Hello and thank you for being here! Today we’re having a chat about pectin, if you’ve made any of my jam recipes you might have noticed that I almost always call for pectin, this is because I prefer a firm set jam and pectin is the magic ingredient that helps us achieve that. If you’re just making jam to dollop on toast, it doesn’t really matter how set it is so I totally understand why a lot of recipes don’t include pectin but when it comes to layer cakes it’s a different story. Runny jam can cause big problems in layer cakes, it can leak out, it can cause the sponges to slide, it can make the sponge soggy, it’s just generally a nuisance. I wanted to take a look at what pectin actually is, whether we always need to use it and go over some basic jam ratios.
What Is Pectin?
Much like citric acid pectin powder sounds like some kind of dodgy additive, however it’s no such thing, it’s simply a naturally occurring thickening agent that can be found in fruits and vegetables. When cooked with acid and sugar, pectin creates a gel texture that sets as it cools to create the perfect, jammy texture. So what exactly is happening here? The sugar draws moisture out of the fruit and away from the pectin, this allows the pectin molecules to form bonds whilst the acidity helps to draw the pectin out of the fruit making it more effective. Acidity is often added in the form of lemon but I favour citric acid, I have a whole post about why I love it which you can read here.
How To Use Pectin
So how do we go about using pectin? Well you can get it in all kinds of different forms, directly from the fruit, in liquid form, or in a powder. I favour rapid set pectin powder rather than the liquid, which is usually derived from apples which I find to be less effective.
When using powdered pectin it will need to be mixed with a small amount of sugar, to prevent lumps forming, it can be added at the start of the jam making process or once everything comes to the boil, I like to add later as you can see it in action and get a better indication of how well it’s working and if you need to add more.
Once it’s in there pectin needs to be heated in order to activate, it need to reach around 85°C/185°F but jam recipes generally call for the jam to be heated to 104°C/219.2°F, this is to ensure that enough liquid has evaporated, you don’t need a thermometer to check this, you can just drop a bit on a cool plate and ate a few minutes, the top should set and it should crinkle when you push a finger through it.
But do we always need to add pectin? Well the answer is no which brings us onto…
Pectin & Acidity Levels In Fruits
Not all fruits were created equally when it comes to pectin, some fruits contain very high levels meaning that you don’t need to add any extra when making jam whilst some need a little help. High pectin in combination with high acidity will yield a jam with a very firm set.
For reference I’ve made this table of popular jam fruits and given them a score out of 3 for both pectin and acidity, fruits with, fruits with the highest pectin generally don’t need any additionally pectin in the recipe, fruits that fall somewhere in the middle might need a little and fruits with very low pectin and acid need slightly more.
When it comes to acidity I almost always add more either in the form of citric acid or lemon juice, even when making jam with very acidic fruit, we need to add so much sugar that I always feel the need for a little extra tang.
Basic Jam Ratios
Traditional jams have a very high sugar levels, generally around 1:1 ratio of fruit to sugar however we can reduce the amount of sugar significantly. My preference is to reduce this to about 1:2, or 2:5 this is really the lowest we can go whilst still achieving a jammy texture and a decent shelf life, if stored in sterilised jars, this will keep unopened in the fridge for around 3 months, it would probably keep longer but I always err on the side of caution and I always use it along before then anyway.
My base jam recipe looks something like this:
1kg fruit
400g-500g sugar
5-10g pectin depending on the fruit
2-5g citric acid
Now onto some recipes!
Blackberry, Apple & Bay Jam
This is a no added pectin jam! We’re using cooking apples to help thicken rather than powdered pectin, this makes a lovely thick jam with a nice depth of flavour from the bay leaves. This recipe also works fantastically with rosemary rather than bay.
Ingredients - Makes 4 jars
700g blackberries
300g cooking apples, peeled and diced
400g caster sugar
6 bay leaves
Method
Combine everything and leave to macerate overnight (you can skip this stage if you need your jam fast!).
Bring to the boil and then reduce to low to medium, it should be just bubbling.
Simmer until the temperature reaches the wrinkle test or 104°C/219.2°F.
You can either fish out the bay leaves at this stage or just leave them.
Store in sterilised jars or a and use as you please, if you’ll be using straight away or within 2 weeks there’s no need to sterilise your jars, you can just keep it in a Tupperware container until you need it!
Nectarine & Thyme Jam
Nectarine and thyme is one of my favourite summer flavour combinations, it’s light, bright and herby! You can substitute the nectarines with any stoned fruit, peaches and apricots are also lovely.
Ingredients - makes 4 jars
1kg chopped nectarines
380g sugar
5g citric acid
10g thyme
10g pectin powder mixed with 20g sugar
Combine everything but the pectin and leave to macerate overnight (you can skip this stage if you need your jam fast!)
Bring to the boil and shower in the pectin mixed with the sugar.
Reduce to low/medium and leave to simmer stirring occasionally.
Simmer until the temperature reaches the wrinkle test or 104°C/219.2°F.
Remove the thyme stalks, most of the leaves will have come off during the cooking.
Store in sterilised jars or a and use as you please, if you’ll be using straight away or within 2 weeks there’s no need to sterilise your jars, you can just keep it in a Tupperware container until you need it!
I’ve also linked some of my other jam recipes below and for paid subscribers I’ll be chatting about making fruit jellies with pectin and sharing some recipes, which you can read here.