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Fresh berries vs stewed

LittleGreyCat

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
4,389
Location
Suffolk, UK
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diet drinks - the artificial sweeteners taste vile.
Having to forswear foods I have loved all my life.
Trying to find low carb meals when eating out.
There is general support for fresh berries such as blueberries and strawberries as a suitable low carbohydrate food, especially if eaten with plenty of double cream.

I think part of the reason for the low average sugar is the amount of water in the fruit (similar to fresh apricots being less harmful than dried apricots).

We recently stewed some blueberries and strawberries as they looked about to "go over" because we weren't eating them fast enough. The result was very tasty. However it was sweet enough without any artificial sweeteners which does make one wonder.

I have looked, but been unable to find a reference which says what the sugar content is of stewed strawberries compared to fresh.

Just to complicate things, I have been experimenting with making "cream jelly" using tinned fruit with a low carbohydrate content (between 8 and 12 grams per 100 grams) half and half with double cream (thus more or less halving the carbohydrates per 100 grams) and using gelatin to make it set.

This works well, but the resulting jelly has the flavour diluted by the cream and is very bland (but still nice).

Today I poured the remains of the stewed berries over some of the jelly and it did make a lot of difference to the overall flavour.

So I now have the option of maintaining a small pot of stewed berries as a sauce (and also using them as a base for the jellies) but I would like to know the revised sugar content.

Side note (1): so far I have used up my pack of animal gelatin. Next experiment is to use the vegetable alternative and see how that goes.

Side note (2): Why am I doing this? Because I can't stand the aftertaste of the artificial sweeteners in the sugar free jelly packets. Given that they are more or less gelatin and flavouring I thought I would cut out the middle person.
 
LittleGreyCat said:
I have looked, but been unable to find a reference which says what the sugar content is of stewed strawberries compared to fresh.
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Logically, weigh them before you stew them and then after. They won't gain carbs through being stewed (assuming you only add water), it's just there may be less (or more?) water in them after stewing.....

Just be aware that blueberries are relatively high in carbs - 17g per 100g, while boysenberries are only 7g per 100g and blackberries are 10g.

Dried fruit is bad (like fruit juice) because you can eat multiple dried fruits in one sitting, whereas the equivalent amount of undried fruit would take several days to consume.

Personally, I pop frozen berries in the microwave for breakfast (effectively stewing them?) and then add unsweetened Greek yoghurt. Delicious and only about 10g of carbs.

Enjoy your berries !
 
EllieM said:
Just be aware that blueberries are relatively high in carbs - 17g per 100g
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Is that from NZ food reports.. interesting because here in the UK they are listed as 9.1g per 100g ex fibre..



That's from the UK govt database.. fibre is about 1.5g per 100g
 
Aside from any carb content of raw versus stewed berries per 100g. I wonder if the absorption of any carbs will be affected by stewing them, like it is when you make them into smoothies?
 
Rachox said:
Aside from any carb content of raw versus stewed berries per 100g. I wonder if the absorption of any carbs will be affected by stewing them, like it is when you make them into smoothies?
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Yes, that was one of my concerns.

Same general principle as raw fruit versus fruit juice, baked vs mashed potatoes etc.

Edit: however a small portion spread over the jelly might not end up as too much per 100 grams.
 
Sweetness comes from fructose and has little or nothing to do with glucose. If something natural tastes sweet it's because of its fructose content, which doesn't really tell you what impact the food will have on your blood glucose in the immediate term.
 
So... are you recommending that I should or shouldn't pick and eat blackberries while I'm out having my healthy walks??
 
The vegetable alternative can be rather difficult to get just right, I found it required my full attention, not to be done when also making dinner for instance.
I suggest adding a few drops of flavours used in baking, or a little lemon juice to enhance the plain gelatine.
 
nomoredonuts said:
So... are you recommending that I should or shouldn't pick and eat blackberries while I'm out having my healthy walks??
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Ah, blackberries on walks. Of course you pick and eat them. Just don't get too scratched up, or stung by the accompanying stinging nettles. I was brought up in the New Forest where about the only fruit that grew locally was blackberries, but you had to fight both nettles and scratches to get them. (Luckily there were always dock leaves nearby to give relief from the nettles. Placebo or not, rubbing them in always seemed to help.) One of the best memories from my childhood.

bulkbiker said:
Is that from NZ food reports.. interesting because here in the UK they are listed as 9.1g per 100g ex fibre..
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That's interesting. Yes, it's from my NZ nutritionist. It's ex fibre (I believe.) I've attached the file here. Though frozen they are only 12g per 100g. It's a big discrepancy. I might email my nutritionist..... (Are NZ blueberries much sweeter than European ones????)

Good point. I stand corrected.
 

Attachments


As a T2 not taking any prescribed medication, my food acts in its place as my medication. If you like - you can count carbs and bolus, we count carbs and adjust/avoid.

So any fruit, particularly higher carb varieties, can be considered "bad" for T2s attempting to control their glucose levels by diet alone in that it may be liable to raise our glucose to unacceptable levels. Bad for the effect it has not because it's intrinsically bad in itself - it's a matter of perspective. (And this applies to any food that may cause too high a rise.)

I personally enjoy fruit and do include some in my LCHF diet, but I also necessarily watch both the type and quantity I eat if I want to avoid possible complications caused by high glucose levels.

Robbity
 
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EllieM said:
(Are NZ blueberries much sweeter than European ones????)
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I've decided to find out for myself!
@EllieM - I don't know where you're based, but on Sat 28th I arrive in Queenstown and drive up the coast as far as Greymouth. Then Christchurch followed by Auckland, Rotorua and the Coromandel coast, before departing AKL on the 8th Oct. I'll probably pass you somewhere!
 
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