Clarifying Lemon Juice with Pectinase?

I'm not really able to clarify lemon juice with Pectinase. Presumably the lemon juice too acidic to allow the enzyme to work? Do I need to buffer the solution or am I failing for other reasons?

Thanks!

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Brendan_Lee_56950

that's interesting. I've done lemons before without any problem at all.

lfmichaud

Lemon and lime juice don't clarify correctly with Pectinex. You need to use wine clarifying agents too like Chitosan and Kieselsol. For a complete writedown on the technique consult cooking issues

"For high acid juice like limes use a three-step process. (Why clarify lime juice? So you can use it in carbonated beverages!) The acid inhibits the SPL, so it won’t work on it’s own. Add 2 ml of SPL per liter of juice and, at the same time, add 2 ml of Kieselsol per liter — make sure to shake the container of Kieselsol before you add it. The amount of SPL isn’t critical, but the amount of Kieselsol is . Stir your juice thoroughly and wait 15 minutes. Add 2 ml/liter of Chitosan. Again, the amount is critical. Stir your juice thoroughly and wait 15 more minutes. Add a final 2ml/liter of Kieselsol, stir, wait 15 minutes and spin. Strictly speaking, you don’t need to wait the full 15 after the last step, but I wait anyway."

http://www.cookingissues.com/2012/08/19/spin-cycle-homestyle-centrifuge/

Brendan_Lee_56950

I guess it depends on how 'clear' you want it. I found it worked just fine for my needs, but Dave Arnold probably wants it crystal clear so it can be carbonated properly without too many nucleation sites.

jaminsky

Super helpful. Should have checked cooking issues first! Thanks @Louis-Frederic

jaminsky

Brendan Lee Yeah, this is the best I can do... You can see that the strawberry on the left completely clarifies as expected, but as you increase acidity from lime to lemon, it basically stops working.