Jams & Pies

[Haggis8716]

Having just had a clearout of our freezer we found we had a large ammount of frozen soft fruit suitable for Jams, Pies & Crumbles. Obviously most of these use lage amounts of the white poison. Any suggetions for a suitable alternative that I could use. I have looked on the interweb thingy and as per usual it is dominated by american websites with brands you can't find easily over here.

 

[Mark Parrott]

I make crumbles using almond flour & crushed nuts as a topping. Sweeten the fruit with sweetener suitable for cooking. Use sweetener sparingly as too much can cause a laxative effect. Check out diet doctor website for other dessert ideas. It's an American site but doesn't generally use hard to buy ingredients.

 

[Haggis8716]

Ok thanks for that reply, what are the sweetners that are suitable for cooking?

 

[Ljc]

Hi if you can find it Silverspoon granulated sweetener, sadly most supermarkets no longer sell it but sainsburys still do .
I find their is no odd aftertaste , I also find it a tad sweeter than sugar , you could check out Splenda .
I've tried the newer types of sweetener and quite frankly I don't like the taste.

 

[Haggis8716]

Another question, Is almond flour the same as ground almonds that you get in the home baking section of the supermarket?

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi if you can find it Silverspoon granulated sweetener, sadly most supermarkets no longer sell it but sainsburys still do .
I find their is no odd aftertaste , I also find it a tad sweeter than sugar , you could check out Splenda .
I've tried the newer types of sweetener and quite frankly I don't like the taste.

I've never used it myself, but isn't Silverspoon a mixture of sugar and sweetener?

 

[AndBreathe]

@Haggis8716 - It's usually worthy asking DrGoogle for products the same as whichever brand you're looking for. Is there anything in particular you find keeps popping up?

 

[Mark Parrott]

Another question, Is almond flour the same as ground almonds that you get in the home baking section of the supermarket?

Yes, the very same.

 

[Mark Parrott]

Btw, sweetener l use is Truvia. Admittedly it does have an aftertaste but I'm prepared to put up with that to carry on enjoying sweet things.🙂

 

[auntiejude]

Another question, Is almond flour the same as ground almonds that you get in the home baking section of the supermarket?

No, it's not. Ground almonds are whole almonds ground to a powder, almond flour is made from what's left when almond oil has been extracted and is much drier. It can be used the same as wheat flour, but produces a much denser end product.

 

[auntiejude]

Ok thanks for that reply, what are the sweetners that are suitable for cooking?

Sucralose (usually yellow container) is widely considered to be the best sweetener for cooking as it is heat stable. Aspartame (usually red container) is also a reasonable alternative, but not quite as good as it can become bitter when baked. Truvia is suitable, but TBH tastes foul. Polyols such as xylitol, sorbitol etc cause gas, bloating and diarrhoea in large quantities, but are great for jam because it's only ever eaten in small quantities.

 

[Radders]

No, it's not. Ground almonds are whole almonds ground to a powder, almond flour is made from what's left when almond oil has been extracted and is much drier. It can be used the same as wheat flour, but produces a much denser end product.

Ah! I thought they were different! I imagine that would mean that almond flour would perform a bit more like wheat flour than ground almonds,being lower in fat and absorbing more moisture when dry.

 

[Haggis8716]

Ok, I have been looking around on the web trying to find a good value suplier of almond flour. any suggestions from you lot out there as the best place to get it at a good price?

 

[Mark Parrott]

I honestly thought almond flour & ground almonds were the same. Thanks for the info. I buy my stuff from buywholefoodsonline.co.uk. They have all sorts of weird ingredients.🙂

 

[weecee]

Don't know about the pies etc but I freeze my leftover fruits in small blobs then put the blob in my porridge while cooking it and it sweetens the porridge. Especially good with berries or apples. My use up some of your fruit

 

[Ljc]

I've never used it myself, but isn't Silverspoon a mixture of sugar and sweetener?

@AndBreathe Hi. It seems their is a tiny bit of sugar
Silver Spoon Sweetener 75g

Information
Description
Granulated Sweetener Based on Acesulfame-K and Aspartam Nutrition
Table of Nutritional Information

Per 100g Per Serving: 1 level tsp (5ml)
Energy kJ 1621kJ 8kJ
kcal 381kcal 1.9kcal
Fat 0g 0g
of which Saturates 0g 0g
Carbohydrate 93.7g 0.47g
of which Sugars 5.7g 0.03g
Protein 1.7g 0g
Salt 0g 0g

Ingredients

• Maltodextrin,
• Sweeteners: Acesulfame-K and Aspartame

 

[Robin]

@AndBreathe Hi. It seems their is a tiny bit of sugar
Silver Spoon Sweetener 75g

Information
Description
Granulated Sweetener Based on Acesulfame-K and Aspartam Nutrition
Table of Nutritional Information

Per 100g Per Serving: 1 level tsp (5ml)
Energy kJ 1621kJ 8kJ
kcal 381kcal 1.9kcal
Fat 0g 0g
of which Saturates 0g 0g
Carbohydrate 93.7g 0.47g
of which Sugars 5.7g 0.03g
Protein 1.7g 0g
Salt 0g 0g

Ingredients

• Maltodextrin,
• Sweeteners: Acesulfame-K and Aspartame

I think the maltodextrin is there as a bulking agent, to make it into a granulated powder that you can mix into stuff as you would sugar. Splenda is the same, I think ( haven't used it for ages, I decided having a small piece of full sugar cake was the better option for me )

 

[Marsbartoastie]

I make a jam substitute using pureed berries, water, a little sweetener, some citric acid to taste if necessary and glucommanan powder (which is totally carb/calorie free). I just mix them all together and wait. If I make a slack mixture I think of it as jam and a stiffer set is fruity jelly. It aint jam/jelly, but it works for me and the glucomannan really fills me up. Here's a demo of what this strange food does to liquid:

 

[Lilian]

I like to make a sugar free red jelly filled with a variety of berries. The jelly is usually sweet enough for me. Served with a dollop of cream.

 

[Lilian]

My husband's favourite is summer pudding. Stew down the fruit with some sweetener (I use splenda), line a bowl with crustless white bread overlapping better than leaving spaces. You can fill the spaces with bits of bread. Fill with the fruit. Top with some more bread so the fruit is completely encased. Put something heavy on top. I use a saucer with a tin or two of beans. Leave in fridge overnight. There should be no white bits of bread the juice should all be soaked into it. Turn out and eat.