Is it true that most of the pectin in strawberries is right below the stem? ;o)

As a child, when I helped my mother hull strawberries for jam, she always told us just to trim away the green leaves and the tiny stem piece, leaving as much of what's right beneath it for the jam. She said that most of the pectin is in there. (She also always picked quite a few that had a lot of white showing, meaning they were slightly under-ripe because, she said, they help the jam set better.) Her jam always set perfectly, without much cooking. Is that why? Thanks, everyone. ;o)

AntoniaJames
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SeaJambon
SeaJambon June 5, 2014
Generally, the less ripe the fruit the more natural pectin the fruit contains. Since strawberries tend to ripen from the tip and then towards the stem, I'm going to guess that your mother was right (yay Mom!), and that the same principle is why she included a few that were considerably less ripe. This principle is also why those who make jam without added pectin can still get a set with a variety of options: adding some chopped up green (as in unripe) apples; making sure that not all the fruit is totally ripe; or adding lemon juice.
 
bigpan
bigpan June 5, 2014
An interesting question that caused me to search the web for an answer. Looking up strawberry pectin in Wikipedia I was in way over my head within one sentence with bio-chemical information. I don't have a white lab jacket so the more I read the more I got lost.
"My" outcome is that pectin in a strawberry is equally located throughout the fruit and in smaller quantity than what you find in an apple or pear etc.
Smash up your strawberries and if it does not get to a desired thickness naturally - add some liquid or powder pectin as per package directions.
I recognize there are different varieties of strawberries and therefore different amounts of natural pectin - but leave that for the real scientists.
 
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