How to Make Low or No Sugar, Pectin Free Jam

If you use no sugar then ferment the cooked fruit paste in an anaerobic seal it will partially digest and sweeten and require no sugar! Yum! With severe arthritis I avoid all processed sugar and this method takes time but is really yummy! (I should mention that I learned this in an Eastern European country and the cooking down requires constant attention for 8-10 hours to become a heavy paste and after a week the fermentation must be stopped so it doesn’t digest all the natural sugars. This is done by heating it back to just a simmering boil then putting in jam jars (to seal) and refrigerating for about a week to be sure it has stopped fermenting. I did this with well ripened rhubarb and it is not only sweet but has remained bright and fresh for over five years in my pantry. But it works best with sweet fruits. Thank you for a nice video!

What a great idea. Most of us in the US are used to eating a jar of sugar flavored with fruit. This way is MUCH healthier and we might actually get to taste the fruit.

Great video! My wife usually takes care of this stuff, but she was too busy so I was stuck with a gallon of back berries to do myself. This video gave me all the information I needed for a great jam.

My mother use to put the peel of one orange in while cooking it. We had no pectin back in the day. She was cooking it down and testing thickness/setting along the way.

I watched that using 1/4 of fruit unripened, 2 tsp lemon juice, and 2 tbs powdered chia seeds will fix issues with no pectin and no sugar.

I make what i call frig clean out jam. In my large crockpot 6qt. I just add whatever fruit and occasionally ive even added 1 or 2 chunks of a veggie, cook it overnight turn it off in the am. Then noonish use my stick blender and for 6qt crockpot i will add juice of a citrus or half cup bottled lemon juice and maybe 3 cups cane sugar. Stir in, turn crockpot on high and when its bubbling i sterilize my jars and i do that in microwave one at a time with a cup water in a pint jar for 3 min. Then i put my lids in a pyrex bowl and turning my pint jars as i empty that hot water in the bowl over the lids. (Gloves avoid burning your hands or wrap the pint with linen towel when you take from mic. Then while next pints sterilizing. I use funnel and put my jam in first jar put lid n ring on and set it on my towel then cover with another towel like a tunnel over jars to allow them to cool off slowly. Just continue the above manner til all pulp is gone. We use it on pancakes with peanut butter on sandwich or add to hot cereal instead of sugar. We are so used to it regular jelly is just too sweet to us. I use any and all things and so far have not been disappointed. Canteloupe, bananas, apples, pears, berries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, any citrus fruit and anything ovetly ripe goes in, occasionally ive needed something fibrous to add body to a runny batch and threw in a couple baby taters, but carrots, peppers, even green beans. Truly, have picky eaters, add those high nutrition hated things to this jam. Youll be shocked how good it tastes and of course you can taste it at the blended stage to see if you want to add salt cinnamon etc. Works for us. Clean out that frig and quit throwing overripe fruit away.

Thanks! Going to try this with my blackberries this afternoon. Love the "no sugar", no pectin concept.

I so appreciate this! I am trying to eliminate white sugar and processed food and have been looking for such recipes as this. I also have enjoyed many of your other videos. God bless your ministry!

This old way is why when I started canning as an adult I didn’t know what pectin was. My aunt Edith never used pectin she canned the old fashioned way all the time. She was 99 in the 1995 when she passed.

You're a Godsend Heidi! Really busy with chicks, garden, herbs this time of yr, but I have this beautiful harvest of strawberries, and your video makes it look sooo easy. Thanks

Learn something new every time I watch you - thanks I love chunky seeds and all jam too! I make elderberry and dew berry jams.

Love the fact there's more flavor with less sugar, and also being able to use unripened fruits to obtain pectin. Thank you very much! I will be making raspberry jam with this 1/4 cup method, cheers from BC Canada.

Thanks for the work you do regarding more natural and lower sugar. I'm borderline diabetic and I appreciate all the information you put out !!!!

Thanks again for sharing with us your knowledge on healthier jams and jellies. 💚☘️😊

I made yesterday strawberry jelly with less sugar and it taste good. Thank you for your teachings. God bless! Karen

Excellent, Im all for using less sugar, and doing as much as we can for ourselves, very inspiring! Loving your videos from the UK xx

Also saw this: Typically jams use roughly equal amounts of fruit to sugar. This is important for both how the jam sets and that it is preserved correctly. As mentioned above sugar absorbs moisture which is vitally important to keep spoilage microbes at bay. To make you jam last longer enough sugar is required. Some recipes use smaller amounts of sugar and will probably have stated on the recipe a shorter shelf life or will need to be kept in the refrigerator as soon as they are made. They do say about "canning" - Once the jams are added to the jar and sealed taking the extra step of heat processing the jars will ensure a longer lifespan. This is an optional step and is not necessary but will mean your jams last a lot longer. It is really simple to do, just bring a large pot of water to the boil and turn down to a gentle simmer. Carefully add the still hot sealed jars (a jar lifter is good for this) to the water bath and allow to sit in the simmering water for at least 10 minutes. Most recipes will state a processing time. Remove from the heat and you are done.

Thanks for another option from the unhealthy versions in the store. I love the option of using very little sugar. Thanks so much.

That’s a great experiment and it worked so well!

Great tip on the red berries for natural pectin! Did NOT know and the hubs (Mark) always grabs some red ones and now I must defrost and make this! Thanks Heidi, ❤ all y’all, Kristy in Missouri 😃🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸