* (based on a
microwave jam recipe I have and the fact that this recipe states it
makes 3 C) that the '9 plums' should yield about 3-4 Cups of chopped
fruit.

Also, do NOT use Aspartame/Nutrisweet for the artificial sweetener.
This recipe adds the sweetener to HOT jam.  Artificial sweeteners based
on Aspartame decompose at high temperatures, making the jam inedible.

Quick Slim Plum Jam (makes about 3 C)

9 fresh plums, chopped (about 3-4 C ????)
1 1/4 package (2 Tbl + 2 tsp) powdered pectin
4 tsp non-sugar sweetener (about 25 packets) (NOT Aspartame/Nutrisweet!)

Microwave:
----------------
Combine plums and pectin in 2-quart (8 C) glass measure.

Microwave, uncovered, on High for 15 min, stirring every
5 min, until mixture boils hard and thickens.

Stir in sweetener.

Pour into hot, sterilized jars (with lids), leaving some headspace.

Cover with lids and let stand at room temperature until cool.

Keeps in refrigerator for 3 weeks, or freeze up to 1 year.

Conventional method:
----------------
Combine plums and pectin in heavy 2-quart pan.

Cook about 20 min, stirring constantly, until mixture is of
desired thickness.  Then follow directions above.
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking