Pickles

[zbbcat]

Can you use Splenda, the one that is half Splenda and half sugar .. 1/2 cup equals 1 cup of sugar, in making pickles?? Thanks.

[CM]

While sugar isn't a preservative, it does help to plump fruits and vegetables. You can use a smaller amount of sugar if you'd prefer. The sugar in a pickle doesn't get consumed for the most part and stays behind in the vinegar/brine - just a small amount is absorbed, so when you add 1 cup sugar to a sweet pickle, it isn't as though you'll be consuming a full cup of sugar.

For best quality, you should use sugar or honey rather than artificial sweeteners in home canned pickles. Your goal in home canning is to avoid having to use artificial ingredients. Using sucralose or other artificial ingredients may cause the pickles to darken or shrivel and some artificial sweeteners even change their chemical composition over time which doesn't bode well for storage.

[cc0226]

Do you measure honey the same as sugar in sweet pickles? If not what is the ratio?

[CM]

You can use honey in home preserving to replace part of the sugar, but although it sweetens a syrup, it doesn't serve the same functions as the sugar does. It also will darken foods and increases the acidity, so it isn't a one to one replacement in making jellies, either. Either use a recipe that specifically calls for honey, or if you're experimenting, try a half-honey half-sugar replacement. If you're only sweetening fruit juice (to bottle) or fruit syrups and a darker color and different taste aren't important, you can safely substitute the entire amount of sugar and adjust to the sweetness amount desired.