A quote from the Live Strong website
Just like with salt, some forms of sugar can draw water out of food and tie up water within the food so it is not available for biochemical reactions. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, fructose and sucrose are very effective for preserving food while glucose is not. Sugar may also encourage the growth of healthy bacteria that prevent bacteria that will make you sick from growing. High concentrations of sugar also exert osmotic pressure that will draw water out of bacteria, preventing them from growing.
Are there any substitutes that will do the same? Bonus: without altering the taste 🙂
Best Answer
It's hard to understand what you are asking about here.
If you mean a substitute as something you drop into an existing recipe instead of the required sugar, then no, there aren't any.
There are other methods for preserving food instead of sugar-based ones though. So, if you don't like pumpkin jam, you can make pickled pumpkin instead. If this is what you meant, then there are "substitutes".
There are no methods for food preservation which don't alter the taste. Freezing comes closest. It preserves flavor, but not texture.