Those apple peels and cores you’re about to toss are full of pectin, the same natural thickener sold in little boxes at the grocery store. Simmer them in water, strain out the liquid, and you have homemade pectin for jams and jellies that costs next to nothing. Below is the step-by-step method, plus an easy test to check whether your pectin is strong enough before you make jam.
If you make homemade jam or jelly, you don’t have to rely on store-bought pectin. Apple peels and cores are full of it, and turning your scraps into liquid pectin takes little more than a pot of water and an afternoon.
In this article
- What Is Apple Pectin (and Why It Matters)
- A Brief History of Pectin in Home Canning
- Best Apple Parts to Use for Homemade Pectin
- Be Prepared for Trial and Error
- Step-by-Step: Make Pectin from Apple Peels & Cores
- How to Store & Use Your Homemade Pectin
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Content
- Want More Useful Info Like This From Survival Mom?
- The Final Word
This article updated with more tips and recommendations, February 2026.
What Is Apple Pectin (and Why It Matters)
Apple pectin is a natural fiber found in apple peels, cores, and underripe flesh that acts as a thickening agent in jams and jellies. When cooked with sugar and acid, it forms the gel structure that turns runny fruit and sugar into a spreadable texture. Apples, especially the scraps most people throw away, are one of the richest natural sources of it.
I confess I never thought much about pectin until I was at the grocery store buying about ten boxes of the stuff, and the cashier made an odd comment: “I used to really like jam until I found out what pectin is made of.” I shrugged it off, but of course then I had to know. Bugs? Bovine entrails? One quick search later, and the answer turned out to be a lot less dramatic than my imagination, and a lot more useful, since it meant I could stop buying those boxes altogether.
Many modern recipes rely on commercial powdered or liquid pectin for convenience and consistency. But making your own apple pectin allows you to:
- Use scraps that would otherwise be discarded
- Avoid additives or preservatives
- Control the strength of your pectin
- Reduce the cost of canning
Homemade apple pectin isn’t complicated. It’s simply extracted from apple scraps through slow cooking and straining. Once you understand how it works, it becomes another practical food-preservation skill to add to your kitchen repertoire.
When I began researching pectin, I wondered if I could make it at home. After all, jam has been around since long before mankind had the technology to refine pectin into a powder and package it in brightly-colored boxes.
A Brief History of Pectin in Home Canning
In the not so distant past, there were two methods for thickening jams and jellies. The first was to allow your mixture of fruit and sugar to cook down for so long that it resembled sludge and much of the fruity goodness in the jam was lost to the heat. The second was to extract pectin from apples in much the same way it is done commercially today, albeit on a smaller scale.
My neighborhood is in the throes of apple season right now. Apples are just ripening and many people I know are making applesauce, apple pie filling, apple crumble, and all sorts of other apple-related treats. This also means lots of apple cores and peels in a giant pile on the counter.
Most recipes and tutorials found online for making your own pectin call for 3-4 whole apples (usually Granny Smith or another sour baking apple). But there is an alternative that you may find more efficient with your resources. The peels and cores of the apple contain the highest concentrations of pectin, so it is possible to use just these parts of the apple.
Best Apple Parts to Use for Homemade Pectin
Not all parts of the apple contain the same amount of pectin. If your goal is strong, effective homemade pectin, focus on the parts that naturally contain the highest concentration.
Peels & Cores
Apple peels are one of the richest sources of natural pectin. That’s why saving peels from pie-making or applesauce is such an efficient way to build up scraps for pectin extraction. The peel contains more pectin than the inner flesh of the fruit.
The cores, including the seeds and surrounding membranes, are also high in pectin. There’s no need to remove seeds before making pectin; they contribute to the overall gelling strength during cooking and are strained out later.
Whole Apples vs. Scraps
You can make pectin using whole chopped apples, but it’s rarely necessary. Peels and cores alone provide plenty of pectin, making this a practical way to reduce waste in your kitchen. Many home canners simply freeze apple scraps until they’ve accumulated enough to make a batch.
Best Apple Varieties for High Pectin
While nearly all apples contain some natural pectin, certain varieties are especially rich in it. In general, tart and slightly underripe apples contain more pectin than fully ripe, sweet apples.
If you’re aiming for strong homemade apple pectin, these are excellent choices:
Crabapples
Crabapples are among the highest in natural pectin and have long been used specifically for jelly-making. Their tart flavor and firm texture make them ideal for extracting strong liquid pectin.
Granny Smith
This tart, firm apple contains more pectin than many sweeter dessert varieties. It’s widely available and a reliable option if crabapples aren’t in season.
Underripe Apples (Any Variety)
Pectin levels decrease as fruit ripens. Slightly green or firm apples — even from sweet varieties — will produce stronger pectin than fully ripe, soft fruit.
Wild or Heirloom Apples
Those small, sour apples on an old tree by the road or in an abandoned orchard are usually too tart to enjoy fresh, but they’re perfect for pectin. Treat them like crabapples.
Sweet eating apples like Fuji, Gala, and Honeycrisp still work, but expect a weaker pectin, especially if they’re fully ripe.
Don’t throw away what could become your next pantry staple. Apple peels and cores hold more value than most people realize.
Be Prepared for Trial and Error
Before we get started, I will have to confess that making and using pectin in this way is pretty unscientific: no exact measurements or cooking times here. Boxes of pectin usually come with recipes that outline precisely how much fruit and sugar need to be added to your jam to ensure it sets up perfectly.
When you make your own pectin, you’re introducing many more variables: the variety of apples you’re using, the concentration of pectin found therein, time spent cooking down and boiling off, etc. There is going to be a lot more trial-and-error in using this method for jam-making. But, for me, that just adds to the fun.
Last summer my mother-in-law gave me an extremely large quantity of apples, and my sisters-in-law and I made them into pie filling. At my insistence, I had them save all the cores and peels. They thought I was weird for doing it, but I didn’t care. This was for science. I stored them in the freezer in regular grocery sacks. Pectin made from year-old deep-frozen apples has indeed resulted in satisfactory jam. I haven’t done a controlled study of how long you can store your apple peels in this way, but you’re probably safe for up to a year.
Step-by-Step: Make Pectin from Apple Peels & Cores
What You’ll Need (Equipment & Ingredients)
When I’ve been in the mood to make a batch of apple pectin, I take one grocery sack-full of apple peels and cores and dump it it into my 6-quart stock pot with enough water to cover it. You don’t need anything fancy.
Here’s a checklist of what you’ll need.
- Apple peels and cores (or chopped tart/underripe apples)
- Water
- 1–2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional but helpful for acidity)
- Large pot
- Fine mesh strainer or colander
- Cheesecloth or clean flour-sack towel
- Bowl or large measuring cup
- Jar(s) for storage
Cook Down Apples & Extract Liquid
Put your peels and cores in a large stockpot, add enough water to cover them, and stir in the lemon juice. Bring it to a boil, then turn it down to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for a few hours, stirring now and then and adding water if it starts to look dry, until the scraps break down into something like chunky applesauce.
Line a strainer with a couple of layers of cheesecloth or a flour-sack towel, set it over a large bowl, and pour in the cooked apples. Let it drip on its own. Don’t squeeze, or you’ll push pulp through and end up with cloudy pectin. Test the liquid (see below). If it’s weak, put it back on the stove and simmer it down until it thickens.
I do this by lining a strainer with cheesecloth and placing it over a large bowl. If after testing I find that my pectin still has a while to go before it will react the way I want it to in the alcohol, I put the liquid back on the burner and cook off more of the water to make it more concentrated. When completed, your liquid pectin will be fairly thick, not unlike corn syrup. It can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
How to Test If Your Pectin Is Strong Enough
Ideally, you should wait until the liquid in your cooked apples passes the alcohol test. This is an ingenious method to test how concentrated your pectin is and how effective it will be in jam making.
- Place 1 teaspoon of cooled pectin liquid in a small cup.
- Add 1 tablespoon rubbing alcohol (or high-proof clear alcohol) and swirl gently.
- If the pectin forms a single jelly-like clump, it’s strong.
- If it forms several small clumps, it’s medium strength.
- If it stays watery with tiny flecks, it’s weak and may need reducing.
Once you’re making jam, use the cold plate test to check the set. Put a small spoonful of the hot jam on a plate you’ve chilled in the freezer, wait a minute, and push it with your finger. If it wrinkles, it’s ready.
How to Store & Use Your Homemade Pectin
Homemade pectin can be used just as you would any other liquid pectin. I would not necessarily recommend using it for freezer jam, but any cooked, home-canned recipe for jams or jellies will do. I find that the set is usually a little looser than what you find with commercial pectin, but it’s still quite nice.
Homemade apple pectin varies in strength, so start with small batches of jam or jelly until you learn how your pectin performs. If a batch turns out a little loose, you can always re-cook it.
Refrigerating and Freezing
Homemade pectin keeps about a week in a covered jar in the fridge. For longer storage, freeze it in ice cube trays, then move the cubes to a freezer bag so you can thaw just what you need. It keeps for months in the freezer. One reader used hers after a full year.
How Much Pectin to Use in Jam & Jelly
Homemade apple pectin doesn’t come with a standardized strength like store-bought powdered or liquid pectin. Because its concentration can vary, there isn’t an exact one-size-fits-all measurement.
That said, here are practical starting guidelines:
For 4 Cups of Prepared Fruit
Start with ½ to 1 cup of homemade liquid pectin.
If you’re using a very low-pectin fruit like strawberries, peaches, or cherries, lean toward the higher end of that range. If your fruit naturally contains more pectin (like blackberries or apples), you may need less.
If Substituting for Commercial Liquid Pectin
One packet (about 3 ounces) of commercial liquid pectin is roughly equal to ½ to ¾ cup of homemade liquid pectin, depending on strength.
Because homemade pectin varies, it’s wise to:
- Make smaller test batches at first
- Cook slightly longer if needed
- Use the cold plate test to check consistency before final canning
A Helpful Tip
If your jam doesn’t fully set, it isn’t ruined. Slightly soft jam can be:
- Re-cooked with additional pectin
- Used as a syrup topping
- Swirled into yogurt or oatmeal
Homemade pectin gives you flexibility, and once you’ve made a batch or two, you’ll quickly learn how your pectin behaves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Apples that are tart, firm, or slightly underripe contain the highest levels of natural pectin.
The best options include:
Crabapples – Extremely high in pectin and traditionally used for jelly-making.
Granny Smith – A reliable, tart variety with good natural pectin levels.
Underripe apples (any variety) – Pectin decreases as fruit ripens, so slightly green apples will produce stronger pectin than soft, fully ripe fruit.
Very sweet, fully ripe apples will still work, but the finished pectin may be slightly weaker.
Some readers have dried their peels and cores in a dehydrator, ground them into a coarse powder, and used it in jam with good results. The strength is even harder to predict than liquid pectin, so start with small test batches and keep notes on how much you used.
Yes. Citrus peels are one of the best sources, especially the white pith under the skin. Quince, tart plums, gooseberries, currants, and cranberries are also high in pectin. Use the same simmer-and-strain method.
I wouldn’t. Homemade pectin needs to be cooked with the fruit and sugar to set, so stick to cooked jams and jellies.
Related Content
- The Only Homemade Apple Pie Filling Recipe You Will Ever Need
- 27 Things You Can Do With Apples
- Build Your Food Storage from Scratch: Homemade Strawberry Jam
- Canning Home Preserved Peach Jam
Want More Useful Info Like This From Survival Mom?
The Final Word
Our great-grandmothers didn’t buy pectin in little boxes. They saved their apple scraps and let a pot simmer on the back of the stove. Next time you peel a pile of apples for pie or applesauce, toss the peels and cores in a freezer bag instead of the trash. Once the bag is full, you’ve got a batch of jam waiting to happen.
Originally contributed by Beth Buck, updated and expanded by Lisa Bedford.
You get the best pectin with *under-ripe* apples or crab apples. There’s pectin in ripe apples, but you get the best gel effect from under-ripe apples. Some people do it from the apples they thin from their trees in June or July. Or they use the crab apples from a crab apple tree they use as a pollinator for their apple trees.
Another option is to simply put some high-pectin fruit in with the other fruit you are jamming. Currants or gooseberries were often used in the old days. Blueberry/black currant jam or strawberry/red currant jams are common combos, for example. Quince also works and has more pectin than apples.
http://urbanschmurban.com/2012/10/08/in-season-quince-making-your-own-pectin/
I don’t eat much jelly or jam, but when I do, I have to use homemade pectin. The store bought pectin must have some kind of additive in it that gives me a headache. I just use green apples and cook them down. I’ve made apple/jalepeno jelly, apple jelly, etc. I love it. When I first started doing it, I had to scour the internet for the instructions on how to do it. Now, I mostly make preserves, which is just cooked down fruit with some sugar. Our apple tree hadn’t produced well the last few years and we’ve decided it isn’t critical that it be jelled. We aren’t trying to win ribbons at the fair with it, and it still tastes good on bread.
Is it possible to dehydrate liquid pectin, grind into a powder, and seal in mason jars with Food Saver?
Granny –
I have never tried it. I am not sure it would work well because I imagine the pectin would kind of stick to the sides of the jar into a gooey film as it dried. If you ever find a way to make it work, let me know!
I suspect that the clerk was actually talking about gelatin. Let’s just say that every town that has a slaughterhouse also has a gelatin factory and just leave it at that…
Ha, well, it wouldn’t be the first time a cashier had gotten something wrong. Once when I was in the checkout line the topic of my spinning wheel came up and I mentioned that my nephews used to call me “Aunt Rumpelstiltskin.” The cashier laughed and said, “Ah, let down your golden hair.” I didn’t have the heart to tell her she had the wrong fairy tale.
Have you seen Alton Brown’s episode on gelatin? He makes the process look like a horror film. It’s pretty entertaining.
If you had a freeze dryer with cube trays it makes into a fluffy cube that could easily be ground
I made pectin from apples. One year I decided to see if it would work and not finding any kind of instructions I set out on my own. I used the edible remains of apples we used that year from cider, jelly, and desserts and dried it all in a food dryer. Took the product and put it all thru a chopper/grinder and made a coarse powder. I stored the powder in jars sealed with a Food Saver. It works! Perhaps not quite as well as the store bought pectin but I know what is in mine!
I’ve been researching using dehydrated apple peals for pectin – I hate waste so have been dehydrating and making into powder for several years, thinking it would be good on ice cream, or to add to smoothies for the the nutrients (I do that with kale stems and other good stuff I don’t like to eat!) but this is the first I’ve found on dried. I’ll try it and see how it goes.
I’m learning so much from your interesting articles, Beth. And from the comments, too.
I never used pectine, even I cook jams every year, around 10kg. Indeed, some fruits I combined with apples, because my grandma was doing like this and the taste desired was same from my childhood..now I understand why 🙂
So. Do you can the pectin?
Corinna,
I have never tried canning homemade pectin. I suppose you could do it, though, if you had enough to fill up a whole mason jar. I usually use it fresh or within a few days of having made it.
I’ve canned pectin. It cans up fine.
We make crabapple jelly which is basically apple flavoured pectin.
Line a cook pot with a layer of clean cheesecloth or cotton sheeting allowing it to drape over the sides.
Chop grab apples and place in th pot with enough water to show. Cook until apples are mushy and mash wit a potato masher. Allow to cool somewhat. Then bunch up the cheesecloth and tie around with a strong cord. We then hang up the cord from the cross bar of a stepladder with the pot below. Leave overnight and save the juice. This would work with apple cores and peel. Use the alcohol test to check for pectin. NB if you use rubbing alcohol or methyl hydrate, discard the gel last it is poisonous. You could add this juice instead of water in jam recipes.
I need more information on the dehydrated apple turned into powder.
Like some measurement examples?
I make a tomato jam using lemon peel and sugar. Sets up every time. There is a lot of pectin in tomatoes and lemon rinds. I add two spices and this gives the flavor a depth yet allows the tomato flavor to come through in the end. As far as what tomatoes to use, water content matters and the juicier the tomato the more cooking time needed. Have not used green tomatoes, but I don’t doubt this would be good also.
This is AMAZING!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
I always knew pectin came from apples so tried 12 yearsago just using the clean peel ,no scaby bits as I’m a fussy cow , just simered it down ,and just kept simmering till it looked right , then I had to much ,so I froze it .,It all worked well and has been in the freezer for a year and still working ok , just found out I can use the apple cores so will add that now , also had no idea how to test for strength,I do now thanks for the article ,going to look up pectin from lemons next,and whatever is left goes in the compost bin , after the chucks have had a look