No Sugar Added Raspberry Syrup

I've been a fan of Bernardin's "No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin" for a couple of years now. If you like a little spread on your toast, you need to try this stuff. It's very easy to use, and with a little imagination the possibilities are endless! My favourite from last year was "apricot-mango jam"...

Another exciting thing I've tried with this pectin is syrup making. General rule of thumb: double the fruit and sweetener amounts with one box of pectin to make a syrupy fruit topping. Apricot was very successful, and today's raspberry seems to have worked. (the trial amount on my pancakes this morning would indicate complete success...)

Give it a try! It's really not as much work as you might think- and if you don't have sugar issues yourself, but have a diabetic friend or relative, there's nothing that would make a more thoughtful or well appreciated Christmas or birthday gift than a basket of homemade "no sugar added" jams, jellies and syrups!


7 cups raspberry juice*
1 box Bernardin No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin Crystals
2 1/2 cups Splenda artificial sweetener

7 - 8 1 cup (250 ml) canning jars with lids (jars with tin snap lids are recommended; they will need to be processed in hot water bath/ canner)

First, wash and rinse the jars and lids. Set oven to 225*F and set clean jars on rack in oven. They need to be there for 10 minutes to sterilize. (it will take at least that long to make the syrup, so you should be good.) Place the tin snap lids (not the rings) in a small pot; fill the pot about half full of water and set over high heat. Bring to a boil and keep simmering while you cook the syrup.

Follow the directions in the pectin box for "light jelly".

Basically: Measure Splenda into a bowl/ container and set aside- where you can reach it while you're stirring the juice.

Whisk pectin crystals into juice in your largest pot. A tall stock pot is wonderful, as jams/ jellies/ syrups tend to "spit" when they're boiling.

Bring juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. When juice is boiling, add Splenda. Stir/ whisk in and boil for 1 full minute.

Remove from heat, and skim foam off into a bowl (for the kids to eat on bread... ) Now, instead of "ladling into jars", I poured the syrup into my 8 cup Pyrex bowl- the one with the handle and the pouring spout... and then I filled the jars.

Remove jars, one at a time, with tongs or oven mit, then pour syrup into jars, leaving 1/4 inch space at the top of the jar. Using a magnetic canning tool, or tongs or a fork, lift a tin snap lid from the hot water and place it on the jar, securing it in place with the ring.

When all the jars are filled, place them in a canner, cover the jars with water, and boil the jars in the canner for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the jars, and without tightening the lids, set them on a towel to cool, upright and undisturbed for 24 hours. (well... that's what the instructions say... I can't promise I always leave them "undisturbed" that long...)

The tin lids should snap down, feeling a little curved under. They shouldn't "pop" up and down at all. If popping occurs the jar isn't sealed, and you must store it in the fridge.

Yield: 7 - 8 cups syrup.

*You could try using pure, unsweetened commercial juice, but I used juice obtained from fresh fruit: I put the raspberries in my largest pot and added water to almost cover the berries. You need water to keep the berries from burning on the bottom, but you don't want them swimming in it or the juice will be watery. I brought the fruit and water to a boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes or so, then turned the stove off, removed the pot from the heat and let the cooked berries stand until they were completely cooled. I then ladled the fruit into a jelly bag (a pillow case that I could do without was cut in half for this purpose several years ago) With a strong string, I tie the bag closed and hang it from an upper cupboard doorknob over a very large bowl. My jelly bag has 2 corners, so I catch one of the corners in the middle when I'm tying it up so the other corner is aiming down into the bowl. (this helps the juice drip to that point, and prevents a big mess all over the counter)

Upside Down Peach- Mango Cake

It was a whim; turns out it was a tasty whim! Pretty quick and easy.

1 Added Touch (or other) Golden Cake Mix
1/3 cup Canola oil
1 cup water
3 large eggs
1 -14 oz (398 ml) tin Tosca sliced mango
1- 14 oz (398 ml) tin Del Monte Peach slice in fruit juice
1 Tablespoon corn starch


Preheat oven to 350* F.

Line a muffin pan with 12 paper cupcake liners (or lightly grease cups). Set aside.

Lightly grease a 1.8 L baking dish. (mine is a "French White" dish, about 10.5 " X 8") or large casserole. Set aside.

Empty cake mix packet into large mixing bowl. Add Canola oil, water and eggs. (the oil and water amounts will be different than the package directions.)

Mix according to package directions, (about 3 minutes, until batter is smooth). Set aside.

Drain peaches and mango, reserving juice.

In medium sized saucepan, whisk reserved juices and cornstarch together. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until clear and thickened. Remove from heat and gently stir fruit into thickened syrup.

Arrange fruit and juice in bottom of prepared baking dish. Spoon 2 cups of the batter over fruit, spreading it evenly over the whole top right to the edge.

Divide the remaining batter between the 12 muffin cups.

Bake the cake for about 30 minutes, until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Bake cupcakes for about 20- 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown, and they also test done with a toothpick.

Serve cake warm with cream or ice-cream. Ice/ decorate cupcakes as desired.

Yield: 9 or 12 servings + 12 cupcakes

Nutritional Analysis for cake: (not including cream/ toppings)

Per serving (1/9th of) Upside Down Cake alone:

Calories: 163.8
Fat: 5.25 g
Carbohydrates: 26.8 g
Fibre: .11 g
Sugars: 14 g
Protein: 1.72 g
Cholesterol: 32 mg
Sodium: 263 mg

Per serving (1/12th of) Upside Down Cake alone:

Calories: 122.92
Fat: 4 g
Carbohydrates: 20.2 g
Fibre: .08 g
Sugars: 10.42 g
Protein: 1.3 g
Cholesterol: 23.75 mg
Sodium: 197.5 mg

Dill Pickles

A lazy, unscientific summer project. I don't usually have a measured amount of cucumbers to start with- I just make up the brine and fill up the jars as the cucumbers ripen. If you're buying cucumbers at a Farmer's Market, just process them, making brine as you go until your jars are full! Unused brine may be stored in the refrigerator until needed. We usually make several jars of pickles every other day, picking cucumbers when they're a good pickle size and storing them in the fridge until there's enough for a few jars. 1 batch of brine makes about 4 litres/ quarts of pickles.

7 cups water
1/2 cup coarse, pickling salt
2 cups white vinegar
pickling cucumbers
fresh dill weed stems
garlic cloves


Wash (scrub) cucumbers and trim ends. Peel garlic and cut off root end. Rinse dill, if necessary.

Wash canning jars and lids. Place clean jars in the oven at 225* F for 12 minutes (and until needed) to sterilize. Place snap lids in a pot and cover lids with water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes to sterilize, then keep warm on the back of the stove.

While jars and lids are being sterilized, boil water, salt and vinegar together until the salt is dissolved. Keep it at a low simmer while you continue.

Using oven mitt or tongs, take one jar at a time from oven; Press dill into jar- a largish cluster with seeds and a few of the furry bits. Place at least one large, peeled garlic clove, (but not more than 2) into jar. Pack the jar with clean cucumbers. Be careful, and remember the jar is hot.

When jar is packed, ladle hot brine over cucumbers, giving time for the liquid to settle. Use the handle of a spatula to stir out air bubbles. Fill jar with brine to cover cucumbers.

Carefully lift a snap lid from the hot water, (use small tongs or a canning utensil with a magnet on the end) and secure the lid with the ring sealer. Tighten firmly by hand, and set jar on a towel covered surface to cool.

When liquid cools, the lids should snap down, showing that they are sealed. Use unsealed jars first. Cucumbers will change colour from fresh green to... pickle colour as they cure. Best if left for at least a week.

1 batch brine will fill about 4 pint/ quart jars.

Salsa

8 cups tomatoes, drained (4- 796 mL diced should do it)*
4 cups green peppers (4 - 5 large), seeded and chopped
4 cups chopped onions
1 cup sweet red pepper (1 - 2 large), seeded and chopped
1 cup seeded, chopped jalopino peppers
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups vinegar
2 or 3 tins tomato paste (156 mL size)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp pickling salt
2 tsp. paprika

Bring all ingredients to a boil, in a large pot. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, or til vegetables are cooked and liquid is reduced to desired thickness.

Sterilize jars and lids**. Fill hot jars with hot liquid; seal and process in hot water bath 20 minutes, for pint jars, 30 minutes for quart jars.

Makes 4 - 5 litres.

* if you strain tomatoes through a fine wire mesh strainer, you can heat the juice and fill hot sterilized jars. Process with the salsa to preserve the tomato juice for drinking or soups.

** Wash jars and lids. Sterilize jars in a 225* F. oven for 10 minutes, then keep warm until you fill them. In small pot, cover lids with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Keep warm til you use them.