Preserving sugar
Gelling sugar is a mixture of sugar and gelling agents for the quick preparation of jams , jellies and marmalades . The fruit can be processed relatively quickly into an end product by adding and simply heating. Very ripe or sweet fruits that contain little pectin and therefore gel poorly on their own can still be made to gel with preserving sugar .
In 1965 Pfeifer & Langen brought preserving sugar 1: 1 as the first preserving sugar on the market. The product was manufactured by licensees at home and abroad in later years.
Preserving sugar significantly reduces the time it takes to make jams. The initial cooking times could also be reduced over time.
It is made from refined sugar , pectin as a gelling agent and citric acid or tartaric acid as an acidifier , sometimes also with preservatives . Since pectin loses its gelling power, gelling sugar is no longer suitable for preserving after the best-before date has expired.
Traditional preserving sugar is used in a ratio of 1: 1. But there is also “extra” jam sugar, which is used in a ratio of 3: 1 or 2: 1 (the first number denotes the amount of fruit). This preserving sugar contains a higher pectin content. These fruit spreads are less sweet because only half (2: 1) or a third (3: 1) of the amount of sugar is added in relation to traditional preserving sugar. Due to the lower sugar concentration, a longer shelf life can no longer be guaranteed after first opening, which is why these gelling sugars contain preservatives (mostly sorbic acid ).
Preserving sugar for cold-stirred fruit spreads is now also available. These contain carrageenan or sodium alginate as a gelling agent. Since cold-stirred fruit spreads are not sterilized during the boiling process, they are only suitable for small batches (200 g of fruit) that should be kept in the refrigerator and consumed within 14 days.
The gelling agents contained in the gelling sugar are also available separately in stores, to which sugar must then be added. Preserving sugar , however, does not contain any gelling agents.
