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More Than You Wanted to Know About Pectin

Quite a bit more, actually.

Jon Tillman | Filed Under: Food | Tagged: food,cooking First Published: 2024-05-24 | Last Updated: 2024-09-13 Status: in progress | Audience: food science nerds | Confidence: aficionado Word Count: 1314 | Reading Time: 7 minutes

I like fruit jam that tastes like fruit, not like candy, so I spent a lot of time learning how to make a really great low- to no-sugar jam that allows me to eat something that tastes like eating the fruit fresh from the plant instead of spreadable fruit flavored candy. In doing so, I learned a lot about pectin and other gelling agents. These are a cleaned up version of my notes from that process.

Schematic representation of pectin structure. (from Frontiers in Immunology)

Pectin is a natural acid polysaccharide that can be found in the cell wall of all plants. It’s primary non-industrial use is in making jams at home. Though there are many different types of pectin, most home cooks have only ever encountered one of them. Pectin has the E-number Codes for substances used as food additives, including those found naturally. The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System (INS) as determined by the Codex Alimentarius E440, with sub-codes for some of the more common types of pectins.

HM and LM

To understand pectins, it helps to understand what acid and alkaline mean. The aciditiy and alkalinity are measured using the pH scale which runs from 0 to 14. A pH-value of 7 is neutral, anything below 7 is acidic, and above 7 is considered alkaline. The basic pectin that most people have encountered, probably in jam making, is called HM pectin. High Methoxyl pectin is a pectin in which the degree of esterification (DE) is roughly 50% or more.

The other main grouping of pectins is LM, or Low Methoxyl, pectins. They have a DE of roughly 49% or less.

The main difference to the end user of these types of pectins is how they gel. HM pectins require the presence of both sugar and acid in order to gel, while LM pectins require the presence of calcium ions in order to gel.

HM Properties

a high amount of sugar dissolved in water binds water molecules. As a result, pectin can no longer surround itself with these water molecules. They’re scarcer. This helps pectin molecules find one another. HM pectin tends to need over 60w% of sugar to form a gel. High Methoxyl pectins are used primarily to supplement the natural pectins in fruits when making jams and jellies. In order to set they require a pH of between 2.5 and 3.8, and the presence of high amounts of sugar, in a range between 55-85% by volume.

HM pectins are produced by macerating apple pomace and/or citrus rinds and cooking them in an acidic environment to free the pectins. This pectin is precipitated and dried, resulting in the dried pectin product you have seen in the store. Pectins contain a lot of acid (-COOH) groups. If these groups react with alcohol (-OH) an ester is formed. The number of esters formed determines the degree of esterification. Cooking fruit pulp as described above creates a lot of these esters, leading to the High Methoxyl name.

HM pectins are thus suitable for use in products that:

  1. contain lots of sugar
  2. are acidic

HM pectins are not thermo-reversible. they do not lose their gel-like structure when heated.

HM Sub divisions

High methoxyl pectins are sometimes sold as slow set or fast set pectin. The basic types of these are:

  • Slow Set pectin is one that has a DE-value of 50-60%, it takes the longest to set.
  • Fast Set pectins have a DE-value above 70%, it sets fastest and at the highest temperature.

    Common HM Pectin Marketing Names

These HM pectins are sold under a variety of both trade and conventional names. What you need to know is that all of the following types or brands of pectin are all exactly the same chemically and interchangeable. They are all slow-set HM pectins:

  • Apple Pectin
  • Yellow Pectin
  • Fruit Pectin
  • Sure-Jell
  • Liquid Pectin

    LM Properties

Calcium ions (Ca2+) have a positive charge. These positive charges can neutralize and attract two negatively charged acid groups from two pectin molecules. Low Methoxyl pectins require the presence of calcium ions in solution in order to gel. They do not require sugar to be present in order to set, and thus can be used to make low- or no-sugar jams and jellies.

Spain is a leading producer of LM pectins because it is also a leading producer of sunflower oil. The default cooking oil in Spain is sunflower, not canola as in most places, leading to a large number of waste sunflower discs that can be repurposed into LM pectin The production of LM pectin usually begins with the same cooking process as HM pectins, and usually comes from different plant sources to aid in the process. Primarily produced from leftover sunflower discs after seed harvesting, or from unused potatoes from a previous harvest, LM pectin begins with a low-acid plant source, and then are alkali treated to reduce the acid groups further, resulting in a pectin that after cooking has a much lower degree of esterification.

LM pectins then are suitable for products that:

  1. contain calcium
  2. have low or no sugar content
  3. have a wide range of pH values

LM pectins are thermo-reversible. they do lose their gel-like structure when heated. You can heat them, liquify them, modifiy your recipe, and then re-set them.

LM Sub divisions

LM pectins are further subdivided into three types, based on both their manufacturing chemistry, and on how you use them.

LMC Pectin

Also known as LM Pectin or Conventional LM, LMC pectin is a conventionally produced low methoxyl pectin. To make this pectin a manufacturer uses an acid to remove ester groups. LMC pectin sets only at 55w% sugar or less. LMC pectin requires adding a solution of calcium to your product in order to gel.

LMA Pectin

Also known as Amidated Pectin or LM Amidated Pectin, LMA is produced by using an alkaline material to remove ester groups. That is almost always common ammonia (NH3), an amine. LMA pectin can set in the presence of any sugar concentration from 0% to any theoretical maximum. LMA pectin requires adding a solution of calcium to your product in order to gel.

Pectin NH

NH pectins are those that are treated with the following E-numbers:
E440ii - Disodium diphosphate
E450i - Dextrose
E341iii - Tricalcium Phosphate
No Heat Pectin is a specific form of LM pectin that can be set without the application of heat. This is achieved by pre-binding calcium ions to the pectin so that cooking in the presence of calcium is no longer necessary. While sometimes used interchangeably with LMA pectin, properly NH Pectin is solely those that conform to a specific set of E-Numbers .

Common LM Pectin Marketing Names

LM pectins are somewhat rarer on the market (in the US at least) than HM pectins. The most recognizable name is probably Pomona’s Universal Pectin, a LMA pectin that comes in premeasured packets and sports a 1980’s health food store style label. It is found in Whole Foods and mail order. In Europe, the most common LM pectin on the market is Pectin NH Nappage, made by the Spanish company Ingredíssimo. Primarily aimed at culinary professionals in the weirdly named molecular gastronomy space, it is super cheap, comes in giant quantities, and can be found pretty much everywhere online.

Pricing

Pomona’s Universal Pectin in bulk runs about $70 for 1 lb.

Ingredíssimo sells NH Nappage for 37.40€ for 550g.