As a diabetic, I always have to keep an eye on what I eat. In theory, I can eat anything, but some foods can cause problems. First and foremost, of course, anything with too much sugar added. That’s why I like to fall back on sugar-free or sugar-reduced alternatives – or I come up with something at home without added sugar. This Strawberry Vanilla Jam is made with (almost) no added sugar. Great, if you want to eat less of that white stuff ;P
The small amount of jam on your bread in the morning is, of course, not the most problematic food for us diabetics. If you are not eating it all the time and load your bread with it, it should be fine for most of us… but it can’t hurt to use something sugar-free or sugar-reduced instead ;) The bigger problem is probably if you are not switching from white bread (the one in the pictures) to wholemeal products – that adds over time much more carbs than a bit of sugary jam on the bread from time to time ;P
Did you know we have quite strict rules in Germany and Europe for jam? Most jams you can buy in supermarkets are not jams… If I wanted to sell my Strawberry Vanilla Jam in a store I need to rename it: Strawberry Vanilla Fruchtaufstrich ;P
Here in Germany, almost every »spreadable mix« made with fruits and sugar is called jam aka. »Marmelade« for hundreds of years. Erdbeermarmelade (strawberry jam), Himbeermarmelade (raspberry jam), Kirschmarmelade (cherry jam) – none of these is actually a jam. You have to call it »Fruchtaufstrich« aka. fruit spread. Recent German and European regulations are the reason for that ;P
Jam (Marmelade) has to have a sugar content of at least 50%. The first reason my jam here is no jam – not enough sugar ;P Also jam aka. Marmelade has to be made with citrus fruits – lemon, orange, mandarin oranges, etc. So everything else made with strawberries, raspberries, etc. cannot be called jam. The second reason my jam is not jam. Breaking all the rules possible ;P
So everything Grandma and Grandad told us about preserving fruits and berries and turning them into jam was a lie! The only made »Fruchtaufstrich«. What a disappointment! Those nasty liars! ;P Just kidding. Language changes all the time. Let’s see what they come up with in 20 years from now. It gets even more confusing when looking at other German-speaking countries like Austria and Switzerland. Some people there don’t care about any rules and call everything the way they want ;P
Well… I am going to stick with strawberry vanilla jam, even though it’s not made with enough sugar and does not contain citrus fruits. I’m not good at following rules anyway, so who cares ;P
The replacement for the jam sugar I used is from Xucker, and it’s called GelierXucker 3:1*. The regular sugar you’d normally expect in a product to make jam has been replaced by xylitol. According to the list of ingredients, the product also contains gelling agents (pectin), citric acid, as well as stabilizer and dextrose. Unfortunately, I don’t know why dextrose (which is a version of sugar) has to be in there, but the sugar content is limited to 0.9g per 100g – so that’s fine for me. That’s why I wrote »made with almost no added sugar« ;P There are sugar/carbs in there anyway because of the strawberries… those are definitely not sugar-free.
Sugar or no sugar – this strawberry vanilla jam was my first attempt using an alternative for jam sugar and the result is really good. The jam is not as firm as a jam made with jam sugar, but I can’t tell if that’s because of the product I used or because I might not have cooked the jam properly. It will take several tests to find out what’s the deal with that. No matter what – the jam tastes really delicious. Which might be due to the very ripe and sweet strawberries I used ;) So far, I haven’t been able to determine whether the jam will build up some liquid that separates from the fruits – a problem that I have noticed with many sugar-reduced fruit spreads from the supermarket. That is something I will probably only find out after a few weeks of storing the jam in my cabinets… if the jam even lasts that long. The first glass jar was gone within a few days ;P
Well. So what do you do with homemade jam like that? Serve it for breakfast, of course. Or use it for other baked goods! I can recommend a delicious Strawberry Cake Roll here, or maybe my Heart Thumbprint Cookies. Both have a good amount of jam added…
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(3 glass jars 6.7 fl. oz./200ml each)
21 oz. (600g) fresh strawberries, in small pieces
200g Xucker 3:1* (jam sugar with xylitol)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 vanilla bean pod or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
(3 Gläser à 200ml)
600g frische Erdbeeren, in kleinen Stücken
200g Gelierpulver mit Xylit* (3:1)
1 EL Zitronensaft
1/2 Vanilleschote oder 1 TL Vanille Extrakt
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Sterilize the glass jars, including the lids. Let the glasses and lids cook for about 10 minutes in a large saucepan with boiling water. Remove from the water and place on a clean kitchen towel. While the glass jars are sterilizing, you can already prepare the jam.
2. Wash and clean the strawberries, then cut them into small pieces. Add the strawberries with the xylitol jam sugar, lemon juice, and the scraped-out vanilla bean pod (seeds and pod) to a large saucepan. Alternatively, you can use vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean pod. Mix everything and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Allow the fruit to boil for at least 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Be careful, the mixture will bubble and splatter quite a bit.
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat, remove the vanilla bean pod. Purée all the fruits that have not yet disintegrated using an immersion blender*. Fill the jam immediately into the sterilized glass jars, seal them with the lids, and leave to stand upside down for about 10 minutes. Turn the glass jars upside down again and let them sit undisturbed for at least 24 hours.
Note: According to the manufacturer of the Xucker 3:1*, the jam can be kept (if unopened) for about one year. Provided the jars have been sterilized properly. Once opened, the jam should be stored in the fridge and used within a few weeks.
1. Die Marmeladengläser samt Deckel sterilisieren – dazu einfach alles in einem großen Topf mit Wasser für etwa 10 Minuten köcheln lassen. Aus dem Wasser fischen und auf ein sauberes Küchentuch setzen. Während die Gläser sterilisieren, kann man schon die Marmelade zubereiten.
2. Erdbeeren waschen, putzen und in kleine Stücke schneiden. Zusammen mit Gelierpulver, Zitronensaft und der ausgekratzten Vanilleschote (Samen und Schote) in einen großen Topf geben. Alternativ kann man hier auch Vanille Extrakt statt Vanilleschote verwenden. Alles gut vermengen und unter ständigem Rühren aufkochen. Die Früchte für mindestens 4 Minuten unter ständigem Rühren sprudelnd kochen lassen. Achtung, die Mischung blubbert und spritzt recht stark.
3. Den Topf vom Herd ziehen, die Vanilleschote entfernen und alle, noch nicht zerfallenen Früchte, mit einem Stabmixer* pürieren. Die Marmelade sofort in die sterilen Gläser abfüllen, verschließen und umgedreht etwa 10 Minuten stehen lassen. Danach dann wieder umdrehen und für mindestens 24 Stunden ungestört stehen lassen.
Hinweis: Laut Hersteller des Gelierpulvers* ist die Marmelade etwa ein Jahr ungeöffnet haltbar – vorausgesetzt es wurde sauber gearbeitet und die Gläser waren steril. Einmal geöffnet, ist die Marmelade im Kühlschrank zu lagern und innerhalb weniger Wochen aufzubrauchen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Strawberry Jam with Xylitol – No sugar added
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 00:04
- Total Time: 24:00
- Yield: 3 1x
- Category: Homemade
- Cuisine: Germany
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Breakfast without jam is only half as good. If you want to enjoy your bread with jam but don’t like sugar, this Strawberry Vanilla Jam without refined sugar might be perfect for you!
Ingredients
21 oz. (600g) fresh strawberries, in small pieces
200g Xucker 3:1* (jam sugar with xylitol)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 vanilla bean pod or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Sterilize the glass jars, including the lids. Let the glasses and lids cook for about 10 minutes in a large saucepan with boiling water. Remove from the water and place on a clean kitchen towel. While the glass jars are sterilizing, you can already prepare the jam.
2. Wash and clean the strawberries, then cut them into small pieces. Add the strawberries with the xylitol jam sugar, lemon juice, and the scraped-out vanilla bean pod (seeds and pod) to a large saucepan. Alternatively, you can use vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean pod. Mix everything and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Allow the fruit to boil for at least 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Be careful, the mixture will bubble and splatter quite a bit.
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat, remove the vanilla bean pod. Purée all the fruits that have not yet disintegrated using an immersion blender*. Fill the jam immediately into the sterilized glass jars, seal them with the lids, and leave to stand upside down for about 10 minutes. Turn the glass jars upside down again and let them sit undisturbed for at least 24 hours.
Notes
According to the manufacturer of the Xucker 3:1*, the jam can be kept (if unopened) for about one year. Provided the jars have been sterilized properly. Once opened, the jam should be stored in the fridge and used within a few weeks.
Links marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links (advertising/Werbung) to Amazon Germany. If you click on one of those links and buy something via this link, I will get a commission for that sale. The price of whatever you buy is not affected in any way by this.
I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
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