honey or sugar?

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Posted by jwangelin WNY (My Page) on

Sat, Oct 29, 11 at 21:01

Hi,
Recently I bought a steam juicer. Due to time and money constraints I bought an aluminum model. Stainless would have been nicer to work with. It made working with grapes so easy. On my first batch I used honey and I hope to make a second batch soon. Has anyone noticed a differance in the taste of jams and jellies made with honey vs. sugar?

Thanks in advance,
Jon

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RE: honey or sugar?

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Posted by readinglady z8 OR (My Page) on
Sun, Oct 30, 11 at 1:35

Honey presents some challenges in jam-making. Generally it doesn't react with the fruit and acid in the same way as sugar. It has a different structure and the results will also be different.

Honey is acid. In one way it's an advantage in that it makes honey a less-hospitable environment for bacteria, but the acid in the honey can throw off the sugar-acid-pectin balance.

Honey is more liquid, and you have to cook the jam longer to a higher temperature than sugar to achieve a set.

The rule of thumb is with added pectin you can replace up to one cup of the sugar with one cup of honey. If it's a "no-commercial-pectin" recipe, you can replace up to half the sugar with honey. Honey does have more sweetening power and at higher levels not only are there problems with the gel but also the flavor of the honey tends to mask the flavor of the fruit.

Carol

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