Papaya Jam Recipe (No Pectin, Sugar Free)

If you are using fresh papaya to make jam, make sure it is very ripe as it not only tastes better but is also much sweeter.

This is especially important if you are making sugar-free jam or want to reduce the amount of added sweeteners.

To prepare the papaya for jam, scrape and discard the small black seeds, peel the skin, and dice the pulp into small pieces.

Like almost all fruits, papaya contains some pectin, but it’s not one of the high-pectin fruits like apples, plums, and lemons.

Also, sweet and ripe papayas, which are used to make jams, contain less pectin than the underripe fruit.

So when you make jam with papayas, you need some other ingredients to make the jam gel and set.

For example, you could combine papaya with pectin-rich fruits, add commercial pectin, or just stir in starches like cornmeal like we did in our recipe.

When preparing papaya jam without pectin, you have three options:

1. Mix in the fruit rich in pectin

   Use citrus peels (particularly lemons and limes), unripe, tart apples like Granny Smiths (including peel), or plums. You can find more tips and information in our plum jam without pectin or the sugar-free apple and raspberry jam.

2. Add commercial pectin

   It acts faster and stronger than natural fruit pectin, so follow the manufacturer’s instructions closely to avoid jelly-like consistency.

3. Add flaxseed or chia seeds

   These seeds are high in soluble fiber, which forms a gel when mixed with water. The great thing about them is that they are also very nutritious.

   Check out how we use them in jams in our cherry jam with flaxseed or blackberry jam with chia seeds.

4. stir in starch

   Starches like cornstarch, arrowroot, and potato starch are natural thickeners that act as the perfect substitute for pectin.

In our pectin-free papaya jam recipe, we used a little starch to naturally thicken the jam in just a few minutes.

Make sure you dilute the starch in some water before adding it to the hot jam or it will cook too quickly and form lumps.

Yes, with erythritol, a safe and natural sweetener, you can easily make papaya jam without sugar.

Use granulated erythritol the same way you would sugar: add it to the boiling papaya and stir until dissolved.

Since erythritol is almost as sweet as sugar, you can use it as a sugar substitute in jams at a ratio of 1:1 or 1:1.3 sugar to erythritol.

Alternatively, you can pair papaya with sweet fruits like mangoes or bananas, or use grape juice instead.

But remember that even if you use fruit instead of added sugar, the jam will have a higher sugar content.

This papaya jam tastes so delicious, but you can add other ingredients for extra flavor or try exciting combinations.

For example, you can combine papaya with other tropical fruits like:

• mangoes

• pineapple

• banana

• lime or orange zest

You can also flavor the papaya jam with:

• ginger root

• nutmeg

• pimento

• Cinammon

Finally, try it with a dash of rum or vanilla essence for a unique exotic finish.

Here are some delicious things you can make with this papaya jam:

• Spread on toast, oatmeal pancakes, waffles, or almond milk crepes

• Stir it in yogurt and oatmeal

• Use as a filling for layered cakes, pastries, buns or muffins

• Use it as a topping for creamy desserts, ice cream or cheesecake

• Glaze on meat or tofu

• Add it to a salad dressing for a sweet finish