3. Discovery
& History
Jams and Jellies
have been produced for many years, at least since the 18th Century.
Recipes were published in the "London Housewife's Family Companion"
of 1750 which described jellies made from apple, currant, and quince,
all fruits rich in gelling pectin.
Pectin was first
isolated in the 1820s, and shown to be the key to making jams and
jellies.
Gradually, people
mixed pectin rich fruits or fruit extracts with fruits which do not
set jams well - strawberry with gooseberry or with red currant, for
example. Extracts of apple peels and cores were also used for "difficult
to set" jams.
Commercial
jam producers sought further supplies of pectin source materials.
In Germany, apple juice producers started to dry the pomace residue
left after pressing juice for sale to jam makers, who would cook the
pomace in water with or without fruit juice to make a jellying juice.
The first commercial
production of a liquid pectin extract was recorded in 1908 in Germany,
and the process spread rapidly to the United States, where a classic
patent was obtained by Douglas (US Pat. 1.082,682, 1913). This was
followed by a rapid growth of the pectin industry in the United States,
and also somewhat later in Europe.
In recent years,
the centre of production has moved to Europe and to citrus-producing
countries like Mexico and Brazil.
Further changes
of structure and location of the industry continue, but are constrained
by the need for large capital investment to set up a plant of economic
size, and the need for a large-scale source or sources of raw material.
1. Structure
2. Types of Pectin
3. Discovery
& History 4. Commercial
Production
