Canning with Less Sugar (2024)

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Martha Zepp, Pennsylvania State University

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While sugar helps fruits keep their bright color and firm texture, it is not necessary to prevent fruit from spoiling. Most pickles, relishes, jams and jellies still need sugar for the proper consistency, but recipes have been developed for low or no sugar products. Two such recipes from The National Center for Home Food Preservation areReduced-Sugar Peach Pineapple Spread and No-Sugar Added Cantaloupe Pickles.

Canning with Light Syrups

It is safe to use lighter syrupsto can fruit. Just reduce the amount of sugar in relation to the water. You may need to experiment to determine how much sugar you can eliminate and still find the product acceptable.

Canning without Sugar

• It is safe to can fruit in water without added sugar. However, you may find that the fruit is less firm than you are accustomed to.
• Use the hot pack method, i.e. cook the fruit in water until hot before packing the hot fruit into hot jars. Add boiling water to cover, seal, and process.

Canning Fruit in Juice

• Frozen or bottled unsweetened juice is a good alternative to sugar syrup or water.
• Reconstituted frozen apple juice concentrate works well with peaches, pears, apricots, plums, and red or white sweet cherries. It can be diluted with extra water to reduce the apple flavor and calories.
• Frozen pineapple juice works well with pears or peaches. Frozen pineapple juice gives a fresher flavor than canned pineapple juice.
• White grape juice works well with pears, peaches, or apricots.
• Red grape juice compliments plums and red cherries.
• Individuals with diabetes will still need to consider the fruit juice when counting carbohydrates.

Canning with Honey

• Honey is a concentrated sweetener that has more calories per tablespoon than sugar.
• It tastes sweeter than an equal amount of sugar.
• A mild flavored variety of honey can be used in canning syrups.

Canning with Non-nutritive Sweeteners

• Non-nutritive sweeteners are also referred to as sugar substitutes and as artificial sweeteners.
• At one time, no non-nutritive sweeteners were recommended for home canning.
• The application of heat to some non-nutritive sweeteners may cause the loss of sweetening power or cause an unpleasant after taste or flavor change.
• Aspartame is destroyed by long cooking.
• Non-nutritive sweeteners may be added when canned goods are served rather than using them in canning.
• Sucralose (Splenda®) maintains its sweetness in canning.
• Recipes have been developed for canning pickles and jams with Splenda®.
• Splenda® does not provide the same preservative properties as sugar; it is not suitable for use in preserves or pickled fruit.
• Use research tested recipes when making products using Splenda®.

Canning with Sucralose

• Process according to directions for water packed fruit.
• Research has shown that peaches canned with Splenda® were acceptable to many people.
• Jam and jelly can be made with no-sugar needed pectin using Splenda® and other non-heat sensitive artificial sweeteners.
• Package inserts with commercial pectins tell you when you should add non-nutritive sweeteners.
• Non-nutritive sweeteners do not provide the properties of sugar necessary to jell traditional long cook jams and jellies.

Canning with Stevia

• Stevia is heat stable.
• Stevia provides sweetness but does not provide the firm texture of sugar.
• Stevia can only be used in jams and jellies when used with no-sugar needed pectin—low methoxyl pectin.

Resources:

LaBorde, L., Zepp, M., & Hirneisen, A.; (2019, September 3). "Let's Preserve Ingredients Used in Home Food Preservation".

National Center for Home Food Preservation. (n.d.) "Preparing and Canning Pickled Fruits"

National Center for Home Food Preservation. (Reviewed 2018, February). "Selecting, Preparing & Canning Fruit: Syrups for Canning Fruit".