Nick Maclaren wrote:


In article ,
Brian Mitchell writes:
|
| Is there any way of reducing the acidity of fruit other than by
| smothering it with pounds of sugar? I'm wondering if there's any cooking
| method or other treatment available to the ordinary person. I like the
| very tart fruits like gooseberries, blackcurrant and rhubarb (nominal
| fruit) for desserts and jams but worry about the amounts of sugar I take
| in.

Yes. Use some angelica or sweet cicely leaves - they don't make much
difference, but do a little. Check that you like their flavour, of
course...

Thanks.

I like acid jams, so I reduce the amount - and I don't regard
ripe gooseberries, blackcurrant or rhubarb as "very tart" - there are
MUCH more acidic fruits :-)

Taste buds of steel!

Don't believe half the scare stories you read about sugar, either.

OK, but as I seem to be developing late-onset hypochondria there's still
the other half. Plus, as Stuart Noble points out, there's also the
wellbeing of my soul to consider.

In article ,
brian mitchell writes:
| echinosum wrote:
|
| I do seem to remember hearing that fructose was easier on the digestive
| systems than sucrose, but one hears a lot of things.

I believe that to be true, but to be a purely theoretical point, as
the difference affects only people with extremely rare biochemical
disorders. But I could well be wrong.

| I believe one of
| the reasons for the apple juice concentrate is the additional pectin
| because low sugar jams don't set as well, but probably sweetness as
| well.

That is what I would guess.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

brian mitchell writes
Granity wrote:


A lot of low sugar jams merely use artificial sweetener instead of
sugar, my wife who tends to be on a permanent diet uses artificial
sweetener on things like strawberries and other raw fruit.

The few times I've tried artificial sweetener I've found it has an
unpleasant aftertaste. I suppose these things are all very subjective.

Not to mention the unpleasant taste while it's actually in your mouth!

My husband can't drink coffee without sweetener, I can't drink it with.

I think people are sensitive to different tastes - there's a chemical
taste to sweeteners that I (and presumably you) can taste but which my
husband can't.
--
Kay

On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:59:27 +0100, K wrote:

Chervil is supposed to reduce the need for sugar - according to a friend
who uses it, it's the leaves that you use.. Think elderflower may be the
same, but I'm not sure about this.

I have not heard of using chervil but Sweet Cicely is supposed to do
the same thing. I don't use it because it smells strongly of aniseed
which I don't like.

Pam in Bristol

In article ,
Pam Moore writes:
| On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:59:27 +0100, K wrote:
|
| Chervil is supposed to reduce the need for sugar - according to a friend
| who uses it, it's the leaves that you use.. Think elderflower may be the
| same, but I'm not sure about this.

Elderflower doesn't, as far as I know. It's added to gooseberries to
impart a 'muscat' flavour, not reduce acidity.

| I have not heard of using chervil but Sweet Cicely is supposed to do
| the same thing. I don't use it because it smells strongly of aniseed
| which I don't like.

Try using angelica - that also works, and is less dominant.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 16/7/08 23:21, in article ,
"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote:

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

Lack of sun does affect ripening and sweetness. One thing you can do a
little earlier in the year is collect elder flowers and make elderflower
cordial which is, admittedly, made with a lot of sugar but still retains a
certain tartness and tastes wonderful poured over gooseberries especially.

May I suggest that you use tartaric acid instead of citric?

It's much better, I agree. Difficult to get both these days, though.

IMO elderflower cordial has horrid undertones of cheap lemonade.

Hmmm, not to us. We just find it very refreshing and a little bit 'sharp'.


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

Brian Mitchell wrote:

Is there any way of reducing the acidity of fruit other than by
smothering it with pounds of sugar? I'm wondering if there's any cooking
method or other treatment available to the ordinary person. I like the
very tart fruits like gooseberries, blackcurrant and rhubarb (nominal
fruit) for desserts and jams but worry about the amounts of sugar I take
in.

A couple of leaves of Sweet Cicely (Myrrhus odoratus) will cut sown
the need for so much sugar, reputedly.

Secondary question: I notice most of the low- or no-sugar jam recipes
emanate from the US and call for frozen apple juice concentrate. I know
this is widely available over there but I've never seen it in this
country, does anyone know if it's available here?

Costco, is some other American store?

--
AnneJ

In article ,
Anne Welsh Jackson writes:
| Brian Mitchell wrote:
|
| Is there any way of reducing the acidity of fruit other than by
| smothering it with pounds of sugar? I'm wondering if there's any cooking
| method or other treatment available to the ordinary person. I like the
| very tart fruits like gooseberries, blackcurrant and rhubarb (nominal
| fruit) for desserts and jams but worry about the amounts of sugar I take
| in.
|
| A couple of leaves of Sweet Cicely (Myrrhus odoratus) will cut sown
| the need for so much sugar, reputedly.

As has been posted, yes, it will. But it will also add a fairly
strong aniseed flavour, which taints most dishes. Angelica will
do the same, and is generally less obtrusive, though it still adds
a distinctive flavour. And then there is liquorice and numerous
other such plants - but almost all have a strong flavour as well
as sweetening effect.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Hi everyone, there are ways to reduce that.You can stay away far from them -- probably the best way to reduce acidity.Lemon and grapefruit juice is saturated with citric acid. Tomatoes also contain both citric and folic acids. The ph level, which measures overall acidity is on average highest for lemons. (It is possible to find a tomato or a grapefruit with a higher than normal Ph, and a lemon with a lower than normal ph.)
So the most correct answer is Lemon.For more info on acidity issues, you can have a search online too.