Can I substitute powdered pectin for lemon juice?

[mmmmmchocolate]

And if so how much do I put in instead? Recipe calls for 4 tsp of powdered pectin but I can't find it in the shops anywhere..

What are you making? If it's something that needs to set I wouldn't think lemon juice would be enough. I believe you can buy liquid pectin though, should work if you can't get powdered.

Apples are high in pectin too, could you chuck an apple in?

I'm making strawberry jam, is lemon juice not concentrated enough then?

Any ideas where to get some, I usually shop at sainsburys- they sell the expensive jam sugar but can never find any kind of pectin on its own.

I've used Certo in the past (liquid pectin) and that sets pretty well. I'm sure I've seen it on sale in Sainsbury's alongside the jam sugar. It's worth trying instead of lemon juice.........

I've made strawberry jam with just lemon juice, it was a fairly soft set but nicely readable, not runny. I think you'd have to go to a fancy cooking shop to buy actual pectin.

Spreadable! Not readable!

The name certo rings a bell actually.. Ill try a bigger sainsburys branch see if I can find it.

I might give the juice a go then today and just make a very small amount and see if it will set. And if its only good for fridge jam ill go and find some pectin tomorrow. Thanks everyone

Fridge jam freezes really well, I freeze it in small containers & defrost as needed.

I make all my jam with lemon juice, very rarely use pectin, except when the jam really won't set. I don't like very stiff jam though. I've not made a straight strawberry jam so far but here is a pectin free reciepe from my preserves book:

8 cups strawberries, hulled and halved if large
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup bottled lemon juice

Toss the strawberries in the sugar and leave to macerate overnight.

Next day bring to boil, stirring and crushing to release the juice. Stir in the lemon juice. Continue to cook, stirring frequently for about 20 minutes or until the jam reaches the desired set. Let rest for 5 mins, skim off and foam and jar up. (it's an American recipe so then wants you to process the jars in a canner for 10 mins, which I never do)

My other recipe book suggests the same amount of strawberries, but 6 cups of sugar and 1/3 cup of lemon juice, with no maceration. It also has one for strawberry preserves which has 5 cups of sugar to only 6 cups of strawberries (still 1/3 cup lemon juice). It's a two day recipe where you double cook the jam, leaving it in a shallow dish for 24 hours. In my experience preserve type recipes tend to be almost fruit in syrup, very yummy but a bit different to your standard jam.

I tend to make my jam up a bit as I go along. As you can see from above proportions in recipes can really vary, so I'm not sure how much it really matters.

I've been thinking about this over the last couple of days, and thought "what the f*ck am I talking about? I make jam fairly often, and have never used pectin, nor sugar with added pectin!" I do apologise for my initial bollocks post, I'm blaming baby brain.

I think I was thinking in terms of some kind of dessert that needed to set, but I guess you'd be more likely to use gelatin for that.

However, I'm not really sure what "fridge jam" is, as I always put jam into the fridge once the jar is opened. I also prefer a softer set.

I brought the jam sugar as I couldn't find any pectin. I was making it using the breadmaker so I didn't really want to substitute anything in case I messed it up.

My house smells delicious :) it is quite runny but I'm hoping that it'll firm up a bit as it goes cold. It's supposed to be quite soft set anyway. I'm excited, can't wait to try it!! I think I'll put a loaf on and have it on fresh bread for breakfast.

Thanks for all your opinions!

mrspennyapple fridge jam is just what I call jam that I haven't put into sterilised jars and it lasts in the fridge for about a week, however I ate my 'fridge jam' whilst it was warm with a spoon.....

Ooh, sounds lovely! Fresh bread and homemade jam, yum! I made marmalade for the first time this year, was lovely.

It might well be firmer when it's cooled, but if it's still a bit runny you could just dump it all into a pan with some more lemon juice and boil it up again.

Sterlising jars is easy, you can either put them (and the lids) in a cold oven and turn it to 160 degrees, by the time it's reached temperature the jars are sterile, leave them in the oven til your jam is done, then fill them and put lids on whilst they are still hot. Or, you can just put them in a sink of water with sterlising fluid like you'd use for baby bottles. I prefer the oven method, as the buttons on the lids pop down as the jam cools. I love it when I've finally finished jamming and gone to sit down, and then hear the pops as the buttons go down :)