Homemade Pectin (For Jams & Jellies)

Adapted from http://www.pickyourown.org

Ingredients:

4 cups water

2 Tbsp lemon juice

3 lbs sliced, washed tart green apples with peels and cores. Granny Smith is good, crabapples are best if you can get them. The less ripe the fruit, the better.

Directions:

Wash, but do not peel, your green apples and cut them into pieces, including the cores.

Put all the pieces into a pot and add the water and the lemon juice.

Boil the mixture until it reduces by half (about 30 to 45 minutes)

Strain it through a cheesecloth back into the pot.

Boil the juice for another 20 minutes.

Pour it into sanitized jars and seal them to store in the fridge or freezer.

You'll have to experiment a little with how much you use for recipes, since every apple contains a different amount of pectin. The riper the fruit, the lower the level of pectin.

How do you test homemade pectin amounts for Jam?

Once your Jam is ready to be canned, remove one spoonful and place an ice cube against the bottom of the spoon. If the spoonful sets to your preferred texture, then you've used enough pectin. 

If not, then reheat the jam and add a bit more sugar, another Tbsp lemon juice and more pectin. Boil for 1 more minute and test again. Try it first on a very small batch, then once you know your pectin levels, go for the bigger batches.