Hi, goldfish!

Honey should have a comparable shelf life to sugar.

Splenda, in my experience, does not make for nearly as long-lived an opened jam.

I don't know that there's an answer to "average shelf life for each option," as it also depends on temp of your fridge, humidity, what else it in there, etc. But if my own experience is even a VERY rough guide, a good full-sugar jam usually lasts me months (6+) even after opening, whereas those I've made with Splenda last more like weeks (2 to 4? ish? maybe 6 to 8 if lucky?).

I haven't made just low sugar jam with Pomona so I can't give any guidance there. I've made unsweetened applesauce, which might last, again, a few weeks (2-3?), no more, once opened and in the fridge.

All in all, best to use small jars for gift jams in any case (it goes farther that way, heh heh).

Good luck! Home-grown peach jam---yum!!!!

Zabby

I wouldn't count on more than 2-3 weeks of refrigeration with Splenda. It lacks the preservative qualities of sugar.

Sugar and honey jams will be approximately equal in longevity but refrigerator life will be proportionately shorter depending upon the reduction.

The best option, as suggested, is to process smaller jars of product to maximize freshness and quality.

P.S. all the reviews are so sparkling

Disclaimer: I'm not a fan of Pomona and there are others of us on the Forum, though we are in the minority.

Carol

What I do is add an acid blend to my Pomona jams. It helps to bring up 'character' and more fruit flavor. The blend is made from, Citric, Malic, and Tarteric acids and these are considered the most common acids in fruits. With added acid, the opened jars last a LONG time in the fridge. If you do see a trace of mold, it can be spooned out with no effect on the rest of the quality. Beccause apricots, peaches and even apples oxidize, I also add ascorbic acid to reduce oxitation and darkening. Pomona can allow you to make up to 30 jars as a single batch and it will still set with no problems. I use ALL of the calcium water too. When I start out, I half fill a blender with some of the juice and a little water. Then, while running I pour in the Pomona to dissolve it. Its the easiest way to add to a boiling jam. Then after a couple of minutes I add the calcium. It starts to set up almost immediatly. To reduce mold issues, fill small jars like 8 ounce size. I usually use pints, but with the added acids, they stay in the fridge for many months. I have some blueberry in there now, that was opened last fall, and has no trace of spoilage. I like a tart tasting jelly/jam, and Splenda as the sweetener is sometimes overpowering. I also add a bit of honey too, just to get it a bit more 'sticky' from a sugar.

Do NOT spoon mold off jam and consume the remainder. Invisible filaments of mold will penetrate far below the visible layer.

A correlation has been established between these molds and cancer. Not a causal relationship yet but enough of a concern that the current recommendation is to discard any container of jam with mold. Research is continuing.

Carol

Thanks for the responses! I think I'm going to go with honey as the sweetener, as it sounds like it will be similar in preservative effect to sugar. I guess it makes sense that it would, what with honey's inexplicable quality of never going bad.

I will be using 1/2 pint/8 ounce jars, so maybe I'm worrying about nothing.

The added acid-mix sounds like a good idea, esp. adding the ascorbic to fight off oxidation. But is all that really better than just adding a good dose of lemon juice?

Kathryn

If you like 'lemon favored' peaches, or other lemon flavored fruits, its OK. It has to be the bottled type. I find that Realemon has an odd taste. Unless you keep your refrigerater at about 50 degrees, you can expect anything to rot in there. Even 40 degress is too warm for most fridges. Mine is set at 34 degrees and has not frozen anything yet. I don't see mold anywhere on anything, except maybe some old cheese. The site below offers the tasteless acid blend. I love it even in sugar free drinks if they lack taste and are too sweet.

Mold and correlation to cancer?? It sounds almost like all those other things that were pulled from the US market due to suspicious findings. One of the most common is Cycamates, which is far better tasting compared to any other sugar substitute. Its not available here anymore, but is in Europe and Canada its still being sold everywwhere. On the other hand, saccerine which has been around for many years is now considered as a cancer causing product, yet its still used in a LOT of stuff even today.

Here is a link that might be useful: Acid Blend

You don't have to use bottled lemon juice for jams, which are already an acid product. You can use fresh lemon juice.

Ken is right. Added acid (ascorbic or acid blend) is helpful in color retention for the lighter jams - apricot, peach and strawberry and raspberry jams, which tend to darken. But be careful not to add too much. Excessive acid can make the jam bitter.

Carol

You could also use 4 oz jars to can it. More expense for the lids, but the jar would be in the fridge for less time, so you'd have less spoilage of product and waste of your hard work if you go low sugar.
Amy

How much acid do you add, and at what point, for a batch with 4 cups of peaches? I was able to get citric and ascorbic acid. Pretty funny, citric was in the "canning section" (just a few jars and 1 kind of pectin) and the ascorbic was in the vitamin aisle (should say aisleS, they have three!). They had a million ascorbic acid powders, but I really had to sort through to find one that didn't have additional ingredients. Could only find acid blend on line, and I probably won't get it in time.

For ascorbic acid crystals, one or two pinches per 4 to 5-cup batch are sufficient for color retention. Maximum 1/4 teaspoon.

Carol

I use a little more, as it has no effect on taste. I made grape jelly some years ago, after 3 years, I opened a jar and it was brown color.. Will never forget that ascorbic after that.

More than 1/4 teaspoon will cause some bitterness but not everyone perceives it.

Carol