## 3 Results and Discussion
### Water Absorption
In the case of the 3% red currant gel, the behavior of which in the first hour of the experiment is consistent with the 3% apple pectin gel, the k\({}_{1}\) rate constant is 0.0110 g\({}_{\text{H2O}}\)(\(\text{$  
and 3.0%, respectively (Table 3). The increase in apple pectin concentration results in an increase in the hardness of beads. Gel beads obtained on the basis of the blackcurrant pectin solution were soft. The mean hardness was 0.0648 \(\pm\) 0.0012 N, and it was 10 times lower compared with apple pectin spheres obtained from solution of the same concentration, 0.6469 \(\pm\) 0.0499 N. The use of a 3.0% redcurrant pectin solution resulted in a gel with 17 times lower hardness than gel from an apple pectin solution of the same concentration. The values of this parameter are influenced by the molar mass of the polysaccharides used in the form of pectin. It was shown that the higher molecular weight of pectin results in faster gelling velocity and increases the gel strength [6; 25]. These observations are consistent with ours. Black and red currant pectin have a lower molecular weight than apple pectin (Table 1). The obtained values of hardness of currant pectin beads are an order of magnitude lower than in the case of the production of coffee cavair with sodium alginate. On the other hand, the values obtained for apple pectins oscillate around similar values [26]. [PERSON] et al. presented similar results of hardness using apple pectin for the gel beads production in the external gelation process with Ca\({}^{2+}\) ions [13]. Comparable values of this parameter were also obtained in the case of amidated low-methoxy pectin beads with Lb. casei [27]. Cohesiveness is calculated as the ratio of the work performed in the second compression to the work done in the first compression. It is related to the forces of inner bond links, which maintain the predetermined shape of the product [23; 24]. The obtained values of cohesiveness oscillate in the range from 0.2560 \(\pm\) 0.0189 to 0.6840 \(\pm\) 0.0499. Lower values were recorded for currant pectin and higher for apple pectin. This means that the gel formed by currant pectin has a lower resistance to deformation. This is a consequence of the characteristic structure of their chains, which have numerous branches [18; 19]. It was shown that the presence of simple sugars may have a negative effect on the gelling process in the presence of Ca\({}^{2+}\) ions [4; 8]. The value of this parameter is also influenced by the molecular weight. Shorter and more branched chains of currant pectin than apple pectin form gels with a delicate structure. The obtained results are lower compared to the data presented by other authors [27]. This shows the wide possibilities of creating individual textural properties by using pectin extracted from various sources. Springiness in the case of currant pectins had a value greater than one. This means that the first compression is followed by irreversible deformation of the sample. This behavior indicates that the structure of the formed gel is unstable such that the viscous properties dominate over the elastic properties. The structure of the formed gel is not able to store a large amount of energy and dissipates it, which results in its disintegration. Such observations indicate that the gelling process of the currant pectin leads to the formation of a gel structure softer than the apple pectin gel. The Ca-dependent gelation of pectin is based on the binding between pectin and Ca\({}^{2+}\). Therefore, branched chains can negatively affect the gelation process [8]. Obtained values of springiness indicate that apple pectin gel from a 4.5% pectin solution has the greatest flexibility.