Agave (Cactus) nectar (a natural sweetner) - any experience?

HI,

I have a friend with a family member who has a sweet tooth. Unfortunately she also has a restricted diet with sugars presenting a problem. Her refuge at the moment is jams and jellies, which she hopes could be make with agave nectar. While I have a specific need, I am looking for any experience with agave nectar.

She asked my friend to make jams and jellies for her, which is where I got involved. We have been canning together for years with yours truly converting recipes to make them suitable for preservation. I am already thinking these will be freezer or refrigerator jams, rather than water bath processed because of potentially low sugar content, which I will be checking with a hand held refractometer.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

My only experience with the stuff is that my Mom has a bottle in her kitchen that she bought out of curiosity. I have used it in oatmeal and on cereal, but I have never cooked with it. My mom has used it in muffins. The stuff she has is of the darker (unfiltered) variety. As I recall, it has a mildly earthy and tannic flavor (I imagine you would want the more refined syrup for jam). It is sweet like honey, but the consistency is much lighter, like maple syrup. Despite the name, I think it is technically a syrup and not actually nectar.

I know next to nothing about making jams or jellies, although my mom comes from a long line of home canners (her pickled crab apples are wonderful with roast beef). Regardless, I don't think the agave syrup has the sugar concentration to thicken properly. My mom (a retired chemist) suggested using a calcium sensitive (low-methoxyl) pectin like Pomona's Pectin, which does not get as firm as normal pectin, but requires no sugar to activate (it requires calcium instead). I noticed the company that makes Pomona Pectin (Workstead Industries) has a "Jam Line" you can call for advice.

Workstead Industries
P.O. Box 1083
Greenfield, MA 01302
(413) 772-6816
info@pomonapectin.com

I'm sensitive to the blood sugar effects of sugar, so I really like agave nectar. It's glycemic index is something like 15, but has the same calories as table sugar. To me it tastes just like a simple syrup, very mild, so it's a good substitute for sugar. It's sweeter, so you can use less of it. There is a dark and light variety, but I believe they taste the same. I've read that you can use it in any recipe that calls for honey.

I also read that in jams, you can't substitute it for all of the sugar because it won't gel right, but the Pomona's Pectin would help with that(they recommend using agave nectar on their website). You should follow a recipe that specifically calls for honey or agave, so you get the exact ratio right. I did find some recipes for jams made with all honey, so you could probably follow those and use the agave.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/DIY/1973 ... With_Honey

Here is one recipe for apple jelly that uses agave:
http://www.blueagavenectar.com/AgaveRec ... mjelly.htm

I don't like chemical sugar substitutes, and while searching for natural sweetener ideas a while back I found this website:
http://www.sweetsavvy.com/
It's a great site that has lots of info on all the natural sweeteners, including agave, along with plenty of recipes for each kind. The lady-Deborah Lynn Dadd-researched each sweetner and developed the recipes herself. Your friend might find some good ideas for naturally sweetened desserts there.

Good luck!