In article >,
Helpful person > wrote:

> On Tuesday, June 18, 2013 5:37:44 PM UTC-4, James Silverton wrote:
> >
> > Until a few years ago, the very fine jams from the Swiss Hero company
> >
> > did not include pectin but, alas, they have succumbed.
> >
> > Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)
> >
>
> What's wrong with pectin?
>
> http://www.richardfisher.com

Nothing. It's a natural product that is found in greater amount in some
fruits more than others. Underripe fruit will have more natural pectin
than ripe fruit. Before it was extracted and made available
commercially, people would often either make their own from sour green
apples or would include apples in some fruit jams. While you can often
make an at-least-marginally-acceptable bread spread simply by cooking
fruit and sugar together until it has thickened, it is more difficult to
get a proper and beautiful jelly from many fruits without the addition
of pectin.

A proper set for jams and jellies involves the right amounts of fruit,
sugar, acid, and pectin, what Paul Hinrichs liked to refer to as a
"friendly handshake."

Adding commercially-made pectin allows a shorter cooking time for the
fruit mixture to be made into jam or jelly. People who don't use
pectin often present an air about them that they are just a little
holier than thou. ;-) They aren't; they just prefer to make jam
without adding pectin.

http://www.nchfp.uga.edu is my go-to source for reliable information
about canning.


--
Barb,
http://www.barbschaller.com, as of April 8, 2013.