Homemade Citrus Pectin

By
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith
Leda Meredith is a food writer and certified botanist who has written five books on foraging and preserving food.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 03/20/23
Man peeling fruit
A Carmichael/The Image Bank/Getty Images
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Maceration Time: 3 hrs
Total: 3 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
19 Calories
0g Fat
5g Carbs
0g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 19
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 3mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 5g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 26mg 132%
Calcium 32mg 2%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 46mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Pectin is a naturally occurring substance in fruit that makes sweet preserves thicken. However, some fruits are low in pectin and need added pectin in order to gel. You can buy commercial pectin, or you can make your own from citrus peels. You can also make pectin from apples.

High-pectin citrus peel is what makes marmalade gel without added pectin. Keep in mind that it is the white pith​ or inner part of the citrus peel that is rich in pectin. Under-ripe fruits have more of this pith than fully ripe fruits. You can use any citrus for this recipe, but grapefruit works especially well because of its larger pith.

You will be removing the citrus zest, the colored part of the rind. Set it aside for another use such as limoncello. The zest is wonderfully aromatic and flavorful, but it could overwhelm the flavors of other fruits in your jams and jellies (especially if you aren't making a citrus jam) and it doesn't bring any pectin to the party. Be aware that this pectin can have a little bitterness to it, so it's best to use in preserves that have spices or very flavorful fruits rather in more subtle preserves.

How Much Homemade Pectin to Use

Use about 1/4 cup apple pectin per cup of fruit for jams. For jellies, use 1/4 cup apple pectin per cup of fruit juice. Measure the combined pectin and juice and add an equal amount of sugar.

Testing Your Homemade Pectin's Strength

You might find your pectin is not as concentrated as you would like. One way to test the strength of the pectin is to take a tablespoon of it and drop it in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of rubbing alcohol. Let it sit for a minute and then see if you can pick up the glob of pectin with a fork. If you can't, you can reduce the liquid in your remaining batch of liquid pectin by heating it to a boil, uncovered, until it is more concentrated.

Homemade citrus pectin for making preserves is completely different from modified citrus pectin, which is the subject of medical research. Pectin is non-digestible fiber, while modified citrus pectin is specially processed to be digestible. You are not able to do this at home.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound white pith from citrus fruit

  • 1/4 cup lemon juice

  • 2 cups water

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Remove the colorful zest of the peels from the citrus fruits with a zester or vegetable peeler and set aside for other uses or discard.

  3. Peel off the white pith and finely chop. Weigh them to ensure you have 1/2 pound.

  4. In a medium pot, combine the chopped citrus pith with the lemon juice. Let stand for 2 hours. Add the water and let stand for another hour.

  5. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

  6. Strain through a jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth. The liquid pectin is now ready to use.

How to Store

You can keep homemade pectin in the refrigerator for a week, or in the freezer for 6 months.

Article Sources
The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Pectin. Updated July 3, 2019.