It came to me last night as I was falling alseep that maybe Fresca jelly isn't the best idea. Fresca is a diet product that uses artificial sweetener and, if I recall correctly, artificial sweeteners don't take well to heating. Since I'd have to heat the Fresca to add and then activate the pectin this could be a problem. Might work, but just this though has moved Fresca jelly way down the list of canning adventures. Unlike, say, failed raspberry jam I couldn't really use Fresca syrup for much (except for maybe making Fresca by adding carbonated water back into it - but that seems like an awful lot of trouble to get something that I started with in the first place). I might try Squirt instead.


By the way, there is an exception to the don't-heat-artificial-sweeteners rule: Splenda. Last year I ran out of sugar while making my son's Lego-shaped birthday cake. I had on hand a box of bulk Splenda that said I could use it 1-for-1 in place of sugar. Well, better this than nothing, I thought. The result was fabulous! And, because the cake was made in two separate batches (one for the base of the Lego - a 9X13 rectangle - and one for the cupcakes that made up the "nubs" of the Lego) we had a way to compare. The nubs, made with Splenda, were actually better than the base made with sugar. The taste was similar, but the nubs' texture was better. Not a scientific test, of course, but enough to convince me.