We have had a few posts lately on the forum on the relative merits of jam sugar, pectin etc.
I commented at the time that I prefer to add pectin separately to sugar. If my jam or jelly is not setting, I prefer to be able to add more pectin without making it sweeter.
Today my dehydrator was full of apples
Excalibur Dehydrator by British Red, on Flickr
and of course I had a large bucket of apple peels and cores
Apple peel and cores by British Red, on Flickr
Now if you have apple peels and cores, you have pectin. Throwing them away and them buying pectin, or jam sugar, is really very wasteful.
In addition to these my weeping crab apple tree has a reasonable amount of (high pectin) fruit.
Crab apple tree by British Red, on Flickr
So into the mix they go
Pectin mix by British Red, on Flickr
and the whole lot gets poured into a large stock pan with a few inches of water
Cores in pans by British Red, on Flickr
I cooked the lot into a mush
Cooked apple pulp by British Red, on Flickr
and strained it into a clean bucket through muslin and a colander (not got a bucket sized colander? Tie some cloth over the bucket with string)
Straining apple pulp by British Red, on Flickr
I'm left with a brown apple and water solution
Strained apple juice by British Red, on Flickr
If I lived in a sensible country, I could feed the pulp to livestock. But its illegal to re-use kitchen foodscraps here so it has to be composted. It makes me, honestly, very angry, that wasting food is now enshrined in law. I have had tow food uses from these apples - but I could have had three.
Next I took a teaspoon of the juice and dropped in alcohol (meths, rubbing alcohol etc.). If the pectin is sufficiently strong, it will turn to gel inside a minute. If not, it needs to be boiled down to a more concentrated form
Hot strained pectin by British Red, on Flickr
Meths and apple syrup by British Red, on Flickr
Once sure it is concentrated enough, I water bath canned the liquid in half pints for ten minutes
Canning set up by British Red, on Flickr
Filling Jars by British Red, on Flickr
and there we have it
ten jars of liquid pectin that would have cost £25 to buy - from "food waste"
Oh - and the original dried apples are working out well too
Dried Apple Rings by British Red, on Flickr
I commented at the time that I prefer to add pectin separately to sugar. If my jam or jelly is not setting, I prefer to be able to add more pectin without making it sweeter.
Today my dehydrator was full of apples
Excalibur Dehydrator by British Red, on Flickrand of course I had a large bucket of apple peels and cores
Apple peel and cores by British Red, on FlickrNow if you have apple peels and cores, you have pectin. Throwing them away and them buying pectin, or jam sugar, is really very wasteful.
In addition to these my weeping crab apple tree has a reasonable amount of (high pectin) fruit.
Crab apple tree by British Red, on FlickrSo into the mix they go
Pectin mix by British Red, on Flickrand the whole lot gets poured into a large stock pan with a few inches of water
Cores in pans by British Red, on FlickrI cooked the lot into a mush
Cooked apple pulp by British Red, on Flickrand strained it into a clean bucket through muslin and a colander (not got a bucket sized colander? Tie some cloth over the bucket with string)
Straining apple pulp by British Red, on FlickrI'm left with a brown apple and water solution
Strained apple juice by British Red, on FlickrIf I lived in a sensible country, I could feed the pulp to livestock. But its illegal to re-use kitchen foodscraps here so it has to be composted. It makes me, honestly, very angry, that wasting food is now enshrined in law. I have had tow food uses from these apples - but I could have had three.
Next I took a teaspoon of the juice and dropped in alcohol (meths, rubbing alcohol etc.). If the pectin is sufficiently strong, it will turn to gel inside a minute. If not, it needs to be boiled down to a more concentrated form
Hot strained pectin by British Red, on FlickrMeths and apple syrup by British Red, on FlickrOnce sure it is concentrated enough, I water bath canned the liquid in half pints for ten minutes
Canning set up by British Red, on FlickrFilling Jars by British Red, on Flickrand there we have it
ten jars of liquid pectin that would have cost £25 to buy - from "food waste"
Oh - and the original dried apples are working out well too
Dried Apple Rings by British Red, on Flickr
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