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Fruit naturally contains pectin, and marmalade has traditionally been made by cooking seasonal fruit alone or with added sugar. With sugar in the system and the fruits own acid, the natural pectin will thicken or gel the product. Adding pectin and xanthan gum to fruit preparations makes it possible to tailor the product in terms of desired viscosity and stability and to ensure finished products of consistent quality whether it is for full sugar formulations, sugar-reduced/diet jams or baking stable jams.
We supply different grades of HM, LM and LMA pectin from citrus and apple for a variety of applications including:
The role of pectin in a fruit preparation is to provide texture to the jam or jelly giving good distribution of the fruit, minimising syneresis, giving good flavour release and allowing transport without changes.
There are three types of pectin classified according to their degree of methylation (DM%) and all having their own functions and properties. The different types of pectin are optimised for specific functions like e.g. gelling, viscosifying and stabilisation. For marmalade and jams, pectin provides a range of textures from firm and elastic to soft and spreadable and reversible.
The fruit’s natural pectin is the HM pectin. HM pectin needs more than 55% solids and low pH (below 3.3) to gel. This type of pectin is typically used for production of jam, jellies, and preserves.
LM pectin gels in the presence of calcium or potassium, but also with sugars and acids. A special feature of LM pectin is the ability to gel in systems with low soluble solids. LMA pectin also need calcium to gel, but usually far less than LM pectin. This often makes LMA pectin easier to use than the non-amidated LM pectins. Both LM and LMA pectins are ideal for sugar reduced, low sugar jams and diet jams, and for fruit preparations and baking stable jams.
Pectin, E440
Xanthan gum is a highly functional and effective thickener and stabiliser. When using as little as 0.1% xanthan gum, an emulsion can be formed. A higher ratio, up to 1 % xanthan gum can produce a thicker and more stable emulsion.
Xanthan gum has several unique properties, making it perform beyond the limits of many other thickeners and stabilisers:
Xanthan gum forms gels on its own without the need for sugar / acid or calcium / potassium-ions to gel. This property is essential for manufacturing diet or no-added sugar jams.
Xanthan gum produces a soft and delicious jelly.
Xanthan gum immediately starts gelling in liquid and does not need any prior heating or cooling process.
Xanthan solutions has the ability to interact with plant galactomannans such as guar gum, locust bean gum, konjac glucomannan or cassia gum. When any of these gums is added to a solution of xanthan gum at room temperature it will cause a synergistic increase in viscosity.
The viscosity of xanthan gum solutions decreases with higher shear rates. This so called pseudoplasticity means that shear forces such as mixing or shaking will make the product thinner, however when forces are removed the product will thicken again.
Xanthan gum is odourless and flavourless.
Xanthan gum, E415
Xanthan gum is a heteropolysaccaride and a soluble fibre. It is produced by natural fermentation of simple sugars by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris. Xanthan gum is a food additive that binds and stabilises the product.
Michael Telsing
Area Sales Manager
+45 40 73 84 41
mt@alsiano.com
