Apple pectin recipe

[Guest guest]

Pulled this up on a search.

Pam

 

 

http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/The_Forager/pectin.htm

 

Making Your Own Apple Pectin

By Sam Thayer

From The Forager. Volume 1, Issue 3. August-September 2001

 

When making homemade jams and jellies, commercial powdered pectin is

usually the most expensive ingredient. A few generations ago,

powdered pectin wasn't readily available, and the skill of making

pectin at home was common knowledge for the family cook - yet today

it is a rare individual who knows how to do this. I learned how to

extract pectin from apples a few years ago when I made jams and

jellies for a living (as many as 600 jars per day). Not only does

this save money, but more importantly, it provides the satisfaction

that only comes with doing things from scratch - one of the reasons

that I love using wild foods.

 

To prepare liquid apple pectin, it is best to use under-ripe apples

that are still a bit green, hard, and sour. Ripe apples contain less

pectin, but the level varies greatly from one tree to the next; some

varieties are suitable when ripe, while some have virtually no

pectin by that time. Over-ripe apples are the worst. You can use

your damaged or misshapen apples for making pectin. Chop them in

halves or quarters, fill a large pot, and then add just enough water

to almost cover the apple chunks. Cover the pot and place it on low

heat for a long time, until the apples are fully cooked and you have

something that looks like runny applesauce with skins and seeds in

it. Stir the apples every twenty minutes or so while they are

cooking.

 

I arrange a strainer for this " sauce " by placing a cheese cloth

(actually a white T-shirt) over the top of a five-gallon pail,

secured by a cord tied around the rim. (A piece of cheese cloth in a

colander works fine for smaller amounts.) The hot applesauce is then

poured into the strainer; what drips out the bottom should be a

clear, thick liquid that's a little bit slimy to the touch. That's

your liquid apple pectin. I usually let mine strain overnight,

because it drips slowly. You can get more pectin by pressing it, but

then it comes out a little cloudy and carries more of the under-ripe

apple flavor. I like to make a few gallons of this pectin at a time

and then save it by canning or freezing - it's not hard to get a

year's supply with one batch.

 

To test the strength of the pectin, pour a little bit of rubbing

alcohol into a glass and then drop in a spoonful of pectin. The

pectin will coagulate into a jelly-like mass. If this mass can be

pulled out with a fork and it forms a heaping gob on the tines, it

is concentrated enough to jell perfectly. If it can be picked up by

the fork, but mostly hangs from it, then it will jell loosely. If it

cannot be picked up by the fork in mostly one mass, then the

concentration is too weak for it to jell. In this latter case, you

just have to boil it down to increase the concentration of the

pectin. (Note: the alcohol test doesn't work right if the pectin is

hot.)

 

You can mix liquid apple pectin with fruit or juice and boil it down

until the mixture has enough pectin to jell. This can be a little

tricky. If you mix it with a fruit juice such as chokecherry that

has little or no natural pectin in it, you will want to boil this

mixture down to approximately the same volume as that of the pectin

that you put in. If you mix it with high-pectin fruit such as wild

grapes, you might only have to boil it down a little. Boiling the

fruit-pectin mixture will not harm the flavor unless it cooks to the

bottom of the pan, which will not happen if you keep stirring it as

it boils. (An overcooked or burnt flavor is generally the result of

cooking the jam for too long only after the sugar has been added.) I

like to use liquid pectin instead of water to cover fruits such as

currants or wild cherries when I boil them to extract the juice.

After boiling down a little bit, such juice often has enough pectin

to jell. If it is cooled down, the pectin concentration of the juice

can be determined using the alcohol test described above. One great

thing about apple pectin is that it can be used to dilute or balance

the flavors of certain fruits that are not tart enough to make

superb jam by themselves, such as elderberry and chokecherry.

 

When using homemade pectin, you can't just follow the proportions

found on the chart in a Sure-Jell packet; you have to understand

something about what makes jelly jell. Basically, there are two

factors involved in this: the concentration of sugar and the

concentration of pectin. Too little of either one, and you end up

with syrup. It is possible to compensate for a little less sugar

with more pectin, or vice-versa - but you can only stray from the

recommended ratios a little bit. The most common reason that people

have batches that do not jell is because they want to add less sugar

than the recipe calls for. If you are going to make jam or jelly,

you may as well accept right now that these confections are mostly

sugar; that way, hopefully, you will avoid this temptation.

 

When you reckon that your fruit-pectin mixture is about right, mix

in sugar at a ratio of about 5 cups of fruit-pectin (or juice) to 7

cups of sugar. Stir constantly - especially with jam - to keep it

from burning to the bottom of the pan. After the jelly comes to a

full, rolling boil, let it do so for about a minute. Then, if

everything has been done right, it should be ready to pour into

jars. If you are not confident, however, this is the stage for the

final jelly test. Turn the heat down low when the boiling begins.

Dip a large spoon into the mixture and then hold it over the pot

sideways. If the last jelly falls off the spoon in a sheet rather

than a drop, or if you get a drop that hangs down bulging at the

bottom and doesn't fall (this happens especially with wooden

spoons), then you're in business. If the jelly passes this test in

either way, bring it briefly to a vigorous boil on high heat. Here

you will find yet another indicator of whether it will jell or not.

It will not just boil; it will boil up, get foamy, and probably make

you scared that it will boil over. (If you don't turn the heat off

soon enough, it will boil over.) This is when you pour the jam into

clean mason jars and cover with clean lids. Turn the jars upside-

down for a minute or two to sterilize the lids, right the jars, and

try to ignore them for a few hours while they set. (Note that home

canning of jam and jelly is not dangerous, and you do not need to

sterilize the jars in a boiling-water bath or use a pressure

canner!)

 

Hopefully this doesn't make the whole process seem harder than it

is. Like many skills, once you learn how, it's a piece of cake. It

may be encouraging to know that I never use the alcohol test

anymore, and rarely even rely on the last jelly test. After making a

number of batches, you can tell just by looking at the jelly if it's

going to jell.

 

Is it worth all this trouble just to make your jam from scratch?

Trouble? There's no trouble when I do it - just a lot of fun. And

that's what it's all about.

[Guest guest]

Pam...Oh that is cool Thanks....Mary O

-

" pam " <peetee1965

<herbal remedies >

Friday, April 30, 2004 1:09 PM

Herbal Remedies - Apple pectin recipe

 

 

> Pulled this up on a search.

> Pam

>

>

> http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/The_Forager/pectin.htm

>

[Guest guest]

Well, DUH Pam.... this is in the files...ROFL... nice search though.

Suzi

 

 

herbal remedies , " pam " <peetee1965@h...> wrote:

> Pulled this up on a search.

> Pam

>

>

> http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/The_Forager/pectin.htm

>

> Making Your Own Apple Pectin

> By Sam Thayer

> From The Forager. Volume 1, Issue 3. August-September 2001

>

>

[Guest guest]

What's in the files Suzi?

How to make apple pectin OR where to buy apple pectin :0.

Pam

 

herbal remedies , " suziesgoats "

<suziesgoats> wrote:

> Well, DUH Pam.... this is in the files...ROFL... nice search

though.

> Suzi

[Guest guest]

Pam, how to make it... the same article..

Suzipam <peetee1965 wrote:

What's in the files Suzi?How to make apple pectin OR where to buy apple pectin :0.Pam

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