Ingredient
Pectin
The setting agent that comes from fruit.
The story
Pectin is found in the cell walls of fruit, concentrated in apple peel and citrus pith, and it is what makes jam set. In confectionery it is used for fruit jellies and for the soft centres of filled sweets, because it sets soft and stays soft where gelatine would firm up. It needs sugar and acid to work, which is convenient in a sweet factory and inconvenient almost everywhere else.
