# lemon juice/fruit fresh



## carogator

Please tell me how much lemon juice you use to replace or substitute for fruit fresh when canning? Thank you.


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## judylou

The only thing Fruit Fresh is used for in canning that I am aware of is as a color preservative. How do you use it? I may be wrong, honestly I don't think many use it routinely. When dehydrating, yes. But there aren't any standard canning recipes that call for it specifically. 

The only time I use it is as a pre-soak for peaches or apples to keep them from darkening before I get them into the syrup. If you want to use lemon juice for that purpose the usual dilution is 2 T of lemon juice in 2 cups of water.


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## carogator

Thanks for the info on lemon juice. I use fruit fresh as required by my recipes for canning pears, apples, peaches, potatoes. Usually 1 tsp. per quart sprinkled in jar just before adding syrup.


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## judylou

Then for all of those I think I'd want very little lemon juice added because of the pronounced flavor change it will cause. Rather than the 2 T used in a pre-soak, maybe just 1-2 teaspoons instead in the jar. But that is just a guess on my part. 

Have you ever tried just using either the Fruit Fresh or lemon juice as a pre-soak as the current recipes recommend rather than adding it to the jar?


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## Horseyrider

I don't use either Fruit Fresh or lemon juice. Judylou's right; lemon juice will change the flavor of your final product, and both options are expensive.

I use vitamin C.

I sent hubby to the Dollar Store for some, and he brought home a bottle of 1000mg tablets. I crush a couple in some water and use it for my dip. No flavor transferrence, and the colors of whatever I have in it stay bright. It lasts a long time, too; and per use, is very cheap to use.


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## carogator

Horseyrider said:


> I don't use either Fruit Fresh or lemon juice. Judylou's right; lemon juice will change the flavor of your final product, and both options are expensive.
> 
> I use vitamin C.
> 
> I sent hubby to the Dollar Store for some, and he brought home a bottle of 1000mg tablets. I crush a couple in some water and use it for my dip. No flavor transferrence, and the colors of whatever I have in it stay bright. It lasts a long time, too; and per use, is very cheap to use.


Hadn't thought about that, but Vitamin C is supposed to be ascorbic acid, the same thing. Thanks


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## offGridNorthern

I use 1/2 cup lemon juice per 1/2 gallon water. You have to watch the fillers in the Vitamin C tablets -- they may turn the product cloudy. Each drug company uses different fillers in their products. It won't hurt you, but won't win prizes at the local Agricult. Fair, either. I prefer the old way... and since I use it as a dip to retain the colour, it hasn't affected the taste of the food.


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## 7thswan

Salty water can also be used.


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## judylou

carogator - as you can tell most of us use the ascorbic acid sources only as a pre-soak rather than adding it to the jars themselves. There is no safety issue involved, just color preservation, so you might want to give it a try and see if the results meet your expectations. Much easier and less risk of flavor changes.


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