Pectin - in jams and marmalades - Healan Ingredients (2024)

Pectin is often used as a thickener in cooking and baking. It is a natural polysaccharide (starch) product extracted from fruits and is commonly used as a natural thickening and setting/gelling agent that shouldn’t affect the taste or smell of your recipes.

Key benefits include: process tolerance, versatility and consumer friendliness.

A unique fibre found in fruits and vegetables, pectin produces high resistance gels is often used in combination with fruit and sugar in jam making, fruit compotes and marmalades, chutney, dairy, protein drinks and even personal beauty care.

Pectin is also a natural ingredient suitable for Vegans & Vegetarians, Gluten Free, Non-GMO, Halal, Kosher.

A soluble fibre which, when heated in the presence of liquid, pectin expands and turns into a gel, making it a great thickener. It also gels in your digestive tract after ingestion, a function that provides numerous health benefits.

More recently it’s been assisting in low-calorie foods, acting as a fat and/or sugar replacement – it’s a truly versitile option!

Function/Benefits:

• Supports sugar reduction
• Prevents syneresis/weeping
• Acid stable even at high temperatures
• Viscosifier for soft drinks
• Stabiliser for acid milk drinks
• Helps stabilise proteins
• Stabiliser and pH balancing (Beauty care)
• Security of supply
• Low MOQs
• NPD assistance

Making Marmalade and Jams with Pectin

Pectin is a gelling agent and provides texture, helping the setting process when jams and marmalade cools. Fast set high methoxyl pectin is mostly used for chunky jams and marmalades.

Pectin is especially used to thicken recipes that include low-pectin-producing fruits. Although all fruits contain a certain amount of their own pectin, some such as strawberries and raspberries don’t contain enough to thicken properly and need a little ‘help’ along the way – hence the commercial use of pectin as a thickener.