Too much pectinex?

The Struggle:

New ingredients can be very exciting but also concerning. I can see someone having trepidation about adding a product they don’t know too much about, in large quantities. An ingredient that causes some concern is Pectinex. Pectinex literally dissolves the skin off of oranges. Your mind starts to imagine what else this mystery liquid can do. So it’s not uncommon that people ask, how much is too much pectinex?

“How much is too much pectinex?”

Dissolving The Mystique

Pectinex is an enzyme that breaks down pectin. It only breaks down pectin. But what is pectin? We usually think about pectin as the stuff used to make jelly or jams. Pectin is actually the building block of cell walls in fruits and vegetables. The suffix “ase” in pectinase is commonly added to enzymes. This “ase” denotes that pectin is broken down by this enzyme. Amylose is broken down by amylase, protein is broken down by protease so on and so forth. This brings up the question, how much is too much? 2ml (about ½ tsp) can break down 500g (just over 1 lb) of fruit or vegetables. By adding more pectinex you can speed up the process. So let’s say you add 5ml (1 teaspoon) to 500g (1 lb), or even a little more. The pectinex will quickly break down the foods. But this is the issue, it’s basically just a waste. At that point it will not affect the foods but it will cost you more money for a slightly quicker outcome. Over using the pectinex is a good trick to have up your sleeve if you are running behind. But for practical purposes it should be avoided. As for any health concerns there are none. Once the foods are heated the enzyme becomes inactive. Even if there is no intention of heating the foods the enzymes will cause no added flavor or reactions. If you stand by these measurements listed above the recipes will come out perfectly. But do not fret if you accidentally add a little more, just don’t get too crazy or you will just be wasting pectinex.

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