Processed

Apple

A tier

Apple pectin is refined from the pomace left after cider and juice pressing—skins, cores, and pressed flesh that still hold a thicket of cell-wall pectin. Historically this was the first industrial pectin; underripe cooking apples had already taught European kitchens that some fruit sets and some does not. The extracted powder can be cut as HM or LM, but "apple pectin" on a packet usually means a high-methoxyl, cider-works grade aimed at jam. Gels are often a touch more opaque and rounded in flavour than citrus pectin, with a faint baked-apple softness rather than pith. It is a sympathetic partner for berry and stone-fruit conserves where a glass-clear jelly is less important than a homely set. As with all pectins, degree of esterification and buffer salts decide performance more than the fruit name on the sack.