On Jun 21, 10:24 pm, Mimi wrote:
My local Wally World sells Ball brand pectin (I use the No Sugar
Needed or Low Sugar variety) for $1.50 a box.

Anyone ever made pectin stock from lemons??? I know it would likely
be costly if you had to go out and buy the lemons just for that use
but, since I use a lot of lemons anyway, I have been saving the shells
in a big bag in the freezer to give it a try. I found two recipes in
two different books. Basically, you puree the shells, add water,
cook, strain the liquid and then reduce the liquid. It can be canned
(or frozen) for later use as well. 2/3 to 1 cup of the stock to 4
cups fruit or fruit juice.

Hi -

I took a marmalade-making class last winter from June Taylor
(www.junetaylorjams.com), a great jam maker in Berkeley, CA. She
taught us to make pectin from citrus membranes and seeds. When
preparing the fruit, you keep all the seeds and membranes in a
cheesecloth bag or jelly bag, then during the first stage of cooking
(before adding sugar) you suspend the bag in the fruit. When the
peels have softened, you remove the bag, let it cool, and "milk" it--
squeeze it with your hands for several minutes. Eventually this gooey
gel starts coming out of the bag (the pectin) which you add to the
cooked fruit, then add sugar, then cook for the second stage until it
reaches the gel point.

A food blogger I like has documented some of the process he
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archive..._marmalade.php

I also found a video with June demonstrating the process herself!
There are several videos in a row that play one after another,
probably 10 minutes total:
http://www.chow.com/stories/10695

I'm not sure how this translates to making non-citrus jams and
jellies. June talked about saving some citrus membranes in the
freezer for using in jams year-round, but she didn't tell us the
process and I haven't taken her summer fruits class.

Libby