On 6/19/2013 11:32 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
> 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.
>
Fruit pectin is pretty cheap bought in bulk: about $4 a pound (less in
large quantities) and you don't need much to gell things. Here's a
typical recipe.

To make jam with fruit pectin: 3 3/4 cups fruit, 5 1/4 cups sugar, 3
tablespoons fruit pectin. Mix thoroughly.

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.