PECTIN

Pectin

Pectin occurs in varying accounts in all plants and fruits. It is not found in animal tissues. The skins, cores, and peels are a particularly rich source of pectin. During ripening, those substances convert naturally to pectin, but this conversion can be forced by long cooking, as in traditional methods of making jellies. It is necessary to cook the fruit to extract the pectin. Jams and jellies have been produced for many years, and through experience our grandmothers knew that products made from apple, currant, and quince, turned out better than those made from other fruits. They stood over a hot, boiling pot, patiently stirring fruits until they cooked them down to a thicker consistency. Today, this process can be shortened by adding powdered pectin. What they did not know that those fruits were very rich in gelling pectin. They mixed pectin rich fruits or fruit extracts with fruits which do not set jams well, for example strawberry with gooseberry or with red currant. Extracts of apple peels and cores were also used for "difficult to set" jams.

Pectin was first isolated in the 1820s, and shown to be the key to making jams and jellies. Commercial jam producers sought further supplies of pectin source materials. In Germany, apple juice producers started to dry the pomace residue left after pressing juice for sale to jam makers, who would cook the pomace in water with or without fruit juice to make a jellying juice. The first commercial production of a liquid pectin extract was recorded in 1908 in Germany, and from that time on there was rapid growth in the pectin industry in the United States and in Europe, followed recently by Brazil and Mexico.

It should be noted that it is impossible to make totally sugarless jam or jelly even with low sugar/no sugar pectin. The jam will gel fine, sugar substitutes will provide sweetness, but fruit contains its own natural sugar, which will remain. Nevertheless, such products are the answer to diabetics and people on low calorie diets. The flavor of those products may not be exactly the same, but it comes pretty close.

Pectin occurs in fruit in three forms:

Protopectin - hard immature fruits like green apples or the peel of citrus fruits.

Pectin - as the fruit matures protopectin becomes a soluble pectin, which is used in making jelly.

Pectin acid - if fruit becomes over-ripe or a jelly is cooked too long, the pectin converts to pectic acid.

The amount of pectin in fruit is rather small. Under ripe fruit contains more pectin than mature fruit but lacks the fully developed flavor. Only few fruits contain enough pectin and acid to produce quality jelly by cooking alone. Most fruit juices are very low in pectin. During jelly production we usually add in extra pectin. This extra pectin is in a form of tasteless powder which is commercially produced by extracting pectin from citrus fruit or apples. Pectin is graded according to its jellifying strength and is used for making jams, jellies, marmalades and preserves. Powdered pectin does not easily dissolve in solutions which contain more than 25% sugar and it is best to dissolve pectin first in water, or natural juice.

Pectin is a gelling agent. It creates bonds with water (pectin-water) and with itself (pectin-pectin). Pectin-pectin bond gives the gel the strength and pectin-water bond gives jelly its softness. A different proportion between those two types of bonds give jam or jelly a different texture.

Pectin is one of the most versatile stabilizers available. Its gelling, thickening and stabilizing attributes makes it an essential additive not only in jams and jellies but in the production of many other food products, as well as in pharmaceutical and medical applications. The FDA recognizes pectin as GRAS (generally recognized as safe). It may be used in all non-standardized foods.

This wide range of applications explains the need for many different types of commercial pectins, which display different gelation characteristics and are sold according to their application, for example:

Rapid set pectin - traditionally used for jams and marmalades (pH 3.0-3.4)

Slow set pectin - used for jellies and for some jams and preserves, especially using vacuum cooking at lower temperatures. Also important for higher sugar products like bakery and biscuit jams, sugar confectionery, etc. (pH 2.8-3.2)

Low methyl ester and amidated pectins - used in a wide range of lower sugar products, reduced sugar preserves, fruit preparations for yogurts, dessert gels and toppings, and savory applications such as sauces and marinades. Can also be used in low acid high sugar products such as preserves containing low acid fruits (figs, bananas) and confectionery. Low methoxyl pectin (LMP) can gel at higher pH levels and has lower sugar requirements so it is of special interest to people on low calorie diets. It is also used as a fat replacer in meat, poultry, and fish products as well as in making low fat sausages.

Stabilizing pectins - used for stabilizing acidic protein products such as yogurts, whey and soya drinks against heat processing. Pectins can stop the milk protein in yogurt from curdling with heat, so heat treated long life yogurt drinks can be made.

Pectin is available from online suppliers, in health food stores and in local supermarkets. The grading system is based on the parts of sugar (water also present) that will be gelled by one part of pectin. For example, one part of 100 grade pectin gels 100 parts of sugar. One part of 150 grade pectin will gel 150 parts of sugar.

Advantages of commercial pectin

Commercially prepared pectin is a natural and safe product. It is an extract from apples or citrus fruits and being tasteless it doesn't change the flavor. It just helps thicken, and offers many advantages:

Drastically shortens cooking time. This results in more product as there is lesser amount of evaporated water. These two advantages greatly offset the initial cost of pectin. Allows for making jellied products from fruits that are pectin poor. Juice from such fruits will not produce jelly, unless a commercial pectin is added. The final product displays a much lighter color as due to a shorter cooking process, there is no time for sugar to caramelize. Some pectins allow for using a small amount to no sugar.

The disadvantage of commercial pectin, at least for home production, is that each brand of pectin contains its own proprietary instructions and recipes for making jellied products. This locks a customer to a particular brand of pectin and many home jam makers don't know how to make jellied products without added pectin anymore.

Making Pectin

Pectin can be made from any high pectin fruit: crabapples, apples, quinces, lemons or oranges. To extract pectin, the fruit must be first cooked. Commercial pectin is made from citrus peels or apples and in most cases comes in a powdered form, although a liquid pectin is also easily obtainable. If you intend to make your own pectin, look for fruit that is available for free. In cooler climates wild apples (crabapples) will be a good choice; in hot places like Florida, citrus fruits are so abundant that many people don't even bother to pick them up.

Pectin Made From Apples

Apples are the common choice as they are available over a wide range of climate zones, they are easy to prepare and the resulting pectin stock has a neutral flavor. It can be used in a wide variety of jams and jellies without affecting the natural flavor of the fruit.

Instructions

4 lbs. unripe apples

4 cups of water

To extract pectin obtain unripe fruit, mainly green and still slightly sour apples. Do not use sweet or fully ripe yellow or red apples.

Remove stem and blossom ends.

Cut apples into quarts (not peeled or cored), or eighths.

Weighing apples.

Fill a large pot, and add enough water to almost cover the apple chunks. Excess water dilutes the pectin, flavor and color of the home made pectin and results in a longer cooking step.As a general rule no more than 1 cup of water should be added to 1 lb of apples.

Over high heat, bring the apples and water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the apples are fully cooked and the pulp looks like runny applesauce with skins and seeds inside.

Remove from heat and cool.

Put the pulp into the jelly bag or line a large bowl with a damp cheesecloth. Suspend the jelly bag or cheese cloth over the bowl and leave to drain overnight or for 8-12 hours. Do not press, leave it undisturbed, otherwise it becomes cloudy. Perform the pectin alcohol test. Remember that the alcohol test does not work right if the pectin is hot. If the pectin is too thin, place it again in a saucepan and simmer more. Take a new sample, cool it and perform the alcohol test. Store in a refrigerator.

Pectin Made from Citrus Fruit

Pectin is concentrated mainly in the peel - in the white, inner part of the skin (pith), in the membranes between the sections and in the seeds. Citrus fruit produces a lot of super jelling pectin, but it has a pronounced flavor which comes from the slightly bitter pith. The membranes and seeds have a neutral flavor. Underripe fruit poseses thick skins and will produce more pectin than a fully matured fruit. The fully ripe fruit left on the tree will have even thinner skin and only a little pectin.

Instructions

What follows below is the excellent formula for citrus pectin

1/2 lb white part (pith) of orange peel, about 8 oranges may be needed

1 pint (2 cups) of water

4 Tbsp. lemon juice

The more pronounced flavor of a lemon pectin base means it's most suited for a jam or jelly where you want the lemon flavor.

Peel the oranges, you should have 4 skin quarters. Cut those quarters into narrower strips and remove the white peel with a knife. Chop the white peel through a food processor or cut with a knife.

Dice orange peel. Mix grated white peel with lemon juice and allow to stand for 1 hour. Add 1 pint of water and set it aside for another hour.

Boil gently 10 minutes. Switch off the heat, cover and let the pot cool. Perform the pectin alcohol test.

Drain and store in refrigerator.

Second extraction

After the pectin stock was drained away, the pulp can be mixed with 3/4 pint of water again and reboiled gently for 10 minutes. Then it should be cooled and drained. If the alcohol test shows that the pectin stock is too thin, it can be simmered for 10 minutes to evaporate some water. Both extractions may be mixed together.

If a pectin stock satisfies the alcohol test, it will gel and the jelly will set. Apple or orange pectin stock can be used for making apple or orange jelly, or it may be added to other fruits and juices that are pectin poor. For example, strawberries, pears, blueberries, and apricots are pectin poor and will benefit if a solid pectin stock is added. People knew nothing about pectin but it was a well known fact that it was easier to make strawberry pectin if some apples were added.

Dried Orange Skins

The leftover yellow skin is full of aroma and can be dried out in the sun, oven or the dehydrator.

Then those dried skins can be added whole or powdered to baked foods and cakes.