For the past few years, I have enjoyed making my own jam. I love that it’s healthier than storebought jam because I use fresh local fruit and very little sugar (sometimes I even use honey!). I also love that it’s very easy to make and doesn’t take a great deal of time.
Last year, feeling comfortable with the whole jam-making process, I decided to step it up a notch and try my hand at homemade pectin.
What Homemade Pectin Is
Pectin, as I’m sure you know, is what holds the jam together. Pectin is what causes the jam to “set” and become more solid than liquid. Pectin comes from fruit, and apples are particularly rich in pectin.
Most people are familiar with store-bought pectin that comes in powder form and is sold in little boxes. Sometimes people do without any specific source of pectin at all and just boil the living daylights out of their fruit to release the pectin inside it. And sometimes people make their own pectin by boiling the living daylights out of apples.
How to Make Homemade Pectin
The process of making your own pectin is actually quite straightforward: simply cover a large amount of apple “leavings” (peels and cores) with water and then boil for several hours. Strain through a lined mesh sieve and store the remaining liquid in the freezer or in processed jars. If you would like more specific instructions, please see Fig Jam and Lime Cordial’s excellent tutorial on homemade pectin here.
How to Use Homemade Pectin
Using homemade pectin is not nearly as straightforward a matter as making it. That’s because the amount of pectin found in fruit varies greatly, and homemade apple pectin does not come with a chart to tell you how much you should use.
Another element of jam-making adds even more trickery to the issue, and that is sugar. You have to have the proper ratio of sugar to pectin if you ever want your jam to set.
Furthermore, you’re going to need a little bit of lemon juice, which is also essential to the gelling process.
And, of course, how much you use of each of these ingredients depends entirely on how much fruit you have and what kind it is.
Complicated much, yes?! Once again, I will refer you to Fig Jam and Lime Cordial and their Jam Making Primer. But to sum up, when making jam with your own homemade pectin, you need to combine the appropriate amounts of fruit, pectin and lemon juice into a pot and bring it to a full rolling boil. Once the fruit has softened, add the appropriate amount of sugar and bring it back to a boil. Boil the living daylights out of it until it sets. If it doesn’t set, add more sugar or pectin and boil it some more.
Why I Don’t Use Homemade Apple Pectin
Homemade apple pectin seemed like such a frugal and healthy idea - an all natural, chemical free alternative to store-bought pectin that I could make from apple scraps I would normally throw away. Brilliant, right?! Once I read about it, I was determined to give it a go. After excitedly bottling up and freezing several jars of homemade apple pectin during the peak of apple season last fall, I was anxious to try my hand at jam made completely 100% from scratch with the onset of berry season this year.
Imagine my dismay when my experiment was a complete and total flop. Oh, my jam “set” just fine. After I had almost completely boiled it away, that is. And added way more sugar than I usually do. And slaved over a hot stove for much longer than I usually do. And got spattered by hot bubbling jam more than ever before.
I decided that I would never bother with homemade apple pectin again. Why? Oh, let me just count the reasons why:
- Making the pectin was easy, but it was kind of time-consuming. And it took up valuable real estate in my freezer.
- I had to boil the jam for. ev. er. Usually, jam takes me about an hour, start to finish. With the apple pectin, it was easily twice that long.
- I started with four cups of mashed fruit, the typical amount used in an average batch of jam made with store-bought pectin. Typically, that amount will yield 3-4 pint jars of jam. How many pints did I get from my batch made with homemade pectin? One. Just one.
- The pectin I usually use requires only 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar (I usually use unrefined sugar) or honey. I can’t remember exactly how much sugar I used with the apple pectin, but it ended up being considerably more.
- I had to boil the fruit down for so long that I highly doubt any nutritional value is left.
- Also because of the lengthy boiling time, the resulting jam tastes cooked rather than fresh.
- Getting the jam to set when using apple pectin is much more tricky than when using store-bought pectins, because you have to get the ratio of pectin, sugar and acid just right or it won’t work. And you have to test it to see if it’s set, which is, in my opinon, a waste of good jam!
To sum up:
It’s not QUICK - it takes forever!
It’s not EASY - it involves a lot of work and a more knowledge of jam-making than I possess.
It’s not CHEAP - the pectin might be practically free, but if my yield is less than a quarter of what I would get otherwise, it is not at all worth it.
It’s not HEALTHY - all the nutrients are boiled away, so you’re mostly left with concentrated sugar held together by fruit juices and some pulp.
What I Use Instead
My one experience with apple pectin was enough to convince me to return to my favorite old standby, Pomona’s Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin is incredibly easy to use, is all natural, and requires only 1/4-1/2 cup sugar for most recipes. It also works with all kinds of sugar alternatives, including stevia and honey. I have never had a batch of jam fail in all the time I’ve been using Pomona’s Pectin, and it sets up very quickly - within a minute! No constant boiling, stirring, and testing for a proper set.
I wish Pomona were paying me to say this, but she’s not. The honest truth is: I LOVE THIS STUFF!
What kind of pectin do you like to use?
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Wow, Anne! Thanks for giving me a heads up…that seems like a total pain. Now I know not to do it.
Sadness and crying going on for you.
And that’s very sad about only one jar.
Stacy Makes Cents recently posted..Bye-Bye Baby Gadgets
Hahaha! I might have cried a tear or two myself.
Sorry to hear that you had such bad luck with making your own pectin. I’ve always thought I should try this. Actually I did once, like 17 years ago when I was pregnant with my son…but I can’t remember what happened with it…lol! (crazy, pregnant lady)
I have read that the best pectin comes from green apples thinned from the trees when they are small. Don’t know if that would make a difference in how much cooling it takes. I usually use the No Sugar Needed pectin made by either SureJell or Ball and always have good luck with that.
Found you on the barn hop!
Lisa Lynn recently posted..Redneck Turkey Coop
Hi Lisa! I used to use the Sure Jell or Ball no sugar pectin, too, until I found Pomona’s. I like that it doesn’t have added sweeteners and stuff like that in it. And you are probably right about the green apples! I can’t remember exactly which apples I used.
I love this! Pinning it! Please consider sharing on my very first blog hop.
http://offthegridat-30.blogspot.ca/2012/07/frugal-i-made-it-tuesday-1.html
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Thanks for the pin! I will definitely go check out your blog hop
Wow, I didn’t know you could make homemade pectin! Haha but good to know it may not be the best option.
Jami Leigh recently posted..Share Your Story: Shari ~Turning Back the Pages of Time
Your post intrigued me. I live in apple country so my first thought was what sort of apples you used. I found this post about using underripe apples - http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/The_Forager/pectin.htm#
I think it’s explains better. I plan on trying this with some underripe apples off a tree that is just loaded. I, also, wonder if the problem has to do with your location. I visited family in the midwest and was surprised at how awful the apples were there since we have such beautiful ones here. I know we get them fresher since the trees are right here. Don’t give up - you may find success in making your own pectin. I’ll try to come back and share how it goes for us. We use a lot of pectin in candymaking and I’d love to make my own.
Sara Thompson recently posted..Dairy Berry Goodness
I don’t remember the kind of apples, but I do remember they were fresh from a local farm. I don’t think the Northeast US is apple heaven, but I don’t think the apples are awful, either. We like them well enough
At any rate, I found that there are too many variables that go into successful jam-making with homemade pectin for my liking. And if there’s a product that does a better more reliable job w/o objectionable ingredients, then it works for me! So I wouldn’t say that I’m giving up so much as going with what I perceive to a be a better option.
I really liked this post because I tend to “romanticize” doing things the “old-fashioned” way and need to remember that a lot of times, the modern innovation is a real help. For example, I would NOT want to go back to washing my clothes in the river by beating them with sticks. Sheesh.
I had thought about trying to make pectin, but your well-written post has reminded me to take the middle course that is (luckily) available for those of us living in the modern (1st) world.
Thanks!
Sarah
Sarah @ Give-the-Rest recently posted..A Quick Meditation for Fear
Unriped apples make the best pectin. Ripe apples do not have a higher pectin content, which was probably the issue you had.
Also there is a simple test to make sure you have cooked down the PECTIN to reduce the water and have just pectin left, you take a small cup and put in about 2 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol. Then a tablespoon of your pectin. If it clumps together, its cooked long enough.
Using pectin you make homemade is not easier than opening a box, I agree. But if your just tossing the peels then its a good way to make the most of your product!
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I really want to get in the habit of using my peels to make vinegar. I think it’s the best use for apple peels!
Whew, what a mess! So sorry. Making a mental note NOT to do it.
Do you have a post for making vinegar. This is something I would like to know how to do. I like what Sarah said about romanticizing some of the old fashioned ways. I love that we can use apples for pectin and am sure with practice we could master it but am also thankful for the store bought stuff:)
Hi Lisa! I don’t have a post about making vinegar, but I’ve tried this method a couple times: http://foodpreservation.about.com/od/Pickles/r/Apple-Scrap-Vinegar.htm
Hi Anne,
I mostly don’t use additional pectin in either jelly or jam-making. I reserve pectin for flopped jelly that needs recooking. We’re okay with our jam being just a tad soft. I use fruit that is on the high-pectin content list. For example, for jelly I do crab apple and red currant -both high in pectin. And for jam I do plum and blackberry. And I do apple and pear butter. None of these varieties seem to require additional pectin, unless I goof on the juice extraction process (which has happened) and then I add just a bit of commercial pectin.
I guess it depends on what type of fruit you have in good supply for jam-making, as to whether or not you’d need to add some pectin.
With lower pectin fruits, like strawberries and rhubarb, I tend to use them as cobbler, pie and crisp filling.
Very interesting info on the apple pectin extraction, though.
Lili@creativesavv recently posted..Out, out! Be gone stain: getting berry stains out
Hi Lili, I’ve made jam without pectin before as well, and I have the same issues with it as I did with the apple pectin. It has to be boiled considerably longer than jam made with pectin, and the end result has much more of a cooked taste. Plus, because of the variables involved, it’s a lot more complicated and getting your jam to set is not always a guarantee. Also, if I remember correctly, it used a lot of sugar, too. I don’t like the regular pectins, but I love how the Pomona’s pectin makes it easy to set jam in no time at all, plus you don’t need hardly any sugar. The best of both worlds, in my opinion!
I have made and used my own Pectin for decades. So did my mother and her mother…never had a problem but this was by far one of the more amusing reads thus far. I would love to spend a day with you in the kitchen…you’d be a pro in no time;)
I would be far more interested in showing you how easy it is to use an all-natural pectin! 😉 You won’t believe how fresh and delicious the jam tastes and how simple the process is.
But why would “I buy” when God gave it to me freely? I see nothing wrong with spending money on things if that is what you’re used to. But almost everything we make and eat is what we raise and grow. But Kudos to you for doing what you know makes you happy:)
I agree!
I think I read this before…and again, it left me giggling. It is VERY EASY to Make and while it boils slowly I go about my daily chores and come back later in the day (there is no perfect time..just whenever) and you do “not” need to add lemon juice. Just make sure it is a cup to a cup. I guess once you do it for so long…it just seems easy.
I also have my own trees so doesn’t cost me anything to make.
You may have used too much water. This is what I do: to extract the pectin from apples, I freeze them after washing and peeling them. Take out of the freezer put them in a pot and add the lemon juice. Cook them in their own juice. This way, the pectin is pure since water is not added.
To make any jam, I do the same. Freeze the fruits first and then, defrost them. This way, all the juice comes out. I cook them in their own juice and never add water, just the pectin and sugar. This way the cooking time is less.
Great tip! I’m not ever going to try apple pectin again, though, lol. I haven’t read anything to convince me otherwise.
Wow. This is. My first season making jam and after using packaged pectin for the first batches, I made my own from green Transparent apples off the tree. I didn’t have any of the problems you mentioned and didn’t have to use much sugar. It’s like jelly in a jar and I use it for fruit sauces too. It must make a difference that the apples were green
Probably! I don’t have access to green apples.