Pectin, agar, and gelatin
Pectin, agar, and gelatin
Pectin
Pectin is a gelling agent. It is also used to make food items thick and it also stabilizes the food. It is also a component of Jam sugar.
Agar
It is a substance which is derived from algae and is used for the preparation of jellies, in ice creams and for the thickening of soup.
Agar is a gelatinous substance that is originally made from seaweed.
Needs to be brought to a boil in order for the setting to occur.
Gelatin
It is a colorless, flavorless solid substance which is derived from animal bones and is used to make jellies and for thickening of substances. It is commonly used in homes.
Pectin vs Gelatin...same thing?
They are both gelling agents, but no they are not the same. Pectin is naturally found in fruit and because of that has been used for ages to make jams and jellies. Gelatin is a gelling agent made by boiling down animal skin and bones to extract the collagen. You will find gelatin in savory dishes as well as candies, and a lot of non-edible consumer goods, but it is hardly ever used in things like jams and jellies.
Pectin Vs. Agar
Pectin and agar are both gelatinous substances that have a variety of applications, including applications in food. Both come from vegetable sources; pectin is a soluble fiber found in plants, while agar comes from various species of algae. Chemically, they're closely related, and both consist of long strands of sugar molecules.
Pectin is a large molecule that falls into the biochemical category of a heteropolysaccharide, explain Drs. Reginald Garrett and Charles Grisham in their book "Biochemistry." Polysaccharides are long chains of sugar molecules, or monosaccharides, and the prefix "hetero" means that pectin consists of several different monosaccharides. Pectin is sometimes referred to as a type of soluble fiber, meaning that although it dissolves in water, your digestive tract can't break it down to the same extent that it can sugars and starches.
In the American diet, pectin is commonly added to jams and jellies to thicken them. It also occurs naturally in many foods, including fruits and vegetables. Because you can't break it down effectively, the pectin in your food doesn't do much for you nutritionally; it doesn't contain calories, and neither does it provide your cells with the building blocks they need to make functional and structural molecules. It does, however, help to increase stool bulk and can relieve constipation.
Pectin vs. Gelatin for Making Jam
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Pectin for Making Jam: I have heard pectin and gelatin content are about the same. While I’m not a vegetarian or anything, I do try to feed my family as wholesomely as possible. Animal waste products are not high on my healthful list! There are some alternative (vegetarian) jam pectins out there, but they are pricey. We live on a ranch and grow most of our own fruits and veggies. I preserve lots of food every year. I am looking for an economical alternative to pectin since I make 12 + batches of freezer jam per year. I would prefer to not cook and can the jam. I did find a product from Mary Jane’s Farm http://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/store/p/65-ChillOver-Powder.aspx. I heard a rumor you could use it for jam. I’m going to try to find out. If you find anything on this topic, please let me know.
Way to go, Christina, on growing the majority of your own fruits and veggies! That has got to be a huge amount of work in and of itself, not to mention the preserving. Your family is undoubtedly reaping the health rewards of your labors!
Pectin is a vegetarian product found in the cellular structure of fruits and veggies, and often sourced from citrus peels or apples. It can be pricey, particularly in small retail packages. In bulk from Azure Standard, a 1lb bagcosts $42. 90; this makes about 320 cups of jam.
Gelatin, on the other hand, is an animal product, and most gelatin is made from pork carcasses. Chicken broth and beef broth (made from bones/carcasses) are marketable products, but pork broth doesn’t have much of a market, so this “waste” product is made profitable in the form of Jello, jams, and jellies.
Although this is a waste product of factory slaughterhouses (and that’s a disgusting thought with their sick animals and unsanitary practices!), gelatin in general is a very healthful and nourishing food; this is the main source of nourishment in bone broth (read Bone Broth: Body Builder) and gelatin can even be purchased in capsules as a nutritional supplement for joint problems.
So to find a clean source for gelatin . . . I thought briefly about whether you could make your own from bone broth; gelatin powder must be just dehydrated bone broth. However, I can’t imagine going to that amount of effort (and I didn’t find anything coming up when I googled making your own gelatin powder). I did find some other options, though: certified organic porcine (pork) gelatin, which is more expensive than the pectin above. The bulk size of 2lbs of powder should gel about 200 cups of liquid (perhaps it would be less in making jam?), with a current price of $53.10.
Some people prefer to avoid all pork products, organic or not, in which casebeef gelatin is available, and quite a bit cheaper at $7.25 for 1lbs. This is from Azure Standard, a supplier of natural foods, so it is unclear to me if this is gelatin sourced from naturally raised beef or from conventional/factory farming, but a call to their customer service should clarify this. There is no information given on how much would be required to make jam, but I would think it would be 1:1 with the porcine gelatin. If this truly is naturally sourced gelatin, I think this would be an excellent, healthful addition to homemade jam, and an economical option too!
Chill Over Powder
I have no experience with this, although it sounds really interesting. I wonder what’s actually in it? I wouldn’t be surprised if Mary Jane is marketing her own brand of fruit pectin, similar to the one above, in which case you just need to compare the yield/price against the price at Azure or another bulk supplier of natural products.
[Christina writes back: I found out what Chill Over Powder is made from.Ingredients: Agar-agar kanten, an odorless powdered sea vegetable with superior gelling qualities—a MaryJanesFarm exclusive.]
Read Raspberry Jam for my recent experience on using both pectin and gelatin. Good luck in all your summer preserving!
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