I read a thread from 2004 on this topic, and the question I have is:

how well does the juicer extract pectin?

We gather between 15 and 30 lbs of wild black raspberries each summer
and pick currants to go with them; we make jelly using a ratio of 3
cups raspberry juice to 1 cup currant juice, 3 cups of sugar and no
added pectin, standard jelly-bag method. It is a lot of work picking
the raspberries, and I would hate having a whole batch come out like
syrup. A friend would like to lend us her steam juicer to try, and I
am sure it does save labor, but I just wonder about the final result.

In the 2004 thread, one or two contributors were pretty dissatisfied
with how it performed, and what really bothers me is that most
testimonials elsewhere about these steam juicers use only exclamation
points as punctuation! I often use this as a filter to separate the
"as seen on TV" products from stuff I would really consider owning.

So I would like to hear from somebody who has successfully made no-
added-pectin jelly the way we do, both using the juicer and in the
traditional way, and who can compare the results--which method gives
you the best jelly?

On Jul 14, 9:36*am, wrote:
> I read a thread from 2004 on this topic, and the question I have is:
>
> how well does thejuicerextract pectin?
>
> We gather between 15 and 30 lbs of wild black raspberries each summer
> and pick currants to go with them; we make jelly using a ratio of 3
> cups raspberry juice to 1 cup currant juice, 3 cups of sugar and no
> added pectin, standard jelly-bag method. *It is a lot of work picking
> the raspberries, and I would hate having a whole batch come out like
> syrup. *A friend would like to lend us her steamjuicerto try, and I
> am sure it does save labor, but I just wonder about the final result.
>
> *In the 2004 thread, one or two contributors were pretty dissatisfied
> with how it performed, and what really bothers me is that most
> testimonials elsewhere about these steam juicers use only exclamation
> points as punctuation! *I often use this as a filter to separate the
> "as seen on TV" products from stuff I would really consider owning.
>
> *So I would like to hear from somebody who has successfully made no-
> added-pectin jelly the way we do, both using thejuicerand in the
> traditional way, and who can compare the results--which method gives
> you the best jelly?

Ok, nobody responded, so I will. We borrowed a brand new Mehu-Liisa
from a friend, and juiced a bit over 4lbs of wild black raspberries.
We got nearly 4lbs of juice. Hmmmm.... We juiced currants and got a
thin, clear, pink-red liquid, again about the same weight as we
started with. 3 cups of raspberry to one cup of currant juice with 3
cups of sugar (our normal mix) produced very thick syrup. I have to
conclude that the juicer introduces a lot of extra water (at least, a
lot from the point of view of jelly making, not necessarily for any
other purpose), and may not extract pectin well. Though probably the
real problem is the extra water. The jelly was not at all the color
we are used to (normally our jelly is intensely dark purple) and
lacked the taste impact as well. Using the juicer is dead easy and
takes a lot less time, but it is definitely not the answer to every
juice question.

And in fact, if you just watch it work, you realize that it HAS to be
putting water into the juice. Almost no steam escapes, and the water
level in the waterpan drops. I am sure it does not put a lot of water
in, but even a relatively small amount will mess up a jelly recipe.
Fortunately, we have 22 more pounds of raspberries, though we have a
fair amount of watery currant juice to deal with, and that is where
the pectin is. Perhaps we will just chuck the juice. I am glad we
got to borrow one of these and didn't have to try to rationalize a
$170 purchase by saying how great it is.