pectin
/ˈpɛktɪn/ noun
Forms pectins pectine
- noun (biochemistry) A plant-derived polysaccharide found in cell walls (especially in fruits) that forms a gel under acidic conditions and is commonly used to thicken foods like jam and jellies. “Apple is rich in pectin and so is often added to other fruits when making jam so it will set.”
Synonyms
Etymology
From French pectine, coined in the 1830s by Henri Braconnot, from acide pectique "pectic acid", from Ancient Greek πηκτικός (pēktikós, “curdling”), from πηκτός (pēktós, “curdled”), from πήγνυμι (pḗgnumi, “stiffen”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun One of a series of carbohydrates, commonly called vegetable jelly, found very widely distributed in the vegetable kingdom, especially in ripe fleshy fruits, as apples, cranberries, etc. It is extracted as variously colored, translucent substances, which are soluble in hot water but become viscous on cooling.
Etymology [Gr. pectine.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pectin”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details