Abstract:In response to the poor taste，high sugar content，and low quality of jam produced with conventional formulas，low-sugar prune jam was developed. Single factor experiments were carried out to determine the content scope of citric acid，sucrose，and thickener added. With the sugar-to-acid ratio，viscosity，and sensory score as indicators，a Box-Behnken design was adopted to optimize the formula of the low-sugar prune jam. Furthermore，the low-sugar prune jam produced with the optimal formula was compared with the commercially available jam regarding the physicochemical quality and volatile compounds. The results showed that the optimal formula for producing the low-sugar prune jam was citric acid，sucrose，and composite thickener （1∶1 mass ratio of xanthan gum to pectin） added at 0.5%，15%，and 1.2%，respectively. The jam produced with the optimal formula had the viscosity of 26.01 Pa·s，and the sensory score of 87. The content of total phenols，total flavonoids，and total acids in the product were 18.52，7.26 mg/g，and 11.52 g/kg，respectively，significantly higher than those of commercially available prune jam，while the content of soluble solids was about 50% lower than that of commercially available jam. The number and relative content of volatile compounds in the product were significantly higher than those of commercially available jam. The prepared low-sugar prune jam met the market requirement for jam，and its microbial indicators met the limits in the national standard.