Degree of Esterification (DE)

A specification for pectin expressing the proportion of galacturonic acid residues whose carboxyl groups are esterified with methanol, expressed as a percentage. DE determines whether a pectin is high-methoxyl (HM, DE >50%) or low-methoxyl (LM, DE <50%) — which in turn governs its gelling mechanism, required sugar and calcium concentrations, and appropriate food applications.