HomeMaking Queen’s goal is to provide delicious and nutritious preserves to customers and their families in a variety of flavors.  Equally as important is our mission to use fresh, natural, high-quality ingredients and as little sugar as necessary to the preservation process.

I began canning fruit to capture the flavors of fresh summer fruit to enjoy all year long.  When I learned how much sugar was used in traditional recipes, not to mention the alarming amount found in jams on grocery stores shelves, I was horrified!

Why preserve all this wonderful fruit (fructose) in more sugar (sucrose = fructose + glucose) than fruit?

Seems simple to me, why not just use the inherent properties of certain fruits and alternative preservation methods, such as alcohol, to create a perfect harmony. That is exactly what my products are, a harmony of fresh fruit preserved as naturally as possible, so you can enjoy the fruit medley in it’s optimal wholesome goodness.

As with all new and unfamiliar things, education is key to understanding and ultimately appreciation.  In an effort to educate and explain some of the ingredients in my preserves and the reasons why I use them, I created a glossary and defined each ingredient and its function to my preserves,  I highly value my customers, their safety, and the nutritional content of each product.

|   NUTRITIONAL CONTENT  |  DEFINED   |

Alcohol

Citric Acid

Is a natural preservative / conservative and can also be used to add an sour or acidic flavor to food and drink.  Naturally citric acid exists in a variety of fruits and vegetables, most potent of course are citrus fruits. (Lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit)  Many of my canned goods rely on the natural preservative properties of the citric acid in fruits, to keep the sugar content as low as possible.  Many of my flavors, especially those named Pure ____, may have a stronger citrus taste than sweet, because there is more natural fruit content than sugar.

ClearJel®

[1 tbsp = 45 cal / 12.0g carbohydrates (sugar)]

is a corn starch derivative, developed and used by the commercial food industry to withstand the heat necessary to process products such as canned pie filling.  Clearjel has been on the market and in various fresh and preserved foods for more than thirty years.  As I prefer not to use corn products, this has only been used as necessary due to the cooking process post canning of the Apple Pie preserve.  Learn more…

Granulated Sugar (Sucrose) (Pure Cane) 

[1 tbsp = 48 cal / 12.6g carbohydrates (sugar)]

is white table sugar that has been processed, crystallized, and refined into its pure fine crystals. This is the most popular type of sugar, commonly used in home food preparation.

The food industry stipulates “regular” sugar to be “extra fine” or “fine” because small crystals are ideal for bulk handling and not susceptible to caking.” Sugar.org

Honey (Raw) – 100% Natural (Southwest) 

Organic, raw honey is densely nutrient rich, supplying our bodies with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes and phytonutrients. Raw honey means it is not processed or heated and it is unpasteurized.  The health benefits of consuming raw honey regularly are numerous and getting it locally produced in your area makes it even more powerful as an immune system stimulant.”

Check out this article on the honey I use in my products and its array of benifits! Honey made by Annsley Naturals Southwest

Invert Sugar (Trimoline) = 50% fructose & 50% glucose

[1 tbsp = 58 cal / 14.6g carbohydrates (sugar)]

Invert sugar is present naturally in honey and pure maple syrup.” Live Strong  “In fact, invert sugar is often referred to as “artificial honey”  A Life Less Sweet

Trimoline is an invert sugar composed of glucose and fructose. it is ideal because it prevents crystallization and increases preserving qualities by reducing water.  In comparison to sucrose, invert sugar is sweeter and more stable, allowing sugar reduction in each recipe up to 25%.  Do not let the name scare you, truth is invert sugar can be made by any home cook using only sugar and lemon juice.  Learn more…

Pectin (HM)

is a naturally occurring substance (a polyscaccaride) found in berries, apples and other fruit.  It is used in many food items as a stabilizer and as a source of dietary fiber.  When heated together with sugar, it causes a thickening that is characteristic of jams and jellies.  Both pectin and acid are necessary to jelling and safe preservation.  The pectin used in my products is all apple based.  Learn more…

HEALTH TIP: In human digestion, pectin binds to cholesterol in the gastrointestinal tract and slows glucose absorption by trapping carbohydrates.  Consumption of pectin has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels.