Make a 20% solution of Pecmate™ Pectin Enhancer. This is added at the end of the process but prior to adding the acid, flavor, or color. The typical sequence is Pecmate then acid. We highly recommend you consult our formulation sheet to start, which provides you a starting point to optimize Pecmate’s performance in your system.

Many manufacturers are unaware of the benefits of other buffer salts like Pecmate. Sodium citrate has been the only option in the formulation tool kit for a long time so customers use what they know. Bartek launched Pecmate to give customers better tools for their formulation toolbox in a market where gummy systems are becoming more complex to formulate and increasingly more difficult to manufcature.

Further, as plant-based foods have gained popularity in recent years, gummy formulators have shifted from gelatin and adopted pectin as their primary alternative. Pectin is harder to work with and requires a narrower pH range of 3.4 – 3.6 to set properly. Deviation from this pH could lead to a weak gel (if the pH is too high) or pre-gelling (if the pH is too low).

We are not aware of anyone who has tested this in commercial application in relation to pectin gelling. Bartek’s work has focused exclusively on the use of monosodium malate because the physical and chemical properties align very well with the needs of pectin gummies. Divalent salts will have very different chemical and physical properties including disodium malate which could alter performance and taste.

For mid-size producers with a traditional process, a slow set pectin likely will work best. For manufacturers with larger capacity and longer dwell times in process, we’d recommend using a super slow set High-Methoxyl (HM) pectin. The ideal pH target range remains 3.2-3.6 regardless of which pectin type is used.

NOTE – The use of specialty syrups such as tapioca or fiber can change the performance of the entire gummy system. If using one or more of these products, please contact us for further assistance.

pH should be 3.2-3.6, and temperature should be 180-185F. Please note that pH is VERY temperature sensitive! pH should always be read at room temperature. Therefore, to test a slurry, a small portion is removed from the kettle, and mixed 50:50 with cool distilled water. That should drop the temperature to within ambient boundaries and give accurate readings. Bartek can provide a specific procedure for how to do this in your process. Please contact us at info@bartek.ca for more information.

The acidity of vitamin C affects the shelf life. Keeping gummy texture over time with high payloads of vitamin C will depend on the load, the pKa of the system, buffers used, and whether the vitamin C is encapsulated. A buffer will help control pH, but any acid that isn’t encapsulated will invert the sugar in the system over time.

Yes, it does work similarly in pectin/gelatin blends. The choice of main gelling agent will determine how critical it is to hold the pH in the proper range. Total solids are critical in combination with pH and temperature. Higher solids must have a higher temp at deposit to prevent pre-gel.

Pectin itself will set at pH=2.8. However, the farther you get away from pH=4.0, the faster the acid will invert the sugar. Therefore, keeping the pH at or near the high end of the pectin setting pH of 3.4-3.6, without exceeding the upper limit and sending it well above the point that the pectin won’t set, is very critical. In general, if you are over pH=3.8, your mass likely won’t set, or will be too soft. Keeping the candy mass at 3.2-3.6 is the ideal range for limiting sugar inversion while allowing pectin to set up properly. It’s important to note that these two factors must be balanced together when formulating the system.

Most of our lab trials and the results published in our white paper (download here: bartek.ca/pecmate) used buffered pectin. This is because much of the industry uses buffered pectin currently. However, limited trials using unbuffered pectin obtained very similar results.

It definitely can! However, your water quality will have an impact on the performance of your system. If you are using tap water without an RO (reverse osmosis) system, you are likely bringing in dissolved minerals and metals, and these can change during the year (when the city flushes the water system periodically). Minerals and Metals can also cause cross-linking in pectin, so there can be contributing factors that a buffer doesn’t address. Starting with a consistent water source like RO water (doesn’t need to be distilled – just RO so you have a standardized starting point) and adding Pecmate can bring stability to your process and help control pectin pre-gel in kettles and lines.

This can be caused by many things and impacted by several variables. Formula, process problems leading to sugar inversion, not using buffers, and poor curing room conditions are just a few of the reasons why sweating may occur in finished packaging. A buffer alone is not likely to solve this problem.

Add the vitamins just before adding the acid, so they are in the hot candy mass for the shortest amount of time possible. If using a starchless depositor, a cooling plate under the mold can rapidly drop the temperature. Curing rooms are critical in making a stable piece. Temperature can be dropped if solids are dropped slightly, allowing more flexibility at deposit. Again, the curing room then must make up for this. For low setting temps, a good buffer like Pecmate™ will help!

We did not add before the cook. We chose to add it at the end of the process like acids and flavors to minimize pH fluctuation. Order of addition is a variable we intend to evaluate further.

We have limited data on pH during the cook with Pecmate. This is something we plan to look at more closely with future tests. Please sign up on our mailing list to be among the first updated!