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Pectin causes jams and jellies to gel. When using a pectin poor fruit, pectin must be added or the result will be nothing more than a fruit syrup. I refuse to use store bought pectin because I think it takes the craft out of jam and jelly making. Usually I just add apple skins and cores to whatever I'm making, but I thought I'd give making my own pectin a try.
The basic method is to take a pectin rich fruit and extract the water soluble pectin by boiling it, then concentrating the liquid. Apples are a good source of pectin because they both contain a lot of pectin and have a relatively neutral flavour (as opposed to orange peels for instance).
The basic method is to take a pectin rich fruit and extract the water soluble pectin by boiling it, then concentrating the liquid. Apples are a good source of pectin because they both contain a lot of pectin and have a relatively neutral flavour (as opposed to orange peels for instance).
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Signing UpStep 1Ingredients and tools
Pectin is concentrated in the cores and skins of all apples, and is especially strong in tart green apples. Using the cores and skins left over from making a pie is a great way to upcycle your scraps. For this instructable I used crabapples that didn't have enough flavour to bother with crabapple jelly.
Ingredients:
3 lb Apples
4 cups Water
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Unusual Tools:
Jelly bag/cheese cloth and strainer
I am using the basic method from www.pickyourown.org, a website with a lot of very helpful information.
Ingredients:
3 lb Apples
4 cups Water
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
Unusual Tools:
Jelly bag/cheese cloth and strainer
I am using the basic method from www.pickyourown.org, a website with a lot of very helpful information.
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There is a pectin on the market that is totally organic in nature, made from citrus fruit (you can call them and see if there are any salicylates in the product)can be used with any type of sweetener (it does not require sugar to cause the jelling - it uses calcium) so you can use as little as 1/2 cup of any type of regular sweetener per batch like, agave, honey cane sugar, stevia, etc. It is called "Pamona's Universal Pectin" and is absolutely wonderful! It can be purchased in health food stores or you can buy online in bulk which is what I do. No more 7 cups of sugar to make the jelling take place, you don't even really have to use sweetener if the fruit is sweet enough for your taste, and you can make multiple batches all at once saving you lots of time. Comes out with a perfect jell every time. Give it a try. Here is the link http://www.pomonapectin.com/. You will probably have to copy and paste to your address bar.
It's been years since I've had aspirin, but my allergy is actually OAS - oral allergy syndrome. It's a crossover from tree pollen allergies (extreme in NY this spring), where suddenly I would have a bad reaction when eating fresh apples, peaches, pears, mulberries, cherries, dates - a whole bunch of tree fruits, but not all. The pectin sounds really nice, but I did buy some sugar-free pectin from Bell that sounds very similar to what you describe.
Glad you were able to find a pectin you can use. I was reading an article about OAS on WebMD. Sound like you really need to be careful during pollen season. Best of luck to you!
Thanks so much!
Over ripe and old apples can be used in pie and apple sauce, both of which can be frozen. Over ripe apples are also said to be good for cider making.
For those that don't have a cheesecloth or jelly bag, I use two blue dishclothes, the thin type similar to a hospital examination gown or that napkin you get at the dentist. Two clothes dunked in boiling water to sterilise, then lay one over the other in cross, line a pan with it, pour in the apples, then gather up the ends of the cloth and tie with string. Then I lay a broomstick across two chairs, put a bowl between the chairs and tie the bag to the broom.
Dish clothes aren't as sturdy as a cheesecloth, but more readily available and do a similar job.
Thanks!
"Will my jams and jellies taste like crabapple?"
Yes, but that's not necessarily a problem. I bought the crabapples I used in the pictures to make crabapple jelly but when I got home they had no flavour at all: terrible for jelly but ideal for making pectin. If your crabapples have a strong flavour you could either embrace the flavour and use it to accent a sweet berry flavour (blackberry and crabapple sounds really tasty) or find some apples with a milder flavour. Also concider that even fairly flavourful apples are easily overpowered by other fruits.
Could you clarify this line for me? I can't get what you're trying to say.
"a few minutes of boiling will concentrate bother the pectin, and the flavour and may push it over the edge to gelling. "
Does that clarify it? I know what I'm trying to say but I'm not sure I can say it.