On 19/06/2013 10:19 AM, James Silverton wrote:

>>> What's wrong with pectin?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> Good question. In the good old days when pectin was not readily
>> available in some places they had to cook the bejeepers out of some
>> fruits to get it to set. Other fruits are naturally high in pectin and
>> would set up easily without it. It is quite safe in food quantities and
>> some people actually take supplements.
>>
> Except as a substitute for the named fruit in jams and jellies, I agree
> that there's nothing wrong with pectin. I believe it's quite organic :-)



Where is it used as a substitute for the named fruits and jellies? I
don't know of any cases of that happening, and considering the relative
cost of pectin vs. fruit, I don't see the point. AFAIK it is used only
as a thickener to make jam set up without reducing the volume. Without
looking up a recipe my memory is telling me it is usually something like
2 quarts of berries, 6-7 cups of sugar, about 1/4 cup lemon juice and
one envelope of pectin and about the same volume of pectin.