Pectin is not gelatin

If you only have time to read this much: pectin is vegan-friendly.

I was having lunch at an outdoor venue with a lovely vegetarian friend. When we got around to all things canning, I told her how excited I was to try a sugar-free jam recipe using a particular pectin. "I cannot eat jams with pectin. I'm vegetarian," she mentioned. I was shocked. Having a smartphone, I immediately looked up the pectin in question. It's 100% plant-based. I showed her the ingredients, and she was surprised. She thought pectin and gelatin were similar and not vegetarian- or vegan-friendly. If my lovely, smart vegetarian friend was confused by pectin, I suspected others are, too.

Pectin is a thread-like vegetable-based carbohydrate that, when cooked, creates a cross-bond to form a gel. We endorse no products in the UC Master Food Preserver program, so the pectin brand I'm about to reference is for information only.

The pectin I looked up was Pomona's Universal Pectin^®. According to their website, it is 100% citrus pectin. The pectin is extracted from the dried peel of lemon, lime and orange after the fruit has been juiced and the oil has been pressed out of the peel. The product is vegan, gluten-free and GMO-free. This particular brand of pectin is set using calcium water; instructions are included in the package. With Sure-Jell Powdered Pectin^® and Ball Powdered Pectin^®, the ingredients are dextrose, citric acid (assists gel) and fruit pectin.

Pectin gels jams and jellies quickly, saving cooking time at the stove, and helping keep a fresh fruit flavor. Photo credit: Maureen Ladley

Commercially packaged pectin comes in liquid or powdered form. Each type has particular uses and cannot be substituted for each other. Recipes typically call out what type of pectin to use and how to use it. Here is an example of a jam using powdered pectin from the UC ANR (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources) Recipe Library: 

Strawberry Jam, using powdered pectin: https://ucanr.edu/sites/camasterfoodpreservers/files/334998.pdf 

Making strawberry jam with pectin helps preserve the bright color. Photo credit: National Center for Home Food Preservation

If Solano/Yolo is your local county, contact us online by following this link: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=30140.

Happy canning!

For more information about the UC Master Food Preserver Program, including the Food Preservation Video Library, visit mfp.ucanr.edu.