Can most sour fruits be jelled by cooking with sugar?
I make jam all the time, using pectin. But the recipes only list a few dozen common fruits.
Recently, I wanted to make crabapple jam or jelly, and I found a recipe that essentially had me cook the whole fruit in water, juice it, add about an equal amount of sugar to the juice, and cook it to slightly above boiling (220 F).
I have some juiced oregon grape, and I want to make it a jelly, and I've found a page that sounds like it's the same idea as the crabapples: about equal amounts juice and sugar, boil to a jell stage.
So, can I do that with most sour fruits? I guess the question is essentially, do most sour fruits have enough natural pectin that they will jell without adding pectin? Is there any danger in experimenting? Or do I need to stick with normal fruits or at least existing recipes?
Best Answer
Fruits that are high in pectin are not necessarily sour and sour fruits are not necessarily high in pectin. However, pectin is typically found in high concentrations in firm fleshed fruit such as apples and in the skins of citrus. Unripe fruit has even more than the ripe. So- I can see why you would come to that conclusion.
It is easy enough to find charts of pectin levels in various fruits.
As you may notice many of these charts list not only fruits high in pectin but those high in acid. This is because acid is necessary to make pectin gel as it removes a charge on the pectin molecules that prevents them from tangling with each other. Low acid fruits, even if they are high in pectin, need extra acid for this reason.
If you are feeling all scientific about it, you can test pectin levels yourself.
There is no danger in experimenting. At least no danger of illness. You might end up with grainy jam if the pectin is too high or syrup if it is too low but it will all taste great.
Pictures about "Can most sour fruits be jelled by cooking with sugar?"
How do you make fruit less sour?
Macerating\u2014soaking or steeping in liquid and/or sweetener\u2014is one of the easiest and fastest ways to doctor up sub-par berries. Toss them in sugar, honey, or maple syrup, along with a little fresh juice or alcohol (an herbal liqueur, like elderflower spirit, would be great).How can sugar preserve fruit like jam or jelly?
Jars of fruit preserves, jams, and jelly for sale at a farmers market. The essential ingredients for a successful preserve are sugar, acid, and pectin. These three ingredients lower the pH of the preserve and bind available water, thus creating an environment in which the growth of microorganisms is retarded.Which fruits have the most pectin?
Some fruits and vegetables are more pectin-rich than others. For example, apples, carrots, oranges, grapefruits, and lemons contain more pectin than cherries, grapes, and other small berries with citrus fruits containing the most pectin.Why is sugar added while making jams and jellies?
Sugar: Sugar serves as a preserving agent, contributes flavor and aids in gelling. Granulated white sugar is the usual type of sugar for jelly or jam. Corn syrup and honey may be used to replace part of the sugar in recipes, but too much will mask the fruit flavor and alter the gel structure.Tanghulu Recipe 冰糖葫蘆 - CANDIED STRAWBERRIES ( How To Make Tanghulu Without Corn Syrup )
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Leigh Patrick, Dmytro, Pixabay, mali maeder