# Canning with Splenda -- what didn't work for you?



## MNBobcat (Feb 4, 2011)

Hi Everyone,

Started canning about a month ago. I'm pre-diabetic and managing it by eating low carbs and avoiding sugar.

I understand that Splenda doesn't have the preservative qualities like sugar and that you should use a different type of pectin if using Splenda. 

For things that don't require pectin, is it safe to assume that if vinegar is used that Splenda can be substituted for sugar?

Just curious what situations would you not want to substitute Splenda for safety reasons?


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

I was also diagnosed pre-diabetic/insulin resistant. I can't use any artificial sweeteners since I'm allergic to them, however I do make some jam recipes without any added sugars. For those, I use the "Low Sugar" formula of Sure Jell or Mrs. Wages pectin... which are also recommended for all sugarless recipes using Splenda or Equal.

In a vinegar (pickling) recipe, the sugar is normally just for flavor not preservation, so you should be able to make the substitution without any issues. I only have a few sweet pickle recipes and neither uses that much sugar, so I just use sugar for veggies and natural fruit juice concentrate for fruit.

For canned fruit, I just use the fruit juice instead of any simple syrups. The only things I've ever found needed the extra sweetness of a heavy syrup were tart cherries and cranberries, but using grape juice concentrate was usually enough if I didn't want to add sugar. (for the lower acid fruits like apples and pears, I either add ascorbic acid to raise the pH or I pressure can them)

Be advised, though, that fruit juice isn't really that much lower in carbs and natural sugar than regular table sugar. Fructose does have a slightly lower glycemic load than sucrose, so you get a slightly lower blood glucose spike (hyperglycemic). But also be aware that you get can get a nasty insulin spike using artificial sweeteners, since your pancreas starts secreting insulin to combat the sugar it's expecting when something sweet gets in your mouth... since artificial sweeteners don't have any sugar for the insulin to work on, your blood sugar level will drop (you go hypoglycemic instead of hyperglycemic). This can be a real problem for us pre-diabetics because our insulin/glucose regulation is messed up to start with.

My biggest advice would be to use low sugar/fruit juice canning recipes and eat less of the sweet stuff rather than relying on sucralose or aspartame.


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

Here's a good reference for making different canning "sugar" solutions for fruit and when/how to use them for best results: http://www.pickyourown.org/sugarsolution.htm

And one for No-Low sugar pectins for jams and jellies: http://www.pickyourown.org/jamnosugar.htm

Pickling with low salt & low sugar: http://www.howtopickle.com/articles/special_dietary_needs_pickles.html (note that substituting artificial sweeteners for the sugar in heat-processed pickling recipes isn't recommended because of discoloration, mushiness and bitter flavor, but they're fine for quick refrigerator pickles)

How sugar (and salt) work in preservation: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/natural-food-preservatives.html ("dehydration" through cellular osmosis)


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

I used Splenda a few years ago and wasn't happy with the results. 

I made jam, put some in apple sauce, and in some pickled beets.

My solution now is to can in the tradtional way, and just eat less of the canned goods. I make a very, very light syrup for fruit, if adding any at all. 

You would be surprised how good jam is, even though it's spread thinly.


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

You can make no sugar jams with Pomona's pectin, or jams with just a small amount of honey or sugar added to them.


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## MontanaKJ (Aug 10, 2009)

Ball Canning Book has an entire section dedicated to low sugar canning. I would recommend checking out this year's copy.


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