Bejay,

Would you mind briefly describing how you do the natural pectin extraction? or give us a link? I have a method but I am interested in finding other - maybe less messy - ways.

I might not do it this year since all I want to make is a glaze (like a citrus reduction) and because I do not want it to gel, I will simply leave the pectin out. I will be making marmalade again as soon as I run low though, or some of my friends develop a keen interest in it. I still have enough marmalade for a year of my own consumption.

cabrita -

First, please take this from my memory - as it was almost a year or so ago, and only a first experience, so at best is hazy.

I extracted the juice, then cut the peelings from the limes, and added water boiling about half hour or so. Then I put into a cheese cloth bag, and extracted as much liquid as I could. The pectin is in the pulp mostly.

This pectin extract was frozen for later use.

When I made the jelly, I had about a cup of pectin, to which I added enough fresh squeezed lime juice to make about 4 cups of juice/pectin mixture. I found a recipe that called for 2 cups sugar to 2-1/2 cups fruit mixture.

Bring to a boil until a thermometer reaches 212 F. Pour into jars, 1/4 in. headspace. Process 5 minutes.

Don't let the mix over-cook as the pectin will break down. The jelly won't be green, but a light amber color.

I checked my finished jars this a.m. Found that one didn't seal, but I used some old lids, all the others were fine. It made about 6 jars and it is a bit runny, but that's fine cuz it soaks into the English muffin holes better.

I would imagine that you could use more pectin if you wanted a thicker product, or even add more commercial stuff. But, I think it is hard to predict the outcome of this kind of jelly making, not knowing exactly how much pectin is in the fruit to begin with.

Apple peelings are another good source of pectin, the young green ones especially - having more pectin in the peels than riper ones.

Sooo - the choice is yours. This is not an exact recipe, but I found the taste to be excellent, not compromised by a gelling product that adds its own character to it.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

Thanx for this update, bejay! I remember reading about this when you did it. There's a recipe for canning pectin from apples in the ELlie TOpp book, and while I too don't think it's something I'll do often (I just don't make that many thigns that need jelling), I thought it'd be fun to try.

Z, jealous of your citrus at this time of year!

Thanks Bejay. Just to clarify, you juice the fruit, peel it, and put the pips and membranes in a bag? I do something similar but using only pips. Also, I have no limes to preserve yet (small trees still). About how much fruit (membranes and pips) do you 'guestimate' it took to produce that one cup of pectin? Just a few, ten of them, a big basket, a bushel?

This method might extract more pectin that the pips alone. I had about a quart bag of pips from which I made about 14 pints of marmalade. It gelled but I had to reduce it quite a bit (from about 10-12 quarts).

cabrita -

I've been doing a "search" just now, and as luck would have it, came on the post about a year ago (to the day) on the subject of making pectin. You will find several postings by Readinglady - Carol, on the subject.

If you are just making marmalade, it is not necessary to extract the pectin from the citrus for later use, but the procedure is similar.

When I extracted it, it was because I wanted to freeze it for making lemon or lime jellies at a later date.

Try doing the search - it worked well this time, to see several great postings and links - it might clear the differences in apple versus citrus pectin. It is a bit confusing, as the citrus pectin is messy too.

Like you - I have a lot of citrus and find few recipes that I can relate to for their use. They seem to fluctuate in their acid content from one type to another as well. Perhaps that is the reason.

Bejay

Thanks Bejay. I did the search and here is the information, referenced by readinglady from an old document

http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/docs/c/citrus2.htm

Above is the link for the whole thing (from 1931)

I will copy the relevant paragraph here in case someone wants it fast (like me in a few weeks.....LOL)

"Citrus Pectin for Other Fruits.

The fruits in many sections require additional pectin to produce jelly. Fortunately, Florida has an abundant supply of pectin in citrus fruits.

It may be prepared for convenience as follows:

One-half pound white part of orange peel, 1 pint water, 4 tablespoons lemon juice.

Cut or grate the yellow from orange peel. Pass white peel through a food chopper. Weigh, add lemon juice, mix, allow to stand 1 hour. Add 1 ¼ pints water. Let stand 1 hour. Boil gently 10 minutes. Cover, let cool, place in flannel jelly bag and allow to drain. Press to remove juice. Drain juice through a clean bag. "

cabrita -

I made a copy of it, just in case I want more jelly, or try it for some other fruit. I still have some boysenberries that I froze last May. They were so good, however, that I prefer to eat them as they are. I froze them individually on a plastic cover - then into a freeze container for long term storage. It is so nice to pop them on my breakfast cereal and enjoy them - almost like fresh-picked.

But in case I have another bumper crop this year, I'll consider citrus pectin.

Thanks for the update. Another source for your consideration is "The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest" by Carol Costenbader. I like the way the recipes are presented (pictures too). That is where I got my jelly recipe idea. It also has a description of making citrus pectin as well.

Bejay