Pectin is a natural, nutritious, and fantastic food ingredient obtained from apple or citrus peels, with functions that include thickening, increasing viscosity, forming gels, and stabilizing products. Beyond food, you’ll find it in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and various industrial applications. Although it was first isolated in the early 1800s, it wasn’t until the 1900s that it was produced on a commercial scale. Let’s be honest—it’s a bit of a demanding ingredient, but if you know how to handle it, pectin will reward you with perfect results.

With its fruity flavor and aroma, strong gel structure, and transparent, glossy appearance when dissolved, pectin is an essential ingredient in many food products.

Pectins are divided into two main types: high methoxyl and low methoxyl, which are as different as night and day.

But that’s not all… High methoxyl pectins are further categorized into five types: very rapid set, rapid set, medium rapid set, slow set, and very slow set (we’re exhausted just thinking about all that setting!).

Low methoxyl pectins come in two varieties: conventional or amidated. Amidated pectins have some ester groups replaced with amide groups.

Amidated pectins can be highly sensitive, moderately sensitive, or low sensitive to calcium (they simply can’t do without it).

All types of pectin dissolve in hot water under special high-speed mixing conditions. To avoid clumping, it’s much easier to mix them with sugar before adding water.

Both types can be produced by precipitation with alcohol or other salts.

Plus, there are buffered versions of both high and low methoxyl pectins to slow down the gelling speed. Otherwise, they might set too quickly, becoming rock-hard on the production line—a real headache for manufacturers!

Confused already? Feeling a bit overwhelmed?

We don’t blame you—selecting and using the right pectin is a highly technical matter. One won’t work with low solids, another struggles with high pH. One will melt and return to its original state when heated, while another, once set, won’t budge no matter what you do.
But don’t worry, that’s exactly why we’re here! As Turkey’s top PEKTIN EXPERT with a quarter-century of experience and expertise, we are at your service to help you choose the right pectin and use it in the most effective way. One of our varieties is sure to help you create fantastic products—or we can even develop a completely new type of pectin tailored specifically to your product!