![]() ![]() The order of combining ingredients depends on the type of pectin used. ![]() Use extracted fruit juice from fresh fruit or commercially canned fruit juice. Short boil or pectin-added jelly: Powdered or liquid pectin, sugar and extracted juice are combined and quickly cooked to make a gel. The most difficult part of this method is knowing when the jelly is done. This type of jelly has a richer flavor than pectin-added jelly. It isn't possible to use commercially canned juices because they don't contain sufficient pectin. This method should be used only for fruits that contain an adequate amount of pectin. Standard or long boil method: Extracted juice and sugar are boiled long enough to form a gel. See the National Center for Home Food Preservation for reduced sugar spread recipes. If using special recipes and gelling agents, be sure to follow these methods for best results. Cane sugar or beet sugar (both sucrose) is the usual source of sugar in jelly or jam. Sugar helps in gel formation, contributes flavor to the jelly, and at the concentration of 55 percent by weight, serves as a preservative. If the fruit juice is not this tart, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for each cup of fruit juice.Ĭommercial pectin products contain organic acids, like fumaric acid, which assure gel formation. To form a gel, fruit juice should be as tart as a mixture of 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of water. Test of acid: A rough index of the acidity of fruit juice is the juice's tartness. If too much acid is present, the jelly will lose liquid or weep. If the fruit juice is not sufficiently acidic, a gel will not form. AcidĪ certain level of acidity (below pH 3.5) must be present for a jelly to form. If only a small weak mass forms, there is not enough pectin to form a gel and a commercial pectin should be used in the jelly making. If a good solid mass forms, enough pectin is naturally present in the fruit juice to form a pectin gel. Add 1 teaspoon of extracted fruit juice and let stand 2 minutes. Measure 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol into a small glass. Test for pectin: If jelly is to be made without added pectin, it is a good idea to test the pectin content of the fruit juice with this easy method. Or combined with commercial pectin products (these methods are described under short boil jelly). ![]() Other fruits, such as strawberries, cherries, or blueberries, contain little pectin and can be used for jelly only if: Apples, crabapples, gooseberries, some plums, and highbush cranberries usually contain enough pectin to form a pectin gel. For this reason, some jelly recipes specify the use of a portion of underripe fruit.Īll fruits contain some pectin. Fully ripe fruits contain less pectin than partially ripe fruits. Pectin is formed from a parent compound, protopectin, during the ripening of fruit and during the cooking of underripe fruit to extract juice. Pectin provides the three dimensional structure which results in a jellied product, which is why it is used in jellies and jams. Pectinįruits and their extracts obtain their jelly forming ability from a group of substances called pectins. Fruit juice is the source of water in jelly. The fruit juice may also supply some or all of the pectin and acid. For some fruit jelly, a mixture of different fruit juices is used. The fruit flavor is provided by the fruit juice. ![]()
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